The Common Safety Methods (CSMs) describe how the safety levels, the achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements should be fulfilled.

The CSMs are directly applicable and enforceable in the Member States. Depending on their scope, they are applied either by authorities or bodies, or by specific actors of the railway system (e.g. railway undertakings, infrastructure managers, entities in charge of maintenance), or even by both.

The CSMs are established in accordance with Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/798.