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Rail operating rules

The New Zealand Rail Operating Rules and Procedures ensure the safe and efficient movement of trains and people on our railway network.
Look for Trains sign in front of moving train Look for Trains sign in front of moving train

The Shield app

The New Zealand Rail Operating Rules and Procedures ensure the safe and efficient movement of trains and people on our railway network.

Developed on international standards and best practice, they cover signalling, track usage, speed limits, communication protocols, emergency procedures and more.

The Shield app gives you instant access to the latest rail operating rules and procedures from any device at any time anywhere.

Getting started

To get started with Shield you need to register. During registration you select the role or roles that apply to you. This helps to ensure what is highlighted in the rules applies to you and that you are sent Alerts in Shield relevant to your role. If you are accessing Shield for occasional lookup and not specific to a role, do not choose a role (you will see everything but not get any role-based Alerts)

Follow the step-by-step instructions in the Shield App Quick Reference Guide below, after watching this video. 

Note: KiwiRail, Auckland One Rail and Transdev, use special links to register and login. This is also detailed in the guide.

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the following video will show you the steps to sign up register and log in to The Shield app the first step is to sign
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up if you work for kiwi rail click sign in with kiwi rail if you work for ockland one rail click sign in with
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a if you don't work for kiwi rail or Oakland one rail click sign up now then
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enter your email address and a password if you work for kiwi rail or
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ockland one rail your email address will automatically appear the next step is to click Send verification code this will
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send a code to your email address this may take up to 2 to 3 minutes to arrive if you do not receive the code
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within a few minutes check your email address and if required click Send new code to try again enter the verification
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code that was emailed to you and then click verify code once the code is verified complete
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the rest of the
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form TI as many roles that are applicable to you but only if it is necessary choose the role or roles in
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the list that are as close to your role as possible if you're unsure about what role to choose refer to the roles guide
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or talk to your manager you can add or remove rolls later if you get this wrong however getting this correct will ensure you see
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the most appropriate information and get alerts for your roles once the form is completed scroll
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to the bottom and click continue you are now all set to use Shield
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If you experience any issues or errors or if you get stuck throughout the process reach out to the shield support
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team

Explaining the framework

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kia ora and welcome to this brief video that will introduce the different parts of the new rail operating rules framework this framework is part of the
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rules transformation project and will be introduced alongside the new Shield app with these changes coming through it's a
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great time to keep in mind the big picture which is to keep our people safe as you'll see the rules are based on the
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principles and the principles reflect real day-to-day object ating risks the whole framework is intimately concerned
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with safety to ensure that the whole kiwi rail F now can return home safe every single
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day the rail operating rules framework is made of different types of rules documents and procedures that span all
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of the rail operations it's made up of several parts which will go through one by one the nine fundamental operating
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principles are the found found ation of the rail operating rules framework each has been designed to address a key risk
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associated with rail operations the rules are then designed to manage the risks associated with each
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principle this ensures that by following the rules everyone can remain safe some
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examples include vehicle Integrity separation of people and plant and electrification Hazards if it like more
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information on each principle there are short individual e- learns available for each principal in
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kle while the principles identify the big picture risks that the framework is intended to address the details of how
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this is done is controlled through the rail operating rules and other relevant documents the rules cover day-to-day
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rail operational matters and are split into four modules these are general rules
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train operations signaling operations and track safety and each have their own units addressing different
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subtopics each rule will start by mentioning which principles it is related to if the rules cover General
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operational matters the rail operating procedures include instructions about these matters but outlined in a rule
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specific and instructional manner the ra ra operating manuals support the rail operating rules and
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procedures by providing specific information on systems operating conditions local level codes and task
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instructions the three main manuals cover Network signals points systems and Radio
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Systems there are several other sets of documents that also form part of the rail operating framework including local
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network instructions the rail operating code task instructions and the freight handling
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code the framework also includes the rail operating forms these forms are used to apply for or seek authorization
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to undertake specific activities in the rail Corridor such as for blocking the line for maintenance applying for safe
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working Authority and some types of incident reporting there is also a glossery which defines terms used
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throughout the framework documents for user reference and Clarity thanks for watching if you have
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any questions about rules transformation feel free to reach out to a change agent or the rules transformation project team
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for more information

Guides for Shield

To use Shield and access rules content, you must first register. It is then important that you understand the rules framework as this will help you to find the content you are looking for. Find the guides here:

Team Leaders can use this Spreadsheet to analyse the team CSV: Shield team data master sheet (101 KB, XLSX)
download
Guide for explanation of roles (350 KB, PDF)
download
Shield App Quick Reference Guide - For all general users (2.4 MB, PDF)
download
Quick Reference Guide - Private Sidings - For Operators of Private Sidings (2.2 MB, PDF)
download
Shield App Guide – Teams – Manager TL. - For Managers and Team Leaders using 'Teams' functionality. (1.4 MB, PDF)
download
info

Need help?

For Mobile App on iOS or Android, please review this Self Help Guide (338 KB, Pdf) . For additional help and support, please follow this Shield Support process. (111 KB, Pdf)

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