This is a straight quote from the Foreword to Part 1 of the Railway Safety Principles and Guidance books, first published in 1996 by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate and © Crown copyright 1996.

"Soon after the Railway Inspectorate was formed in 1840, they issued the first written advice on the standards of construction which were considered to be important for the safety of the railway. The advice was aimed at those who were building the new railways. It outlined good practice and helped to produce consistency between different places and different railways.

"Over the years this advice on good practice has been extended to cover most aspects of railway construction. The last full review and updating took place in 1950 and was issued by the Ministry of Transport as Railway construction and operation requirements for passenger lines and recommendations for goods lines. It became widely known throughout the industry as ‘The Blue Book’ or simply the ‘Requirements’, although it was always intended to give advice and not set an absolute standard.

"Some parts of the Blue Book have since been revised and reissued, notably the sections on level crossings and structural clearances. Other parts are clearly now out of date and the Inspectorate has been working on updating the document for some time. Consultation with the rapidly changing railway industry has recognised a need to provide advice in a different way and in a somewhat different format than the Blue Book.

"The guidance is now being published in two distinct ‘parts’. Part 1 sets out the top level safety principles and gives an indication of the factors which need to be taken into account in implementing them. For some sections of the railway industry this level of advice will be sufficient and from it they will develop their own standards. However, the needs of the industry differ as widely as the railways themselves.

"Part 2 consists of eight separate publications dealing with specific aspects of railway construction. It provides an expansion of the advice given in Part 1 and also gives examples of good practice acceptable to the Inspectorate, for those who would find such advice of assistance.

"With the new format there is also a new name for the documents: Railway safety principles and guidance. It is hoped that the railway industry of today will find this new guidance to be as helpful as the Blue Book’s advice was in the past."

 

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