"In line with Article 22(7) of the Railway Safety Directive (EU) 2016/798 and with the support of the NIB secretariat to be provided by the Agency, the information and the documents uploaded on this webpage are the responsibility of the NIB Network and not of the Agency".
Railways are one of the safest means of land transportation for people, cargo and the environment.
Over the almost 200 years of public service railway, there has been a constant evolution in railway technology, procedures and organization, towards an ever-greater level of safety, much of which was the result of learning by the railway companies and by the States from accidents occurring in the past.
Despite the very high level of safety of present-day European railway systems, as in any other human activity, accidents and safety incidents still occur occasionally. It is always essential to capture from those events the relevant learning to further improve, where possible, railway safety and prevent accidents.
Recognizing this fact, the Railway Safety Directive 2016/798 (RSD) issued by the European Parliament and the Council has the requirement for each Member State to ensure that investigations of certain accidents and incidents be conducted by a National Investigation Body (NIB), independent in its organization, legal structure and decision-making from any party whose interests could conflict with the tasks entrusted it.
The NIBs will investigate:
- serious accidents, meaning any train collision or derailment of trains resulting in the death of at least one person or serious injuries to five or more persons or extensive damage (cost of at least EUR 2 million in total) to rolling stock, the infrastructure or the environment, and any other accident with the same consequences which has an obvious impact on railway safety regulation or the management of safety;
- other accidents and incidents which under slightly different conditions might have led to serious accidents, according to the assessment by the NIB of the safety learning expected.
From the investigation, reports are made explaining the facts and identifying causal factors that led to the accident or incident, and presenting any safety recommendations that the NIB has decided to issue.
The Railway Safety Directive requires that the investigating bodies conduct an active exchange of views and experience for the purposes of the development of common investigation methods, drawing up common principles for follow up of safety recommendations and adaptation to the development of technical and scientific progress.
This is done through the NIB Network, which is a group of all NIBs. It holds plenary meetings of representatives of its members for the exchange of experiences, produces guides relative to investigation activities, conducts peer-reviews and, whenever possible, facilitates common training. In compliance with Article 22 of the RSD, the NIB Network has also established a programme of peer reviews where all NIBs are encouraged to participate so as to monitor their effectiveness and independence.
These activities are coordinated by an elected Management Committee of five NIBs and are generally supported by the European Union Agency for Railways, who also provides a Secretariat.
The NIB Network also fosters contacts with leading National investigation organizations outside the European Union space for the exchange of good practices, as well as welcomes the approach by other States wishing to gain knowledge from the experience of the NIBs.
The final purpose of the NIB Network is to help each NIB contribute in a meaningful way to the improvement of Railway Safety of the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.
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