ABSTRACT
The Norwegian government is reforming the railway sector. The reform was formally implemented 1st of January 2017. This has transformed the structure of the sector to ensure clearer division of responsibility, better coordination of service and infrastructure improvements, better aligned incentives and a more customer focused industry. As with any major change in any sector a concern is raised regarding the potential negative safety implications. This paper investigates safety implications of the reform and overall safety responsibilities as the reform progresses. Focus is on factors that can contribute to a future successful safety level. A risk analysis of safety implications of the reform, lessons learned from a similar restructuring in the Norwegian aviation industry and general safety literature, are combined and compared to factors that contributed to a railway accident. A railway accident will be investigated to search for correlation with risk factors in a reformed sector. Special focus will be on the responsibilities of the Norwegian Railway Directorate.
