2.1 The Sentinel Scheme, Card System & Sponsorship

Overview of the Sentinel Scheme

Sentinel is Network Rail's scheme for making sure that the people who work on or near the line are competent and medically fit. The current rules are the Sentinel Scheme Rules, version 5.1 (July 2025), held by Network Rail's Technical Authority. They are mandatory for sponsors and for every individual with a current Sentinel profile who works on the "managed infrastructures" listed in the rules, which include Network Rail, London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, the Elizabeth line and Transport for Wales.

The rules deliberately do not cover how track safety training is delivered (that sits in competence standards such as NR/L2/CTM/021) or how medical and drugs and alcohol providers work (those follow each infrastructure manager's own policies). What the rules do cover is your relationship with your sponsors, your card, and what happens if the rules are broken. They also remind every individual of their personal duty under section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take reasonable care of themselves and others.

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Your Sentinel Card

Your card may be a physical card or a virtual card in the Sentinel app; the rules treat both as valid. The card carries your photo, name and Sentinel number, and your online account shows your competences and their expiry dates. After you gain a new qualification your online account updates automatically.

According to the PTS handbook (RT3170), your card is only valid if:

• you have an in-date PTS, a valid medical and a valid drugs and alcohol screening, and
• you have a Primary Sponsor and are working for them (or for an approved Sub-Sponsor).

Other card rules:

• No card, no work: you must always carry your physical or virtual card when on managed infrastructure and present it for checking on request. Sentinel Scheme Rules 3.4.3 and 3.4.4 also require you to provide your card for swipe-in before you undertake work.
• Swipe-in is defined in the rules as the COSS or person in charge checking your Sentinel record and its validity before allowing you access.
• Your photo must accurately show how you look. If your appearance changes, for example you start wearing glasses, provide a new photo; in any case it must be updated after ten years.
• Lost or stolen card: tell your Primary Sponsor immediately so it can be cancelled and replaced.
• Misuse: never try to use your card as a credit card or travel pass. Misuse can lead to the card being withdrawn.

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Primary Sponsors and Sub-Sponsors

The Primary Sponsor must give you, at no cost to you: a valid Sentinel card, an induction briefing on your responsibilities under the rules, PPE marked to show who you are working for, timely briefings on changes to standards and the Rule Book, and the training, assessment and recertification you need for the competences it uses. Training for competences recorded on Sentinel and used by the Primary Sponsor is paid for by the Primary Sponsor.

Before sponsoring you, a Primary Sponsor must carry out pre-sponsorship checks: that you are legally eligible to work in the UK, that you have a good understanding of verbal and written English (enough to understand instructions, challenge when appropriate and make an emergency phone call in English), that you are not suspended on Sentinel, and that any required drugs and alcohol screening has been completed. Under rule 3.1.1, a new pre-sponsorship screening is not needed if your record shows a screening in the last three months.

If you ask to be de-sponsored, your Primary Sponsor must act within five working days, unless you are under investigation for an alleged breach of the rules.

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Your Responsibilities as a Sponsored Individual

Sentinel Scheme Rules 3.4.7 and 3.4.8 say that you must:

• know the identity of your Primary Sponsor and which Sub-Sponsor you are working for, and give the sponsor's name when booking into site while wearing the correct identifiable PPE;
• not report for duty if you have worked within the preceding 12 hours (sometimes called double-shifting), unless your Primary Sponsor has approved a risk assessment and put suitable controls in place;
• not exceed the maximum working hours set by law, the infrastructure manager or your sponsor, whichever is shortest;
• be fit for work, not fatigued by excessive travel or work, and not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and report anything that may affect your ability to work safely, including medication;
• not undertake any task you are not competent for or do not have the right equipment or information to do safely;
• act safely at all times and report any incident, close call or breach of the rules, and support investigations openly and honestly.

The PTS handbook adds: tell your sponsor all your working hours, report fatigue issues to your Primary Sponsor, and never work excessive hours or back-to-back shifts.

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Symbols on a Sentinel Record

The PTS handbook lists three common symbols on individual Sentinel accounts:

A newly qualified PTS holder also wears a blue safety helmet until they and their sponsor agree they are sufficiently experienced (see section 2.3). The competence standard NR/L2/CTM/021 sets the mentoring period and the practice needed before recertification; these are summarised in the introduction to this guide.

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Track Visitor Permits

A Track Visitor Permit (TVP) lets a person who does not hold PTS visit the operational railway under close control. TVPs are issued under Network Rail standard NR/L2/OHS/020 and are meant for occasional visits, not routine track work; anyone who goes on track regularly should hold PTS.

• The visitor completes a self-certified medical declaration and must not go on or near the line after taking illegal drugs, medication that could affect safety, or alcohol.
• Sentinel's TVP safety guidance tells visitors to stay with the COSS at all times, do what the COSS tells them and wear the required PPE (TVP holders wear blue helmets).
• A TVP holder may walk in a group, and may only do specialist or minor work under a protection safe system of work (a line blockage, or a separated system with site wardens giving close supervision).
• Rule Book Handbook 7 requires the COSS to brief the visitor on the safe system of work, sign and keep the visitor permit, and stay with the person until they leave the operational railway.

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Breaches, Take Down and Investigations

The rules list conduct that will be investigated as a breach, including falsifying safe-working records, theft of railway materials, presenting a false or copied card or identity, cheating in a Sentinel assessment, breaking health and safety law or infrastructure manager rules (including the Lifesaving Rules), negligence, violence at work and deliberate damage.

• A breach is reported to Sentinel Investigations and the Primary Sponsor.
• The Primary Sponsor may apply a temporary Take Down of a specific competence while the investigation runs, with a review date no more than three months away.
• The investigation is carried out by a competent person independent of the incident, following a Fair Culture process.
• A Formal Review Panel decides any scheme outcome; the Primary Sponsor is told the outcome within 30 days.
• You may appeal within 30 days of the outcome letter if you have substantive new information or mitigating circumstances; appeals are completed within 60 days, and you may be accompanied by one person.

Drugs and alcohol breaches are treated very seriously. Network Rail reports that in 2024–25 there were 220 Sentinel suspensions across the industry for breaches of its drugs and alcohol standard, each resulting in a five-year ban from safety-critical duties.