Safety improvement

Smaller less-complex operators (incl T&H)

For a number of years, ONRSR has worked with the Tourist and Heritage sector and ATHRA (their member organisation), as part of safety improvement projects to educate and support the sector’s Safety Management System capacity.

Throughout this process, ONRSR has engaged with stakeholders through surveys, workshops, and other consultation processes.

As part of safety improvement projects, ONRSR has:

run Risk Management workshops;
developed a rail safety induction for use by ATHRA and the sector;
issued a Fact Sheet about the scalability of Drug and Alcohol Management Plan; and
developed a suite of SMS modules and templates to assist in SMS development & review.

Feedback from a number of smaller less-complex operators, including Tourist and Heritage, has indicated a desire for a central location for these resources and tools.

This page seeks to provide links to a number of ONRSR publications that will support these operators in demonstration of compliance consistent with their specific operations.

Smaller less-complex operations are typically represented by some or all of the following criteria:

operate on a branch line or isolated line, without other rail operators on the same track;
have a small uniform fleet of rollingstock;
operate at slow speeds of less than 40 km/h;
manage a yard or sidings only;
may carry passengers;
are often run by volunteers and have a limited and changing workforce;
are usually smaller and everyone and everything is in one general location; and
often have limited resources.