Guidance

Rail interoperability: current national technical rules

National technical rules (NTRs) supplement National Technical Specification Notices (NTSN) with network or country-specific requirements.

From:
Department for Transport
Published
21 July 2011
Last updated
8 October 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

National technical rules for vehicles

ODS, 30 KB

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National technical rules for infrastructure

ODS, 27.4 KB

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Details

NTRs can perform several functions, such as:

  • making a provision for country or network-specific cases
  • filling in open points identified in the national technical specification notices (NTSNs)
  • setting requirements to maintain technical compatibility with existing assets that do not conform to the requirements of NTSNs

Background

Under Regulation 3C of the Railways Interoperability Regulations 2011, the Secretary of State for Transport must publish a list of all national technical rules (NTRs) applying in the United Kingdom and the list must, where appropriate, specify the notified national technical rule (NNTR) that an NTR replaces.

These are the lists of NTRs for infrastructure and vehicles that replace the lists of NNTRs previously notified to the Commission by the Secretary of State.

Updates to this page

Published 21 July 2011
Last updated 8 October 2024 + show all updates

  1. Vehicle rules updates: revisions to GERT8006 issue 4 and GMRT2141 issue 5. Infrastructure rules updates: revisions to GKRT0057 issue 2 and GERT8006 issue 4. New guidance GEGN8616 added and applies to new rail vehicles and new and modified bridges.

  2. National technical rules for infrastructure: infrastructure based train detection interface requirements issue 3.2 (GKRT0028) and G 3.1.7 guidance added.

  3. Infrastructure list updated: GCRT5021 track system requirement standards added, appendices A to H have been withdrawn and out-of-date reference in GMRT2173 (issue 4 size of vehicles and position of equipment) removed.

  4. In the infrastructure rules, GIRT7073 has been amended to remove an incorrect reference. There is no change to the vehicle rules.

  5. GIRT7073 entry amended to include requirements relating to cross-wind adjustments and structure gauge considerations. Other rules listings were updated to replace references to TSI with references to NTSN.

  6. Updates made to GLRT1210 and GMRT2111 to reflect recent technical changes made.

  7. Updated entries for GERT8073 in both lists plus GKRT0028 (infrastructure) and GMRT2173 (vehicles).

  8. Updated entries for GMRT2173 and GIRT7020 to alter their issue numbers and reflect wider changes made to both.

  9. Information updated confirming that no changes have been made in the June to September 2022 period.

  10. Updated entry for GMRT2161 to replace reference to TSI with reference to NTSN.

  11. Updated entry for GMRT2111 to identify the NTR that addresses specific case 7.3.2.16.

  12. Updated references in vehicle rules listing to correct minor error related to the in-force date of the Railway Group Standard – GMRT2400.

  13. Updated references in vehicle and infrastructure rules listing to align with GB legislation and included additional guidance where required.

  14. Vehicle and infrastructure rules listings have been amended to change requirements relating to route compatibility assessment, change technical requirements related to AWS and TPWS signalling systems, replace some references to EU legislation, and to correct other minor errors.

  15. Vehicle and infrastructure rules listings amended to introduce upper gauges, passenger and locomotive gauges, and to update requirements on technical compatibility.

  16. Updated guidance in line with Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended for EU Exit.

  17. Vehicle and infrastructure rules listings amended to incorporate new UK Specific Cases, introduced in the 2019 technical specifications for interoperability revisions. Reference points for Railway Group Standards corrected.

  18. Vehicle rules amended to transfer requirements relating to infrastructure to infrastructure rules. Infrastructure rules amended to remove, correct and change standards where they have been withdrawn, notified against wrong TSI parameters, reissued or a new standard published.

  19. Vehicle rules amended to remove, correct and amend where the standard has been withdrawn, notified against wrong TSI parameters, reissued or a new standard has been published. Infrastructure rules updated to delete notified standards that have been withdrawn because they do not fulfil the criteria to be a national technical rule.

  20. Current notified national technical rules updated and spilt for vehicles and infrastructure.

  21. A list of the UK’s notified national technical rules was submitted to the European Commission by the Department for Transport in April 2016.

  22. Updated spreadsheet with list of the UK’s notified national technical rules.

  23. First published.

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