Rail governance

Governance is the oversight and activities of a governing body that sets the strategic direction and goals of an organisation. This could be a board, committee, trust or similar.

Rail participants must be able to show that the governance of their organisation makes sure their rail activities are as safe as they can be.

How an organisation is governed is important to creating a positive and effective safety culture. To do this its leaders need to make good decisions.

There are a variety of tools you can use to make sure you govern well. You don’t have to be experts, but you should have enough rail health and safety knowledge to ask the right questions of the right people.

For some organisations it can be a good idea to form an advisory board on specialist issues (such as safety) with people who can evaluate and present information to the governing body.