NWT 312 Infrastructure Booking Authority

Purpose

To prescribe the rules for recording and advertising changes to the Network for:

• the temporary or permanent installation or removal of infrastructure
• booking infrastructure into or out of use.

Advertising infrastructure work

Maintenance Representatives must make sure that work on infrastructure that affects the configuration of the Network is documented and advertised in a Weekly Notice.

Infrastructure must be advertised in a Weekly Notice before it is commissioned or decommissioned/permanently removed.

Compiling an Infrastructure Booking Authority

The Maintenance Representative must use NRF 003 Infrastructure Booking Authority (IBA) form to record details about:

• using uncommissioned infrastructure, or
• infrastructure equipment to be:
  • temporarily booked out of use, or
  • decommissioned/permanently removed, or
  • booked back into use, or
  • commissioned.

Maintenance Representatives must compile the IBA form before equipment is removed or commissioned.

The Maintenance Representatives must:

• send a copy of the IBA form to the appropriate Signaller, or
• jointly compile the IBA form with the Signaller.

The Maintenance Representative must give a copy of the IBA form to:

• the Possession Protection Officer for work associated with a Local Possession Authority (LPA), or
• the Protection Officer for work associated with a Track Occupancy Authority (TOA) or a Track Work Authority (TWA).

The Signaller and the Maintenance Representatives must keep the completed IBA form.

Securing infrastructure

Infrastructure that is not yet commissioned, or has been decommissioned but not yet removed, must be secured against unauthorised use.

Certifying infrastructure

Infrastructure that has been installed or removed must be certified in an IBA form:

• compiled by the relevant Maintenance Representatives
• acknowledged by the Signaller.

Booking infrastructure back into use

If infrastructure has been certified as working correctly, the relevant section of the IBA form must be signed.

The Maintenance Representative must give a copy of the IBA form to:

• the Possession Protection Officer for work associated with a Local Possession Authority (LPA), or
• the Protection Officer for work associated with a TOA or a TWA.

If parts of the infrastructure cannot be certified at the end of work, they must be booked out of use again in a new IBA form.

The new IBA form must:

• be compiled before the original IBA is signed
• include a reference to the original IBA.

The original IBA form must include a reference to the new IBA for those parts of the infrastructure that were not certified.

Using uncommissioned infrastructure

Infrastructure that is not yet commissioned (uncommissioned) may be given limited certification for specific purposes including rail traffic movements.

Before uncommissioned infrastructure is used:

• a Maintenance Representative must certify that it is fit for the specific purpose
• it must be advertised in a SAFE Notice
• A Maintenance Representative and a Qualified Worker must together unsecure and secure uncommissioned infrastructure as necessary.