Land Transport NZ policy concerning the introduction of rail vehicles

1.     Design standards

1.1.  Historically, mechanical design standards were set within the former New Zealand Government Railways and its successors. Toll Rail has in turn inherited much of the background information to these standards, and, as the major network operator, assumed the task of setting and maintaining the necessary standards.  ONTRACK is now the owner of and access provider to the National Rail System (NRS) and administers the National Rail System Standards (NRSS) which define minimum standards for operations on the network including mechanical interoperability requirements.

1.2.  In the co-regulatory approach of the Railways Act 2005, Land Transport NZ has a role in ensuring that standards and processes are properly developed by rail participants using a risk based approach and that they are described in each safety case which Land Transport NZ approves.  Compliance against those standards is monitored through the safety assessment programme. Further, Land Transport NZ has no statutory role in setting or maintaining standards as they belong to the industry, but it clearly has a responsibility for ensuring that standards and codes of practice provide reasonable safety outcomes, and that safety outcomes show continuous improvements where appropriate.

1.3.  Toll Rail railway vehicle design standards and procedures are prescribed in detail in its Design Manual (M3000), which Toll Rail considers to be a proprietary design code developed and controlled by its mechanical engineering professionals. This manual has been compiled with knowledge of the standards and practices from the Australasian Railway Association, the Association of American Railroads, and Europe, combined with local practice and environmental requirements. The company believes that the manual would be accepted as "good standard railway practice" by railway engineering professionals throughout the industry. This manual is a key element of Toll Rail's safety system.

1.4.  M3000 includes required minimum standards for structural strength (crashworthiness).

1.5.  There are no other mechanical design codes currently applied in New Zealand on the 1068mm gauge National Rail System. However, other codes could be developed by other operators, and accepted by Land Transport NZ if due process is followed.  A key issue would be acceptance through the National Rail System Standards Executive who would present the alternative standards to Land Transport NZ for sign-off.

2.     Ancestor rights

2.1.  Toll Rail, Connex and other operators use a number of older vehicles which do not conform to the design and performance standards defined in Toll Rail's M3000 manual.  Such a situation is considered quite normal in any railway, as standards always continue to develop over the life of assets, which in the case of railway vehicles may have lives exceeding 50 years. A similar situation applies in other transport modes, where equipment meeting standards at the time of its construction is maintained to those standards and usually permitted to remain in use, despite subsequent changes to design and construction standards.

2.2.  This is often colloquially referred to as the older equipment having "ancestor" rights.

3.     Continuous improvement

3.1.  Land Transport NZ, in accordance with the Railways Act 2005, will be seeking continuous improvement in the safety standards of the national rail fleet wherever it can be reasonably achieved.

4.     Acceptance

4.1.  Land Transport NZ acceptance of new types of rail vehicles will generally be granted in two stages: Type Acceptance and Operational Acceptance.

5.     Type Acceptance

5.1.  Prior to importation or construction, the operator under whose licence the rail vehicles are to be used should seek agreement from the access provider (e.g. ONTRACK for the NRS) that running rights can be granted, and they should seek a type acceptance from Land Transport NZ. The type acceptance will commit Land Transport NZ to accepting the rail vehicles for use in New Zealand for the purpose that is declared in the application, subject only to:

• confirmation upon arrival that the rail vehicles conform to the details that were described in the application for type approval; and
• subsequent Operational Acceptance being granted.

5.2.  The application for the type acceptance must contain:

• A general plan and description of the rail vehicles, showing the layout, dimensions, weights, and maximum allowable speed;
• The purpose for which the rail vehicles are to be used;
• Description of where the rail vehicles are to be used;
• Reference to the key safety-related standards and/or specifications to which the rail vehicles are or will be constructed and details to show how the vehicles will meet or exceed those standards (e.g. body construction, brakes, drawgear, running gear, window glass, door mechanisms, fire prevention);
• Sign-off from the appropriate access provider (e.g. ONTRACK for the NRS) that the relevant operational and engineering interoperability standards can be complied with and that running rights can be granted;
• A comparative risk analysis that demonstrates that the rail vehicles are at least equal to, and preferably better then, other reasonably available alternatives;
• For previously used rail vehicles, an outline of the previous history of the rail vehicles, including the name and location of the manufacturers, and previous operators if available;
• A comparative analysis that shows that in meeting the standards and practices in comparable situations previously that the used equipment meets or exceeds current NZ standards;
• An application for a variation to the safety case or safety cases of the rail participants concerned.

6.     Operational Acceptance

6.1.  Operational acceptance, to approve placing the rail vehicles into normal service, will be given by Land Transport NZ after satisfactory evidence has been produced, or suitable inspections made, confirming that:

• The rail vehicles are in good mechanical condition for the intended operations.
• The appropriate access provider has certified that the relevant operational and engineering interoperability standards are being complied with.
• All testing and commissioning has been completed satisfactorily.
• The staff who will be operating, inspecting, and maintaining the rail vehicles have been trained appropriately.

6.2.  Note that if type acceptance has not previously been granted, all matters pertaining to type acceptance will also have to be satisfied before an operational acceptance will be considered.

7.     Previously-used rail vehicles: Additional policies

7.1.  Previously-used rail vehicles to be imported into New Zealand will not be considered to have any form of "ancestor" rights in respect of their use in New Zealand. Effectively they will be treated as a new application and considered on a case by case basis for type acceptance and operational acceptance. Once accepted, they may be used for the purpose for which they were imported by the licence holder who made application for their use in New Zealand.

7.2.  Later if they are to be used for any other purpose, or transferred to any other operator, Land Transport NZ will require that the rail participant concerned submit a new application to be considered for acceptance.

8.     General

8.1.  Land Transport NZ further reserves the right to undertake at any time a review or special assessment of any or all rail vehicles in accordance with the Railways Act 2005 should any event or set of circumstances arise that appear to affect the risk profile of the rail vehicles.

8.2.  This policy is not intended to affect an access provider's right to set standards and conditions required for the safe operation of rail vehicles on the track controlled by that access provider.  Those standards, and the processes associated with their application, will be detailed in the access provider's safety system referenced by the safety case.

Page created: 27 October 2005