Railway Industry Health and Safety Advisory Committee

The Railway Industry Health and Safety Advisory Committee (RIHSAC) provides advice on railway health and safety and comments on proposed new regulations and guidance.

The Railway Industry Health and Safety Advisory Committee (RIHSAC, previously known as RIAC) was established in 1978 by the Health and Safety Commission.

It provides advice to us on railway health and safety, exchanges information, comments on proposed new regulations and guidance and works to progress health and safety issues and other related developments within the industry. We are reviewing its effectiveness and terms of reference.

It meets four times a year and minutes are produced.

RIHSAC representation

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RIHSAC has wide representation and includes representatives of employers, employees, passengers, and government bodies. Its current membership is as follows:

  • Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)
  • Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
  • British Transport Police (BTP) (observer)
  • Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT)
  • Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland (DRDNI) (observer)
  • Department for Transport (DfT) (observer)
  • Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) rail working group chair
  • Heritage Railway Association
  • Independent passenger representative
  • Infrastructure Safety Liaison Group
  • London TravelWatch
  • London Underground
  • National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)
  • Network Rail
  • Office of Rail and Road
  • Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) (observer)
  • Passenger Focus
  • Rail Freight Operators' Association
  • Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB)
  • Railway Industry Association (RIA)
  • Rolling Stock Companies (ROSCOs)
  • Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA)
  • Transport for Scotland (observer)
  • Unite the Union – Amicus Section
  • Welsh Assembly Government (observer)

The Chair of RIHSAC:

  • Jim O'Sullivan was chair from 1 May 2006 to 31 March 2009 when he stepped down as a non-executive director of the ORR board.
  • Ian Prosser, ORR chief inspector of railways and director of railway safety chaired RIHSAC temporarily from 1 April 2009 to 30 September 2010.
  • Mike Lloyd, an ORR Board non-executive director, took over as chair from 1 October 2010 to 2013
  • Tracey Barlow, an ORR Board non-executive director, held the Chair on a temporary basis  from 2013 to 2015.
  • Justin McCracken, an ORR Board non-executive director with experience in safety regulation, took the chair in October 2015.

Meeting minutes

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Presentations

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