HM Railway Inspectorate

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HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI: His/Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate) is the British government body responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways, tramways and other guided transport systems.

Origins

Memorial to railway accident of 1845, in Ely Cathedral

The body originated in the 1840s when Inspecting Officers of Railways were first appointed by the Board of Trade (BoT). Britain's railways at that time were large monopolistic private companies, so the BoT was concerned with competition; and the HMRI was formed to safeguard the public (not railway employees).

Until the late 1960s HMRI's Inspecting Officers were all recruited from the Corps of Royal Engineers; as the Corps ran the UK's military railway system and they would be very familiar with the Railway Rule Book. Since then Inspecting Officers have been recruited, as mid-career, railway employees from the former British Rail.

The function of HMRI is to inspect and approve all new (or modified) railway works and to investigate railway accidents. These accident investigations have tended to be held in public; and the findings were published as HMRI Railway Accident Reports. These investigations were Inquisitorial, in that their aim was to determine the causes behind the accident and to make recommendations to avoid reoccurrence. The reports were widely circulated around the railway industry.

Recent history

The HMRI became part of the Department of Transport and it remained there until 1990, when it was transferred to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). About this time HMRI expanded its scope and recuited additional staff, Railway Employment Officers. It was their job to monitor the workplace safety and health of Railway employees.

Since the move to the HSE, (newsworthy) train crash investigations have tended to be held as Public Inquiries presided over by a High Court Judge; and the findings published. These inquiries tend to be more Adversarial; with the aim of identifying the guilty parties. In some cases Criminal prosecution of these parties has occurred in parallel with the Public Inquiry, holding up the Public Inquiry until the Criminal Prosecutions have been completed.

This move to the HSE was unpopular with many in the industry, and as part of its rail review in 2004 the Government announced that the Railway Inspectorate will be transferred from the HSE to merge with the Office of the Rail Regulator. The transfer took place on 2 April 2006.

The Inspectorate oversees both operational safety and the initial integrity of new and modified works.

As a result of the legislative change which transferred them to the Office of the Rail Regulator the scope of HMRI enforcement no longer covers guided bus, trolleybus and most cable hauled transport systems.

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