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New framework announced for measuring the impact UK rail has on society and sustainability

The RSSB has developed a new framework which can measure the social value of the UK’s railway.

Through the new ‘Common Social Impact Framework for Rail’ (CSIF), the safety board has developed a way to measure the societal impact of the UK rail industry.

The RSSB has worked on this research with Action Sustainability, ARUP and Simetrica, bringing together a range of monetised, quantifiable and qualitative measures.

It says that sustainability is becoming increasingly embedded within the rail industry, which makes it “important that a consistent approach for a whole rail industry” is now introduced for social value and measuring it.

Until now, the RSSB says it couldn’t clearly demonstrate the value of rail and the impact it has on society, communities and the people it serves.

The rail industry currently has numerous economic performance measures and is improving how it measures its environmental performance, but “social sustainability is lagging behind and has limited metrics.”