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The Traction Industry Electrical Safety Rules

The Orange Book

The Victorian Traction Industry Electrical Safety Rules (The Orange Book) provide the guiding electrical safety principles that support the development and review of companies’ policies and procedures relating to electrical safety.

The Victorian Railway and Tramway Electrical Safety Committee

The Victorian Railway and Tramway Electrical Safety Committee (VRTESC) is established under Section 8 of the Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005External Link . It comprises representatives from Metro Trains, Yarra Trams, the Electrical Trades Union and ESV.

The Committee’s role is to review and update the Victorian Traction Industry Electrical Safety Rules (The Orange Book) and facilitate the electrical safety of electrical distribution systems and high voltage electrical installations in the Victorian Traction Industry.

A review was undertaken in 2018 to ensure compliance with The Blue Book while also identifying specific electrical safety issues directly related to DC traction work environments.

This is achieved through the provision of recommendations to the Chief Commissioner of Energy Safety on the following:

  • the setting of minimum safety standards for work on or near high voltage and low voltage AC and DC electrical installations and the supply network
  • changes to the Orange Book arising from incidents that have implications for electrical safety in the Traction Industry, and
  • Interpretations / advice on the Electrical Safety Rules.

Ongoing changes

The Orange Book is reviewed regularly by the VRTESC and republished as required. As workers in the industry, ESV is seeking your comments and suggested improvements on the 2019 edition of The Orange Book.

How to comment

All emailed suggestions or comments should include the following information:

  • Subject line: The Orange Book 2019 suggested improvements
  • Your name or the name of the person commenting/suggesting a change
  • Your company name
  • Page number in The Orange Book
  • Clause number
  • Your comment, and/or
  • Suggested alternative text (if required)

Date: 19/03/2024 1:59

Controlled document

The currency and accuracy of this document cannot be guaranteed once printed or saved to a storage device. If in doubt, please check the ESV website for the current version.

Reviewed 28 January 2023

Provide your comments or suggested improvements

Rob Oldfield

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