How we assessed safety for Crossrail: applying Common Safety Methods (CSM) to civil works

Overview

The railway Common Safety Methods (CSM) describe how the safety levels, the achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements should be fulfilled, with a series of standard processes applied across Europe to facilitate railways and the railway supply industry operating on an international basis in the same way as road, maritime and air. The Common Safety Method for Risk Evaluation and Assessment (CSM RA) is a legal requirement when making any technical, operational or organisational change to the railway system, which includes constructing a new railway.

Much of the Crossrail Civils works were designed a decade or more ago, before the introduction of CSM RA, but did, of course follow the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations – CDM. However, the authorisation to take Crossrail, as the Elizabeth line, into service in May 2022 required a demonstration of compliance with CSM RA.

The presentation will explain the differences between and similarities of CSM RA and CDM, before going on to explain how the Assessment Body worked with the Crossrail project and with the documentation prepared during the design process to confirm that the CSM RA requirements could be satisfied without retrospective application.

• CDM is about “build a railway safely”
• CSM RA is about “build a safe railway”