This paper describes the work of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate in the UK to develop safety in the railway industry. The role of the regulator is to maintain a balance on the issues concerned in railway safety. This incorporates enforcing health and safety legislation and controlling risks. The law is aimed at protecting rail passengers, rail industry employees, and people working or living near the railway. The standard to which people should be protected comprises risks to be controlled and level of control measures. Risks must be reduced to a level as low as reasonably practicable. Cost benefit analysis can be used to inform, but not regulate, the standard to which protection is to be provided. Comments are included from the second report on the Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry, following a major crash in 1999, on the implementation of train protection warning systems and on the role of the Inspectorate in enforcing higher standards. The author concludes that safety problems will not be solved without improvements in technology, management and culture. For the covering abstract see ITRD E119655.
Samenvatting