Road rail vehicles (RRVs) are a familiar sight across Australia’s rail networks.
From routine track inspections to critical maintenance and data collection, they play an essential role in keeping rail operations safe, efficient, and reliable.
But with their dual nature – operating on both road and rail – RRVs also present unique safety challenges that have been highlighted in several investigations by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and in regulatory alerts from the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).
To help industry address these risks, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) has produced two key publications.
1. AS 7502 Road Rail Vehicles
Published in September 2025, this Standard focuses on the design and commissioning of RRVs.
The establishes the technical benchmarks vehicles must meet before entering service, ensuring that safety-critical systems are fit for purpose.
2. The Code of Practice –Operation of Road Rail Vehicles (CoP)
To be released in December 2025 this CoP complements the AS 7502 standard by covering day-to-day operations.
It provides guidance on safe practices for operating RRVs on the rail network, excluding areas already covered by workplace health and safety legislation.
Nationally consistent
RRVs are widely used by both Rail Infrastructure Managers (RIMs) and external contractors.
However, incidents persist and are typically caused by safeworking failures, technical or design issues and human factors.
For example, an ATSB investigation into an incident near Kwinana in Western Australia in 2022 found that a road rail vehicle ran away after being incorrectly secured in rail mode.
Fortunately, no-one was injured, but the incident highlighted a critical safety challenge: the reliance on both vehicle design integrity and operator procedures to prevent unintended movements.
Risk associated with road rail vehicles, in particular collisions, is also one of the ONRSR’s national sector safety themes.
ONRSR’s General Manager of Brisbane Operations, Greg Wagner, who is leading the regulator’s work in this space, said a collision between road rail vehicles can result in serious injuries to rail safety workers, fatalities, and damage to the rolling stock.
“RRVs often operate in complex, constrained rail environments where visibility, communication, or procedures may be inconsistent,” he said.
“The ONRSR is focused on ensuring operators review these and associated risks to help prevent unsafe movements, miscommunication, or incorrect placement of vehicles on live tracks.”
These challenges point to the need for clearer, nationally consistent requirements, which the updated AS 7502 and the CoP now provide.
Reaping the benefits of harmonisation
One of the most significant benefits of these changes is harmonisation.
With multiple operators, contractors, and jurisdictions involved in rail maintenance, inconsistent practices have historically created confusion, duplicated certification and registration requirements, and gaps in safety assurance.
A national standard and code of practice help eliminate these inconsistencies, giving all parties – from manufacturers to maintainers – a common reference point.
This consistency supports better training, reduced approval processes, clearer expectations, and improved accountability.
It also reduces the likelihood of incidents caused by inconsistent compliance requirements or varying operational approaches.
A safer, more efficient rail industry
“For an industry where safe access to the network is essential, the new CoP, supported by the updated standard AS 7502, provides a significant step in improving the management of road-rail vehicle safety,” said Sudha Niles, General Manager of Products and Innovation at RISSB.
By tackling the technical and operational challenges of RRVs head-on, the rail sector benefits from significantly reduced risk of incidents, it can safeguard workers and infrastructure, and improve overall efficiency through the adoption of this CoP and Standard.
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