Identifying the responsible person may provide the incident commander with access to a range of advice and assistance to support the development of a safe and effective tactical plan. The responsible person may vary depending on the type and context of the incident.
For rail incidents the responsible person could be a:
- Rail incident officer (RIO)
- Station incident officer (SIO)
- Network incident response manager (NIRM)
- Mobile operations manager (MOM)
- Local manager, for example for heritage railways
The responsible person for a rail incident should be able to:
- Provide information to the incident commander on rail safety matters
- Arrange for specialist rail workers, engineers, contractors and equipment to be moved to the scene
- Obtain specialist information on the infrastructure
- Arrange for the delivery of extra equipment such as rail trolleys, generators, cranes and welfare facilities
- Liaise with the incident commander to provide options for partial or complete restoration of services
- Assess the suitability of the implemented control measures
- Co-ordinate the phased reopening of rail lines