scope:

Scope of the handbook

This handbook contains practical advice to help track staff improve the safety of the track asset, avoid accidents and reduce to a minimum the levels of rish to which customers, staff and third parties may be exposed. It provides a guide to the requirement.s set by the health and safety legislation, the Company's Working Manual and Safety Management System and the safety considerations identified in track standards. The handbook does not cover the formal organization of safety management responsibilities within line business units.

Safety is defined in the Company's Safety Reference Manuals "the control of accidental loss" Because controlling loss and avoiding accidents have overriding importance in all the Company's activities, any document offering guidance on the management of track safety has to address an extensive range of topics, from day-to-day maintenance processes to the annual reparation of local safety action plans. In presenting this material, the handbook gives an overview of the safety requirements which managers with responsibilities for the track have to meet (section 2). Securing the safety of components of the track asset is the subject of section3, while section 4 deals with the avoidance of hazards to people working on site. Responsibilities for safety in the broader environment as part of a good neighbor policy are discussed in section 5. The final section of the handbook gives advice on preparing and implementing local safety action plans in support of the corporate Safety Action Plan.