The Concept of Operations Assurance and Its Application in Metro Railway

MTR Corporation has established through extensive experience in railway operation an Operations Assurance process to assure the operational safety and service performance of railway network in Hong Kong and for new lines operation outside Hong Kong. This paper provides an overview on the Operation Assurance System which focus on safety assurance of the railway operation, safety critical system software assurance, system reliability, system assurance and new business safety assurance. The Operations Assurance process, which aligns with a risk based Asset Management System of the Corporation, requires appropriate assurance activities to be conducted at different stages of asset life cycle with foci putting on 1) management of changes arising from asset introduction / modification, asset life assurance and their associated operational interfaces, 2) monitoring of asset condition and performance in the whole life cycle, and 3) mitigate the potential hazards due to aging and compatibility of the assets. With the solid platform of the Operations Assurance process and spirit of continuous improvement, MTR Corporation has been achieving a high level of standard in operational safety and service performance that is recognised as world class.