Report on the Comparison of Software Safety Concepts

Abstract

With ever new International Norms, European Standards and supranational guidelines aiming to harmonize European rail transport and striving to establish international transport operations, railway operators are more and more compelled to consider and conduct their work in an international scope.

The Deutsche Bahn AG therefore decided, to launch a project comparing the different international approaches, in connection with its development of an internal concept to increase safety and quality of software applications used on rolling stock. In the course of the project, various railway operators, manufactures and suppliers, as well as regulatory authorities or respectively governmental bodies concerned with rail traffic are contacted.

This paper presents the first findings of the investigation by giving an overview of presently implemented processes in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Switzerland with special regard to acceptance and approval from the regulator’s point of view. The thus introduced concepts are then compared to each other.