AS 7645 Rail Corridor Management – Review

The closing date for nominations – Monday 24 March 2025

The Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) is seeking nominations to join a Development Group to review AS 7645 Rail Corridor Management.

How will this help the rail industry? 

The rail corridor encompasses thousands of kilometres in areas across all environments in Australia. If fire prevention and vegetation is not managed effectively, it can cause a number of safety risks to operations, passengers and neighbouring properties, as well as environmental impacts.

The standardisation of vegetation management planning through the development of best practice can ensure RIMs have effective response plans and can share learnings throughout industry.

The management of vegetation in the rail corridor has a significant impact on localised environmental outcomes and is critical to ensuring a balance of minimising environmental harm and ensuring safe railway operations.

About

AS 7644 is undergoing a targeted aged review and will align with current environmental legislative practices at the local, state and federal levels.

Risk based principles shall be developed for vegetation management in the rail corridor that includes operational risk, rail worker safety, road/rail interface, climate and sustainability considerations, damage to infrastructure, and environmental impact.

It includes requirements for vegetation and fire management plans and will consider new road/rail interface sighting requirements as detailed in the ONRSR Code of Practice for Train Illumination and Visibility.

Time commitment

Development Group membership is voluntary and requires the support of your organisation to attend and contribute. There will be 4-6 meetings held between April and December 2025. Further information on the responsibilities of a Development Group member can be obtained from the RISSB Website.

How to contribute

Stakeholders and interested parties are invited to submit nominations for Subject Matter Experts to join this Development Group to contribute to the overall depth and quality of the product. 

All nominations and enquiries are to be submitted to Michael Maartensz, Standards Development Manager at mmaartensz@rissb.com.au. 

As part of your nomination, please provide a brief including your contact details, your organisation (if applicable) with your position title, your interest in this development (for example, materially affected party, subject matter expert etc) and any other information which supports your participation. This information will assist RISSB in ensuring balanced representation in the development of this document. 

The closing date for nominations is Monday 24 March 2025. 

As the rail industry’s accredited Standards Development Organisation (SDO), RISSB continues to collaborate with government, rail operators and industry leaders to improve the efficiency and harmonisation of the Australia and New Zealand’s rail network, ensuring national interoperability, safety and sustainability into the future.