RAIL SAFETY AND STANDARDS BOARD LIMITED

Their core work

RSSB is the UK rail industry's independent standards and safety body, setting technical standards, conducting safety research, and providing data-driven guidance for Britain's railway network. In H2020 projects, they contribute domain expertise on rail safety, interoperability standards, and cross-modal transport integration. Their work spans from digital journey planning and data interoperability to physical rail infrastructure (switches and crossings) and, more recently, energy systems connected to rail electrification. They serve as the authoritative voice on rail safety and standards within European research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

RSSB's early H2020 work (2015-2017) centred on digital rail — journey planning platforms, data interoperability, semantic web technologies, and the Shift2Rail initiative. From 2018 onward, their focus shifted toward physical infrastructure and cross-sector safety, with projects on rail energy systems (power electronics, lithium batteries) and human factors research bridging rail, aviation, and maritime. This evolution suggests a move from pure digital/data standards toward harder engineering challenges and cross-modal safety harmonization.

RSSB is expanding from rail-only standards into cross-transport safety harmonization and rail electrification energy challenges — expect them to seek partners in aviation safety, maritime human factors, and power electronics.

How they like to work

RSSB exclusively participates as a partner rather than leading consortia, consistent with their role as a standards and advisory body rather than a research performer. With 107 unique partners across 25 countries in just 6 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia — averaging nearly 18 partners per project. This makes them an accessible and well-connected partner who brings regulatory credibility and industry-wide perspective without competing for the coordinator role.

Despite only 6 projects, RSSB has built a remarkably wide network of 107 partners across 25 countries, reflecting the large-scale transport consortia they join. Their reach spans nearly all EU member states, with no narrow geographic concentration.

What sets them apart

RSSB occupies a rare position as a non-governmental industry body that sets binding standards for an entire national rail network — not a university, not a company, but the independent authority. This gives them unmatched credibility on safety requirements, regulatory compliance, and operational standards. For consortium builders, RSSB brings end-user validation and standards alignment that pure research partners cannot provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• S-CODE
  Largest single project (EUR 507,500) focused on optimizing railway switches and crossings — a niche but critical infrastructure challenge where RSSB's standards expertise is directly applicable.
• SAFEMODE
  Represents RSSB's strategic expansion beyond rail into aviation and maritime safety, bridging human factors research across three transport modes.
• E-LOBSTER
  Unexpected diversification into energy systems — power electronics and lithium batteries for light railways — showing RSSB's willingness to engage with electrification challenges.