HM Railway Inspectorate

HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI: Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate) is the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways but is now no longer responsible for guided bus, trolleybus and most cable-hauled transport systems. Previously a separate non-departmental public body it was, until April 2006, part of the Health and Safety Executive and is now part of the Office of Rail Regulation.

History
The body originated in 1840 when Inspecting Officers of Railways were first appointed by the Board of Trade (BoT). Britain's railways at that time were large monopolistic private companies, so the BoT was concerned with competition and the safety of the public. The Railway Inspectorate was formed to investigate accidents reported by the companies to the Board of Trade, and report their findings to Parliament. Their reports were published and so made available to everyone. Their first investigation concerned the derailment of a train caused by the fall of a large casting from a wagon on a passenger train. The Howden rail crash on 7 August 1840 killed 4 passengers.

Until the late 1960s HMRI's Inspecting Officers were all recruited from the Corps of Royal Engineers; as the Corps ran the UK's military railway system and they would be very familiar with the Railway Rule Book. The last Chief Inspecting Officer, Major Rose, with a Royal Engineers back ground, retired in 1988 and he was replaced by an appointee from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Since then, Inspecting Officers have been recruited from the HSE or as mid-career railway employees from the former British Rail.

Original twin functions of the HMRI
The function of HMRI was to inspect and approve all new (or modified) railway works and to investigate railway accidents; and the two activities were carried out by separate parts of the HMRI.

Accident investigations have tended to be held in public; and the findings were published as HMRI Railway Accident Reports. These investigations were inquisitorial, in that their aim was to determine the causes behind the accident and to make recommendations to avoid re-occurrence. The reports were widely circulated around the railway industry, and among the travelling public.

Many of their reports are available as facsimiles of the originals at the railways archive.

Recent history
The HMRI became part of the Department of Transport and remained so until 1990, when it was transferred to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). About this time HMRI expanded its scope and recruited additional staff, Railway Employment Officers. It was their job to monitor the workplace safety and health of railway employees.

After the move to the HSE, (newsworthy) train crash investigations have tended to be held as Public Inquiries presided over by a High Court Judge; and the findings published. These inquiries tend to be more adversarial; with the aim of identifying the guilty parties. In some cases criminal prosecution of these parties has occurred in parallel with the Public Inquiry, delaying the Inquiry until the criminal prosecutions have been completed.

The transfer to the HSE was unpopular with many in the industry, and as part of its rail review in 2004 the government announced that the Railway Inspectorate would be transferred from the HSE to merge with the Office of Rail Regulation. The transfer took place on 2nd April 2006.

The Inspectorate oversees both operational safety and the initial integrity of new and modified works.

As a result of the legislative change which transferred them to the Office of Rail Regulation the scope of HMRI enforcement no longer covers guided bus, trolleybus and most cable-hauled transport systems.