Impact of 4th Railway Package on - club.clubferoviar.ro file2. About Club Feroviar 3. The reforming...

Ștefan Roșeanu, Club Feroviar

Impact of 4th Railway Package on business environment

May 10, 2013, Bucharest

Content:

1. About AIF - Romanian Railway Industry Association2. About Club Feroviar3. The reforming process of Romanian Railways4. The reforming process of EU Railways5. Co-decision process on 4th Railway Package6. 4th Railway Package

6.1. Market liberalisation6.2. Safety and interoperability6.3. Main topics within the 4th Railway Package

7. 4th Railway Package - excerpts

Club FeroviarMay 10, 2013, Bucharest

1. About AIF - Romanian Railway Industry Association


The Romanian Railway Industry Association is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation whose goal is to increase the popularity of railway transport in Romania and to promote the railways as main means of transport for goods and passengers.

The Association's objectives is intensifying the dialogue between the representatives of the railway industry and the beneficiaries of the industry products by identifying the best technical and financial solutions for the railway products in Romania and abroad.

2. About Club Feroviar

Railway and multimodal transport business consultancy services

Railway Business Club

networking

business-matchmaking

Institutional & governmental Lobby

cross-media communication


2. About Club Feroviar

Objective:The development of strong, competitive, integrated

regional and Eurasian RAILWAY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT


Founding member of:Romanian Railway Industry Association

Member of:Rail Forum Europe

3. The reforming process of Romanian Railways

Privatisation of some production units

Reorganisation of the economy

Vertical separation;AFER (Romanian Railway Authority)

First private rail freight entered the market

First railway passengeroperator entered the market

Romania joins EU

Privatisation of CFR Marfa?

IMF agreement – structural reforms involved

Rail Regulatory Office (inside MoT); in 2011 becomes independent under the Competition Council Club Feroviar

May 10, 2013, Bucharest

4. The reforming process of EU Railways

Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways


Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railways undertakings

White Paper: "A strategy for revitalising the Community's railways"

1st Railway PackageDirective 2001/12/EC Directive 2001/13/EC Directive 2001/14/EC

White paper: ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’

2nd Railway PackageDirective 2004/49/EC Directive 2004/50/EC Directive 2004/51/EC Regulation (EC) No 881/2004

3rd Railway PackageDirective 2007/58/EC Directive 2007/59/EC Regulation 1370/2007Regulation 1371/2007Regulation 1372/2007

Directive 2008/57/EC on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community (Recast)

White Paper:Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system

Recast 1st PackageDirective 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area (recast)

4th Railway Package. Proposals

5. Co-decision process on 4th Railway Package

4th Railway Package Legislative proposal published


Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading

Vote scheduled in committee, 1st reading/single reading

Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading

If Council rejects proposed amendments by EP:EP 2nd reading,Council 2nd readingConciliation


6. 4th Railway Package

6.1. Market liberalisation

1. Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILrepealing Regulation (EEC) No 1192/69 of the Council on common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings. - COM(2013) 26 Final

2. Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area, as regards the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure - COM(2013) 29 Final

3. Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail - COM(2013) 28 Final



6.2. Safety and interoperability

4. Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCILon the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 - COM(2013) 27 Final

5. Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on railway safety (Recast) - COM(2013) 31 Final

6. Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (Recast) - COM(2013) 30 Final



6.3. Main topics within the 4th Railway Package

1. Infrastructure Governance

2. Domestic Rail Passenger Market Liberalisation

3. Public Service Obligations & Contracts

4. Interoperability & Safety

5. European Union Railway Agency (ERA)

6. National Safety Authorities (NSAs)

7. National Investigation Bodies (NIBs)

8. Notified Bodies (NoBos)


7. 4th Railway Package - excerpts (1)

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1192/69 of the Council on common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings



1. During 2008 - 2012 only 4 European Member States have used Reg 1192/69 in order to compesate losses of IMs or RUs (Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Poland)

2. Payments would be covered by Article 8 of Directive 2012/34/EU

3. The minimum financial impact on railway industry justifies the repeal of Reg 1192/69

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1192/69 of the Council on common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings



Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area, as regards the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure


7. 4th Railway Package - excerpts (2)Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area, as regards the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure

EFFICIENT M ANAGEM ENT CHALLENGE

EQUAL ACCESS CHALLENGE

IMs are not sufficiently

market oriented

Insufficient cross-border

cooperation of IMs

Access barriers to infrastructure

inefficiencies in infrastructure management

Existing separation rules

are partly ineffective

Root causes Drivers

Functions not covered by

separation rules also result in discrimination

SpecificOperational objectives

SO1: Improve the IM abil ity to manage

efficiently the infrastructure

OO1: Ensure better coordination/alignment betw een the IMs and

rail operators

SO2: Eliminate IM confl ict of interest and distortions of

competi tion

OO3: Ensure that the cross-border and pan-European dimension of

rail infrastructure is adequately addressed

OO5: Apply appropriate safeguard measure(s) preventing conflicts of interest and

distortions of competition to all the

"essential functions" of IMs

OO4: Extend the scope of "essential functions" to all IM activities w hich are potential sources of conflict of interest and

distortion of competition

Suboptimal structure of IM

portfolios

OO2: Ensure coherence in the

management of the dif ferent IM functions

Fig. 1 - Mapping between Problems drivers, root causes and objectivesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/13 final



Fig. 2 - Combined outcome range impacts of market opening and infrastructure governance policiesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/13 final



Fig. 3 - Combined core financial estimates of impacts of market opening and infrastructure governance policiesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/13 final



New definitions:

1. ‘infrastructure manager’ means any body or firm ensuring the development, operation and maintenance of railway infrastructure on a network; development includes network planning, financial and investment planning as well as building and upgrades of the infrastructure; operation of the infrastructure includes all elements of the process of train path allocation, including both the definition and the assessment of availability and the allocation of individual paths, traffic management and infrastructure charging, including determination and collection of the charges; maintenance includes infrastructure renewals and the other asset management activities’;

2. '(31) 'vertically integrated undertaking' means an undertaking where:- one or several railway undertakings are owned or partly owned by the same undertaking as an infrastructure manager (holding company), or - an infrastructure manager is owned or partly owned by one or several railway undertakings or- one or several railway undertakings are owned or partly owned by an infrastructure manager';




Article 7Institutional separation of the infrastructure manager1. Member States shall ensure that the infrastructure manager performs all the functions referred to in Article 3(2) and is independent from any railway undertaking.To guarantee the independence of the infrastructure manager, Member States shall ensure that infrastructure managers are organised in an entity that is legally distinct from any railway undertaking. (...)

For the implementation of this Article, where the person referred to in paragraph 2 is a Member State or another public body, two public authorities which are separate and legally distinct from each other and which are exercising control or other rights mentioned in paragraph 2 over theinfrastructure manager, on the one hand, and the railway undertaking, on the other hand, shall be deemed not to be the same person or persons.4. Provided that no conflict of interest arises and that confidentiality of commercially sensitive information is guaranteed, the infrastructure manager may subcontract specific development, renewal and maintenance works, over which it shall keep the decision-making power, to railway undertakings or to any other body acting under the supervision of the infrastructure manager.(...)




Article 7b: (...)For a period of three years after leaving the infrastructure manager, members of the Supervisory Board or management board and senior staff members of the infrastructure manager shall not be entitled to hold any senior position with any other legal entities within the vertically integrated undertaking. For a period of three years after leaving those other legal entities within the vertically integrated undertaking, their supervisory or management boards' members and senior staff members shall not be entitled to hold any senior position with the infrastructure manager. (...)

Article 7dCoordination Committee1. Member States shall ensure that infrastructure managers set up and organise Coordination Committees for each network. Membership of this committee shall be open at least to the infrastructure manager, known applicants in the sense of Article 8(3) and, upon their request, potential applicants, their representative organisations, representatives of users of the rail freight and passenger transport services and, where relevant, regional and local authorities. Member State representatives and the regulatory body concerned shall be invited to the meetings of the Coordination Committee as observers. (...)




Member States shall adopt and publish, by [18 months after entry into force] at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions immediately.




Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail


7. 4th Railway Package - excerpts (3)Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail

Nu există criterii pentru definirea

OSP

Atribuirea CSP fără proceduri

competitive

Absența concurenței pentru CSP

Acces restricționat la

serviciile feroviare naționale

Norme diferite privind accesul pe

piață în SM

Lipsa presiunii concurențiale

Distorsiuni ale pieței

Cauze profunde Sursele problemelor Obiective specifice

Discriminări privind accesul la sistemele de bilete

Acces limitat la materialul rulant

Obiective operaționale

SO1: Intensificarea presiunii concurențiale pe

piețele feroviare naționale

SO2: Crearea unor condiții de activitate mai

uniforme

OO4: Stabilirea unei abordari comune privind

CSP/ OSP

OO6: Facilitarea condițiilor egale de acces la materialul rulant

OO5: Facilitarea condițiilor egale de acces la sistemul de emitere a

biletelor

Monopoluri legale

Cerință privind stabilirea la locul

activității

OO1: Facilitarea accesului transfrontalier

OO2: Abolirea monopolurilor legale

OO3: Piața CSP deschisă pentru concurență

Fig. 4 - Mapping drivers, root causes and objectivesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/11 final



Fig. 5 - Rail market structure of EU Member States (% p-km)Source: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/10 part 1



Fig. 5 - Clusters of Member StatesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/10 part 1



1. a) Point (c) of Article 2 is replaced by the following:"(c) "competent local authority" means any competent authority whose geographical area of competence is not national and which covers the transport needs of an urban agglomeration or a rural district;"b) Point (e) of Article 2 is complemented by the following:"The scope of public service obligations shall exclude all public transport services that go beyond of what is necessary to reap local, regional or sub-national network effects.




2. The following Article 2a is inserted:"Article 2a Public transport plans and public service obligations1. Competent authorities shall establish and regularly update public passenger transport plans covering all relevant transport modes for the territory for which they are responsible. These public transport plans shall define the objectives of public transport policy and the means to implement them covering all relevant transport modes for the territory for which they are responsible. They shall at least include:a) the structure of the network or routes;b) basic requirements to be fulfilled by public transport offer such as accessibility, territorial connectivity, security, modal and intermodal interconnections at main connecting hubs, offer characteristics such as times of operation, frequency of services and minimum degree of capacity utilisation; c) quality standards related to items such as equipment features of stops and of rolling stock, punctuality and reliability, cleanliness, customer service and information, complaint handling and redress, monitoring of service quality;d) principles of tariff policy;e) operational requirements such as transport of bicycles, traffic management, contingency plan in case of disturbances.




In establishing public transport plans, competent authorities shall have regard in particular to applicable rules regarding passenger rights, social, employment and environmental protection.The competent authorities shall adopt the public transport plans after consultation of relevant stakeholders and publish them. For the purpose of this Regulation, relevant stakeholders to be taken into consideration are at least transport operators, infrastructure managers if appropriate, and representative passenger and employee organisations.2. The establishment of public service obligations and the award of public service contracts shall be consistent with the applicable public transport plans. 3. The specifications of public service obligations for public passenger transport and the scope of their application shall be established as follows:a) they shall be defined in accordance with Article 2 (e);b) they shall be appropriate to achieve the objectives of the public transport plan; c) they shall not exceed what is necessary and proportionate to achieve the objectives of the public transport plan.The assessment of appropriateness referred to in point (b) shall take into account whether a public intervention in the provision of passenger transport is a suitable means of achieving the objectives of the public transport plans.




For public passenger transport by rail the assessment of necessity and proportionality referred to in point (c) shall take into account the transport services provided under Article 10(2) of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (recast) and consider all information given to the infrastructure managers and regulatory bodies pursuant to the first sentence of Article 38(4) of that Directive.4. The specifications of public service obligations and the related compensation of the net financial effect of public service obligations shall:achieve the objectives of the public transport plan in the most cost-effective manner;financially sustain the provision of public passenger transport in accordance to the requirements laid down in the public transport plan in the long term.5. When preparing the specifications, the competent authority shall set out the draft specifications of public service obligations and their scope, the basic steps of the assessment of their compliance with the requirements laid down in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, and the results of the assessment. The competent authority shall in an appropriate manner consult relevant stakeholders such as a minimum, transport operators, infrastructure managers if appropriate and representative passenger and employee organisations on these specifications and take their positions into consideration.




6. For public passenger transport by rail: compliance of the assessment and of the procedure set out in this Article shall be ensured by the regulatory body referred to in Art 55 of Directive 2012/34/EU including on its own initiative. the maximum annual volume of a public service contract in terms of train-km shall be the higher value of either 10 million train-km or one third of the total national public rail passenger transport volume under public service contract."3. Article 4 is amended as follows:In paragraph 1, point (a) is replaced by the following:"(a) clearly define the public service obligations laid down in Article 2(e) and Article 2a with which the public service operator is to comply, and the geographical areas concerned;"The last sentence of paragraph 1, point (b) is replaced by the following:"In the case of public service contracts not awarded according to Article 5(3), these parameters shall be determined in such a way that no compensation payment may exceed the amount required to cover the net financial effect on costs incurred and revenues generated in discharging the public service obligations, taking account of revenue relating thereto kept by the public service operator and a reasonable profit;"




Paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:"Where competent authorities, in accordance with national law, require public service operators to comply with certain quality and social standards or establish social and qualitative criteria, these standards and criteria shall be included in the tender documents and in the public service contracts."The following paragraph 8 is added:"8. Competent authorities shall make available to all interested parties relevant information for the preparation of an offer under a competitive tender procedure. This shall include information on passenger demand, fares, costs and revenues related to the public passenger transport covered by the tender and details of the infrastructure specifications relevant for the operation of the required vehicles or rolling stock to enable them to draft well informed business plans. Rail infrastructure managers shall support competent authorities in providing all relevant infrastructure specifications. Non-compliance with the provisions set out above shall be subject to the legal review provided for in Article 5(7)."




4. Article 5 is amended as follows:Paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:"4. Unless prohibited by national law, the competent authorities may decide to award public service contracts directly: where their average annual value is estimated at: less than EUR 1 000 000 or less than EUR 5 000 000 in the case of a public service contract including public transport by rail or,where they concern the annual provision of less than 300 000 kilometres of public passenger transport services or less than 150 000 kilometres in the case of a public service contract including public transport by rail.In the case of a public service contract directly awarded to a small or medium-sized enterprise operating not more than 23 road vehicles, these thresholds may be increased to either an average annual value estimated at less than EUR 2 000 000 or to an annual provision of less than 600 000 kilometres of public passenger transport services."Paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:"Competent authorities may decide that, in order to increase competition between railway undertakings, contracts for public passenger transport by rail covering parts of the same network or package of routes shall be awarded to different railway undertakings. To this end the competent authorities may decide before launching the tender procedure to limit the number of contracts to be awarded to the same railway undertaking."




5. The following Article 5a is inserted:"Article 5aRolling stock 1. Member States shall in compliance with State aid rules take the necessary measures to ensure effective and non-discriminatory access to suitable rolling stock for public passenger transport by rail for operators wishing to provide public passenger transport services by rail under public service contract.2. Where rolling stock leasing companies which provide for the leasing of rolling stock referred to in paragraph 1 under non-discriminatory and commercially viable conditions to all of the public rail passenger transport operators concerned do not exist in the relevant market, Member States shall ensure that the residual value risk of the rolling stock is borne by the competent authority in compliance with State aid rules, when operators intending and able to participate in tendering procedures for public service contracts so request in order to be able to participate in tendering procedures.




The competent authority may comply with the requirement set out in the first subparagraph in one of the following ways: by acquiring itself the rolling stock used for the execution of the public service contract with a view to making it available to the selected public service operator at market price or as part of the public service contract pursuant to Article 4(1)(b), Article 6 and, if applicable, to the Annex, by providing a guarantee for the financing of the rolling stock used for the execution of the public service contract at market price or as part of the public service contract pursuant to Article 4(1)(b), Article 6 and, if applicable, to the Annex. Such a guarantee may cover the residual value risk while respecting the relevant state aid rules when applicable,by committing in the public service contract to take over of the rolling stock at the end of the contract at market price.In the cases referred to in points (b) and (c), the competent authority shall have the right to require the public service operator to transfer the rolling stock after the expiry of the public service contract to the new operator to whom a contract is awarded. The competent authority may oblige the new public transport operator to take the rolling stock over. The transfer shall be done at market rates.




3. If the rolling stock is transferred to a new public transport operator the competent authority shall make available in the tender documents detailed information about the cost of maintenance of the rolling stock and about its physical condition. 4. By [18 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation] the Commission shall adopt measures setting out the details of the procedure to be followed for the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 9a(2)."6. In Article 6 paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:"1. All compensation connected with a general rule or a public service contract shall comply with Article 4, irrespective of how the contract was awarded. All compensation of whatever nature connected with a public service contract not awarded according to Article 5(3) or connected with a general rule shall also comply with the provisions laid down in the Annex. "




7. Article 7 is amended as follows:Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:"1. Each competent authority shall make public once a year an aggregated report on the public service obligations for which it is responsible, the starting date and duration of the public service contracts, the selected public service operators and the compensation payments and exclusive rights granted to the said public service operators by way of reimbursement. The report shall distinguish between bus transport and rail transport, allow the performance, quality and financing of the public transport network to be monitored and assessed and, if appropriate, provide information on the nature and extent of any exclusive rights granted. Member States shall facilitate central access to these reports, for instance through a common web portal."In paragraph 2, the following point is added:"(d) the envisaged starting date and duration of the public service contract."




8. Article 8 is amended as follows:The first subparagraph of paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:"2. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the award of public service contracts by rail with the exception of other track-based modes such as metro or tramways shall comply with Article 5(3) as from 3 December 2019. All public service contracts by other track-based modes and by road must have been awarded in compliance with Article 5(3) by 3 December 2019 at the latest. During the transitional period running until 3 December 2019, Member States shall take measures to gradually comply with Article 5(3) in order to avoid serious structural problems in particular relating to transport capacity."The following paragraph 2a is inserted:"2a. Public service contracts for public passenger transport by rail directly awarded between 1 January 2013 and 2 December 2019 may continue until their expiry date. However they shall, in any event, not continue after 31 December 2022." In paragraph 3, the last sentence of the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:"The contracts referred to in (d) may continue until they expire, provided they are of limited duration similar to the durations specified in Article 4."




9. "The following Article 9a is inserted:Article 9aCommittee procedure1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Single European Railway Area Committee established by Article 62 of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (recast). That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply."




Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004


Fig. 6 - Problems and driversSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

Inefficient functioning of national institutions

Longand costly procedures

Access barriers

Patchwork of national legislative regimes

Discrimination of new entrants

7. 4th Railway Package - excerpts (4)Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) No 881/2004


Fig. 7 - Stakeholder views on different problem elementsSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

-100% -80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Some Regulatory Bodies lack sufficient financial or human resources toeffectively perform their tasks

There is a lack of sufficient financial or human resources in the case ofsome NSAs to effectively perform their tasks

Proper implementation of EU railway directives is being hindered by toodivergent interpretation of the directives

Some NSAs are reluctant to accept safety certificates or authorisations forthe placing in service of railway vehicles and subsystems granted by other

NSAs

There is an insufficient level of dissemination of railway-relatedinformation and training within the EU and between EU member states

The granting of safety certificates to rail operators by the NSAs and theauthorisation of placing into service of rail systems and vehicles is too slow

The level of monitoring and control of implementation of theinteroperability and safety legislation by Member States is not sufficient

Some Notified Bodies lack sufficient financial or human resources toeffectively perform their tasks

There is insufficient independence of the Regulatory Bodies frominfrastructure managers, incumbent rail undertakings and/or the ministry

National technical and safety rules sometimes pose transparency and/ordiscrimination problems for new entrants

There is insufficient independence of the NSAs from infrastructuremanagers, incumbent rail undertakings and/or the ministry

There is insufficient independence of the Notified Bodies frominfrastructure managers, incumbent rail undertakings, the ministry or other

actors

< AGREE - percentage of those expressing a view - DISAGREE >



Fig. 9 - Links between the problems and objectivesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

Inefficient functioning of

national institutions Longand costly

procedures

Access barriers

Drivers Problems

Increase efficiency ofsafety certification

and vehicle authorisation

process

Increase the coherence of the

national legal frameworks

Non-discrimination in grantin and

recognition of safety certificates and interoperability authorisations

Reduce administrative costs of railway undertakings

Facilitate entrance of

new operators into market

Operational objectives

Specific objectives

Patchwork of national legislative

regimes

Discrimination of new entrants



Fig. 10 - Average reduction in authorisation timescales by combined options Source: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Months/Type

Baseline

Greater coordination role for the Agency

ERA as a one-stop-shop

ERA and NSAs share competences

ERA takes over activities of NSAs regardingauthorisation and certification

Mon

th/T

y pe



Fig. 11 - Total opportunity cost savings 2015-2025 of options 2-5 in combination with option 6 (€m, central case, real, undiscounted)Source: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

€m

Greater coordination rolefor the Agency

ERA as a one-stop-shop

ERA and NSAs sharecompetences

ERA takes over activities ofNSAs regardingauthorisation andcertification



Fig. 12 - National technical rules schematicSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

National Technical Rules

Maintenance Rules

Design Rules

Vehicle design rules for

conformity with non-TSI compliant

infrastructure

Network design rules for

conformity with non-TSI compliant

vehicles

All other Vehicle design rules

All other Network design rules

Rules relevant to vehicle authorisation

Key

Operating Rules



Fig. 13 - Process for removing national technical rulesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

Stage 1: Identify subjects and technical parameters

for which national rules are required

Removal of open points

Timeline2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2025

Parallel activities impacting NRs

Extension of scope

National technical rules removal strategy

Stage 2: Member

States ‘clean up’ national

rules by removal and re-drafting to ensure rules only cover

scope identified in

Stage 1

Stage 3: Rules notified and published in NOTIF-IT

Stage 5: Only rules for subjects and technical parameters identified in Stage 1 remain and

only for non-TSI conforming vehicles and routes – objective reached

Cross Acceptance

work

Stage 4: Agency/ Commission evaluate remaining rules and validate

Non-TSI conforming

vehicles and

networks replaced

Agency produces technical

opinions as requested on dubious

national rules



Fig. 14 - Process for removing national safety rulesSource: EC Impact Assessment 4thRP_SWD2013/8 final

Stage 2: Identify

subjects and

technical parameters

for which national

rules are required

Timeline

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2025

National safety rules removal strategy

Stage 3: Member

States ‘clean up’

national rules by

removal and re -

drafting to ensure

rules only cover

scope identified in

Stage 1

Stage 1: Rules

notified and

published in NOTIF IT

Stage 5: Only rules for subjects and technical parameters identified in Stage 1 remain - objective

reached

Stage 4: Agency/

Commission evaluate

remaining rules and

validate

Agency

produces

technical

opinions as

requested

on dubious

national

rules




Article 1Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation establishes a European Union Agency for Railways (the “Agency”).2. This Regulation provides for:the establishment and tasks of the Agency;the tasks of the Member States.3. This Regulation shall apply to:interoperability within the Union rail system provided for in Directive ../../.EU [Interoperability Directive];safety of the rail system within the Union provided for in Directive ../../.EU [Railway safety Directive];certification of train drivers provided for in Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the certification of train drivers operating locomotives and trains on the railway system in the Community [Train Drivers Directive].




Article 2Legal status

1. The Agency shall be a body of the Union with legal personality.2. In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their laws. It may in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings.3. The Agency shall be represented by its Director.




Article 3Types of acts of the Agency

The Agency may:(a) address recommendations to the Commission concerning the application of Articles 11, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, 26, 30, 32, 31, 33 and 41;(b) address recommendations to Member States concerning the application of Articles 21, 22 and 30; (c) issue opinions to the Commission pursuant to Articles 9, 21, 22 and 38, and to the authorities concerned in the Member States pursuant to Article 9;(d) issue decisions pursuant to Article 12, 16, 17, 18;(e) issue opinions constituting acceptable means of compliance pursuant to Article 15; (f) issue technical documents pursuant to Article 15;(g) issue audit reports pursuant to Articles 29 and 30;(h) issue guidelines and other non-binding documents facilitating application of railway interoperability and safety legislation pursuant to Articles 11, 15 and 24.




CHAPTER 2WORKING METHODSArticle 4Creation and composition of the working parties

1. The Agency shall set up a limited number of working parties for drawing up recommendations, in particular related to technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), common safety targets (CSTs) and common safety methods (CSMs). The Agency may set up working parties in other duly justified cases at the request of the Commission or on its own initiative, after having consulted the Commission. 2. The Agency shall appoint experts to the working parties.The Agency shall appoint to the working parties representatives nominated by the competent national authorities for the working parties in which they wish to participate.The Agency shall appoint to the working parties professionals from the railway sector from the list referred to in paragraph 3. It shall ensure adequate representation of those sectors of the industry and of those users which could be affected by measures the Commission may propose on the basis of the recommendations addressed to it by the Agency.The Agency may, if necessary, appoint to the working parties independent experts and representatives of international organisations recognised as competent in the field concerned. Staff of the Agency may not be appointed to the working parties.




Article 4Creation and composition of the working parties

3. Each representative body referred to in Article 34 shall forward to the Agency a list of the most qualified experts mandated to represent them in each working party. 4. Whenever the work of such working parties has a direct impact on the working conditions, health and safety of workers in the industry, representatives from the workers’ organisations shall participate in the relevant working parties as full members.5. Travel and subsistence expenses of the members of the working parties, based on rules and scales adopted by the Management Board, shall be met by the Agency. 6. The working parties shall be chaired by a representative of the Agency.7. The work of the working parties shall be transparent. The Management Board shall lay down rules of procedure of the working parties.




Article 5Consultation of the social partners

Whenever the work provided for in Articles 11, 12, 15, and 32 has a direct impact on the social environment or working conditions of workers in the industry, the Agency shall consult the social partners within the framework of the sectoral dialogue committee set up pursuant to Decision 98/500/EC.These consultations shall be held before the Agency submits its recommendations to the Commission. The Agency shall take due account of these consultations, and shall, at all times, be available to expound on its recommendations. The opinions expressed by the sectoral dialogue committee shall be forwarded by the Agency to the Commission and by the Commission to the committee referred to in Article 75.




Article 6Consultation of rail freight customers and passengers

Whenever the work provided for in Articles 11 and 15 has a direct impact on rail freight customers and passengers, the Agency shall consult the organisations representing them. The list of organisations to be consulted shall be drawn up by the Commission with the assistance of the committee referred to in Article 75.These consultations shall be held before the Agency submits its proposals to the Commission. The Agency shall take due account of these consultations, and shall, at all times, be available to expound on its proposals. The opinions expressed by the organisations concerned shall be forwarded by the Agency to the Commission and by the Commission to the committee referred to in Article 75.




Article 7Impact assessment

1. The Agency shall conduct an impact assessment of its recommendations and opinions. The Management Board shall adopt impact assessment methodology based on the methodology of the Commission. The Agency shall liaise with the Commission to ensure that relevant work at the Commission is duly taken into account.2. Before launching an activity included in the work programme, the Agency shall conduct an early impact assessment in relation to it which shall state:the issue to be solved and likely solutions;the extent to which a specific action, including issuing a recommendation or an opinion of the Agency, would be required;the expected Agency contribution to the solution of the problem.Moreover, each activity and project in the work programme shall be subject to an efficiency analysis individually and in conjunction with each other, to make best use of the budget and resources of the Agency. 3. The Agency may conduct an ex post assessment of the legislation resulting from its recommendations. 4. Member States shall provide the Agency with the data necessary for the impact assessment.




Article 8Studies

Where required for the implementation of its tasks, the Agency shall order studies and finance them from its budget.Article 9Opinions

1. The Agency shall issue opinions at request of the national regulatory bodies referred to in Article 55 of Directive 2012/34/EU [Directive establishing a Single European Rail Area (recast)] concerning safety-related and interoperability-related aspects of matters drawn to their attention.2. The Agency shall issue opinions at request of the Commission on amendments to any act adopted on the basis of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] or … [Railway Safety Directives], especially where any alleged deficiency is signalled.3. With regard to opinions referred to in previous paragraphs and in other articles of this Regulation, the Agency shall give its opinions within two months, unless otherwise agreed. The opinions shall be made public by the Agency within two months in a version from which all commercially confidential material has been removed.




Article 10Visits to Member States

1. The Agency may carry out visits to the Member States in order to perform its tasks, in particular those referred to in Articles 12, 21, 22, 16, 17, 27, 29, 30, 31 and 38, in accordance with the policy defined by the Management Board. 2. The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned of the planned visit, the names of the delegated Agency officials, and the date on which the visit is to start. The Agency officials delegated to carry out such visits shall do so on presentation of a decision by the Executive Director specifying the purpose and the aims of their visit.3. The national authorities of the Member States shall facilitate the work of the Agency’s staff.4. The Agency shall draw up a report on each visit and send it to the Commission and to the Member State concerned.5. The preceding paragraphs are without prejudice to inspections referred to in Articles 29 (6) and 30 (6) which shall be pursued in accordance with the procedure described therein.




CHAPTER 3TASKS RELATING TO RAILWAY SAFETYArticle 11Technical support - recommendations on railway safety

1. The Agency shall issue recommendations to the Commission on the Common Safety Methods (CSMs) and the Common Safety Targets (CSTs) provided for in Articles 6 and 7 of Directive … [the Railway Safety Directive]. The Agency shall also issue recommendations on periodic revision of CSMs and CSTs to the Commission.2. The Agency shall issue recommendations to the Commission, at the request of the Commission or on its own initiative, on other measures in the field of safety3. The Agency may issue guidelines and other non-binding documents to facilitate the implementation of railway safety legislation.

Article 12Safety certificates

The Agency shall issue single safety certificates in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of Directive … [the Safety Directive].




Article 13Maintenance of vehicles

1. The Agency shall assist the Commission with regard to the system of certification of the entities in charge of maintenance in accordance with Article 14 (6) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive].2. The Agency shall issue recommendation to the Commission with a view of Article 14 (7) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive].3. The Agency shall analyse any alternative measures decided in accordance with Article 15 of Directive… [Railway Safety Directive] in the report referred to in Article 30 (2) of this Regulation.

Article 14Transport of dangerous goods by rail

The Agency shall follow developments in the legislation dealing with the transport of dangerous goods by rail within the meaning of Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and compare them with the legislation dealing with rail interoperability and safety, in particular the essential requirements. To this end the Agency shall assist the Commission and may issue recommendations at the Commission’s request or on its own initiative.




CHAPTER 4TASKS RELATING TO INTEROPERABILITYArticle 15Technical support in the field of railway interoperability

1. The Agency shall: a) issue recommendations to the Commission on the TSIs, and their revision, in accordance with Article 5 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]; b) issue recommendations to the Commission on the templates for the 'EU' declaration of verification and for documents of the technical file that has to accompany it, in accordance with Article 15 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];c) issue recommendations to the Commission on specifications for registers, and their revision, in accordance with Articles 43, 44 and 45 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];d) issue opinions which constitute acceptable means of compliance concerning TSI deficiencies, in accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive … [ Interoperability Directive], and provide it to the Commission;e) issue opinions to the Commission regarding requests for non-application of TSIs by Member States, in accordance with Article 7 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];f) issue technical documents in accordance with Article 4(9) of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];




CHAPTER 4TASKS RELATING TO INTEROPERABILITYArticle 15Technical support in the field of railway interoperability

1. The Agency shall: (continued) g) issue recommendations to the Commission relating to the working conditions of all staff carrying out safety-critical tasks.2. For drafting recommendations referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), the Agency shall:ensure that the TSIs and the specifications for registers are adapted to technical progress and market trends and to social requirements;ensure that the development and updating of the TSIs on the one hand and the development of any European standards which prove necessary for interoperability on the other, are coordinated and maintain the relevant contacts with European standardisation bodies.3. The Agency may issue guidelines and other non-binding documents to facilitate the implementation of railway interoperability legislation.




Article 16Authorisations for placing on the market for vehicles

The Agency shall issue authorisations for placing on the market for railway vehicles in accordance with Article 20 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive].

Article 17Authorisations for placing on the market for types of vehicles

The Agency shall issue authorisations for placing on the market for types of vehicles in accordance with Article 22 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive].

Article 18Authorisations for placing in service of trackside control-command and signalling sub-systems

The Agency shall issue authorisations for placing in service of the trackside control-command and signalling subsystems located or operated in the entire Union in accordance with Article 18 of Directive … [the Interoperability Directive].




Article 19Telematics applications

1. The Agency shall act as the system authority, being responsible for maintaining the technical specifications for the telematics applications, in accordance with relevant TSIs.2. The Agency shall define, publish and apply the procedure for managing requests for changes to those specifications. To this end, the Agency shall set up and maintain a register of requests for changes to telematics applications specifications and their status.3. The Agency shall develop and maintain the technical tools for managing the different versions of the telematics applications' specifications.4. The Agency shall assist the Commission in the monitoring of deployment of telematics applications in accordance with relevant TSIs.




Article 20Support for the notified conformity assessment bodies

1. The Agency shall support the activities of notified conformity assessment bodies referred to in Article 27 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]. That support shall in particular include drafting guidelines for assessing the conformity or suitability for use of an interoperability constituent referred to in Article 9 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and guidelines for the EC verification procedure referred to in Article 10 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]. 2. The Agency shall facilitate cooperation of notified conformity assessment bodies, in particular act as the technical secretariat for their coordination group.




CHAPTER 5TASKS RELATING TO NATIONAL RULESArticle 21Examination of draft national rules 1. The Agency shall, within two months of their reception, examine the draft national rules submitted to it in accordance with:Article 8(2) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive],Article 14 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive].2. Where after the examination referred to paragraph 1 the Agency considers that national rules enable the essential requirements for interoperability to be fulfilled, CSMs to be respected and the CSTs to be achieved, and that they would not result in arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operation between Member States, the Agency shall inform the Commission and the Member State concerned about its positive assessment. The Commission may validate the rule in the IT system referred to in Article 23.




CHAPTER 5TASKS RELATING TO NATIONAL RULESArticle 21Examination of draft national rules 3. Where the examination referred to in paragraph 1 leads to a negative assessment, the Agency shall:issue a recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned stating the reasons why the rule in question should not entry into force and/or be applied; inform the Commission about its negative assessment.4. Where no action was taken by the Member State within 2 months after receiving the recommendation of the Agency referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3, the Commission, after receiving information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 and after having heard the reasons of the Member State concerned, may adopt a decision addressed to the Member State concerned requesting it to modify the draft rule in question, suspend its adoption, entry into force or implementation.




Article 22Examination of national rules in force 1. The Agency shall, within two months of their reception, examine national rules submitted to it in accordance with Article 14(3) of Directive … [Interoperability Directive].2. Where after examination referred to in paragraph 1 the Agency considers that national rules enable the essential requirements for interoperability to be fulfilled, CSMs to be respected and the CSTs to be achieved, and that they would not result in arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operation between Member States, the Agency shall inform the Commission and the Member State concerned about its positive assessment. The Commission may validate the rule in the IT system referred to in Article 23. 3. Where the examination referred to in paragraph 1 leads to a negative assessment, the Agency shall:a) issue a recommendation addressed to the Member State concerned stating the reasons why the rule in question should be modified or repealed; b) inform the Commission about its negative assessment.




Article 22Examination of national rules in force 4. Where no action was taken by the Member State within 2 months after receiving the recommendation of the Agency referred to in point (a) of paragraph 3, the Commission, after receiving information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 and after having heard the reasons of the Member State concerned, may adopt a decision addressed to the Member State concerned requesting it to modify or repeal the rule in question.5. The procedure described in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in cases where the Agency becomes aware of any national rule, notified or not, being redundant or in conflict with the CSMs, CSTs, TSIs or any other Union legislation in the railway field.




Article 23IT system to be used for notification purposes and classification of national rules

1. The Agency shall set up and manage a dedicated IT system containing national rules referred to in Articles 21(1) and 22(1) and make it accessible to stakeholders and the public.2. Member States shall notify national rules referred to in Articles 21(1) and 22(1) to the Agency and to the Commission through the IT system referred to in paragraph 1. The Agency shall publish the rules in this system and use it for informing the Commission in accordance with Articles 21 and 22.3. The Agency shall classify notified national rules in accordance with Article 14(8) of Directive …. [Interoperability Directive]. To this end, it shall use the system referred to in the first paragraph of this Article.4. The Agency shall classify national rules notified in accordance with Article 8(2) of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive], taking into account development of EU legislation. To this end, the Agency shall develop a Rule Management Tool to be used by Member States for simplifying their systems of national rules. The Agency shall use the system referred to in the first paragraph of this Article to publish the Rule Management Tool.




CHAPTER 6Tasks Relating To European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)Article 24System authority for the ERTMS

1. The Agency shall act as the system authority, being responsible for maintaining the technical specifications for the ERTMS.2. The Agency shall define, publish and apply the procedure for managing requests for changes to those specifications. To this end, the Agency shall set up and maintain a register of requests for changes to ERTMS specifications and their status.3. The Agency shall recommend the adoption of a new version of ERTMS Technical specifications. However, it shall only do so when the previous version has been deployed at a sufficient rate. The development of new versions shall not be detrimental to the rate of deployment of the ERTMS, the stability of the specifications which is needed to optimise the production of ERTMS equipment, the return on investment for railway undertakings and efficient planning of the deployment of the ERTMS.




CHAPTER 6Tasks Relating To European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)Article 24System authority for the ERTMS

4. The Agency shall develop and maintain the technical tools for managing the different versions of the ERTMS with a view to ensuring technical and operational compatibility between networks and vehicles fitted with different versions and to providing incentives for the swift implementation of the versions in force.5. In accordance with Article 5(10) of Directive … [Railway Interoperability Directive], the Agency shall ensure that successive versions of ERTMS equipment are technically compatible with earlier versions.6. The Agency shall prepare and disseminate relevant application guidelines for stakeholders and explanatory documentation related to the technical specifications for the ERTMS.




Article 25ERTMS Ad hoc working group of notified conformity assessment bodies

1. The Agency shall set up and chair an ERTMS ad hoc working group of notified conformity assessment bodies referred to in Article 27 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]. The working group shall check the consistency of application of the procedure for assessing the conformity or suitability for use of an interoperability constituent referred to in Article 9 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and of the 'EC' procedures for verification referred to in Article 10 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and carried out by notified conformity assessment bodies.2. The Agency shall report every two years to the Commission on the activities of the working group referred to in paragraph 1, including statistics on attendance of notified conformity assessment bodies’ representatives in the working group.3. The Agency shall evaluate the application of the procedure for conformity assessment of interoperability constituents and of the 'EC' verification procedure for ERTMS equipment and every two years shall submit a report proposing to the Commission, where appropriate, improvements to be made.




Article 26Supporting technical and operational compatibility between ERTMS on-board and trackside subsystems

1. The Agency may assist the railway undertakings, at their request, in checking the technical and operational compatibility between ERTMS on-board and trackside subsystems before placing a vehicle in service. 2. Where the Agency finds that there is a risk of a lack of technical and operational compatibility between networks and vehicles fitted with ERTMS equipment in the context of specific ERTMS projects, it may request the appropriate actors, in particular manufacturers, notified conformity assessment bodies, railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and national safety authorities, to provide any information relevant to the procedures applied for 'EC' verification and placing in service, and to operational conditions. The Agency shall inform the Commission about such a risk and, if necessary, recommend appropriate measures to the Commission.




Article 27Supporting ERTMS deployment and ERTMS projects

1. The Agency shall monitor the deployment of the ERTMS in accordance with the deployment plan set out in Decision 2012/88/EU and shall monitor coordination of ERTMS installation along the Trans-European Transport Corridors and Rail Freight Corridors as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 913/2010.2. The Agency shall ensure technical follow up of Union-funded projects for the deployment of the ERTMS, including, where applicable, analysis of tendering documents at the time of the call for tenders. The Agency shall also assist, if necessary, the beneficiaries of the Union funds to ensure that the technical solutions implemented within projects are fully compliant with the TSIs relating to control-command and signalling and are therefore fully interoperable.

Article 28Accreditation of laboratories

1. The Agency shall support, in particular by giving appropriate guidelines to the accreditation bodies, harmonised accreditation of ERTMS laboratories in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.2. The Agency may participate as an observer in the peer reviews required by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.




CHAPTER 7TASKS RELATING TO MONITORING THE SINGLE EUROPEAN RAILWAY AREAArticle 29Monitoring of national safety authorities

1. The Agency shall monitor the performance and decision-making of national safety authorities through audit and inspections.2. The Agency shall be entitled to audit:the capacity of national safety authorities to execute tasks related to railway safety and interoperability;the effectiveness of national safety authorities' monitoring of safety management systems of actors as referred to in Article 16 in Directive […] [Railway Safety Directive]. The procedure for performing the audits shall be adopted by the Management Board.3. The Agency shall issue audit reports and send them to the national safety authority concerned and to the Commission. Each audit report shall include, in particular, a list of any deficiencies identified by the Agency as well as recommendations for improvement.




Article 29Monitoring of national safety authorities

4. If the Agency considers that the deficiencies referred to in paragraph 3 prevent the national safety authority concerned from effectively performing its tasks in relation to railway safety and interoperability, the Agency shall recommend to the national safety authority to take appropriate steps within a time limit to be defined taking into account the importance of the deficiency.5. Where a national safety authority disagrees with the Agency's recommendation referred to in paragraph 4, or where no action is taken by a national safety authority as a result of the Agency's recommendation within 3 months from its reception, the Commission may take a decision within six months in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 75.6. The Agency shall be also entitled to conduct announced or unannounced inspections in national safety authorities, to verify specific areas of their activities and operation, in particular review documents, processes and records related to their tasks referred to in Article 16 of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive]. The inspections may be conducted on an ad-hoc basis or in accordance with a plan developed by the Agency. The duration of an inspection shall not exceed two days. The national authorities of the Member States shall facilitate the work of the Agency’s staff. The Agency shall provide the Commission with a report on each inspection.




Article 30Monitoring of notified conformity assessment bodies

1. The Agency shall monitor the notified conformity assessment bodies through assistance to accreditation bodies, audit and inspections, as provided for in paragraphs 2-5.2. The Agency shall support harmonised accreditation of notified conformity assessment bodies, in particular by giving appropriate guidance on evaluation criteria and procedures to assess whether notified bodies meet the requirements referred to in Art. 27 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive] to the accreditation bodies, via the European Accreditation infrastructure recognised by Art. 14 of Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No. 339/933. In case of notified conformity assessment bodies which are not accredited according to Article 24 of Directive… [Interoperability Directive], the Agency may audit their capacities to meet the requirements referred to in Article 27 of that Directive. The procedure for performing audits shall be adopted by the Management Board.





4. The Agency shall issue audit reports covering the activities referred to in paragraph 3 and send them to the notified conformity assessment body concerned and to the Commission. Each audit report shall include, in particular, any deficiencies identified by the Agency and recommendations for improvement. If the Agency considers that these deficiencies prevent the notified body concerned from effectively performing its tasks in relation to railway safety and interoperability, the Agency shall adopt a recommendation requesting the Member State in which that notified body is established to take appropriate steps within a time limit.5. Where a Member State disagrees with the recommendation referred to in paragraph 4, or where no action is taken by a notified body as a result of the Agency's recommendation within 3 months from its reception, the Commission may adopt an opinion within a period of six months in accordance with advisory procedure referred to in Article 75.





6. The Agency may, including in cooperation with the relevant national accreditation bodies, conduct announced or unannounced inspections of notified conformity assessment bodies to verify specific areas of their activities and operation, in particular review documents, certificates and records related to their tasks referred to in Article 27 of Directive […] [Interoperability Directive]. The inspections may be conducted on an ad-hoc basis or in accordance with a plan developed by the Agency. The duration of an inspection shall not exceed two days. The notified conformity assessment bodies shall facilitate the work of the Agency’s staff. The Agency shall provide the Commission with a report on each inspection.




Article 31Monitoring progress of interoperability and safety

1. The Agency, together with the network of national investigation bodies, shall collect relevant data on accidents and incidents and monitor the contribution of the national investigation bodies to the safety of the railway system as a whole.2. The Agency shall monitor the overall safety performance of the railway system. The Agency may in particular seek the assistance of the networks referred to in Article 34, including collection of data. The Agency shall also draw on the data collected by Eurostat and shall cooperate with Eurostat to prevent any duplication of work and to ensure methodological consistency between the common safety indicators and the indicators used in other modes of transport.3. At the Commission’s request, the Agency shall issue recommendations on how to improve the interoperability of the railway systems, in particular by facilitating coordination between railway undertakings and infrastructure managers, or between infrastructure managers.4. The Agency shall monitor progress on the interoperability and safety of the railway systems. Every two years it shall present to the Commission and publish a report on progress on interoperability and safety in the Single European Railway Area.5. The Agency shall, at the Commission’s request, provide reports on the state of implementation and application of the Union legislation on safety and interoperability in a given Member State.




CHAPTER 8OTHER TASKSArticle 32Railway staff

1. The Agency shall perform the appropriate tasks relating to railway staff set out in Articles 4, 20, 22, 23, 25, 28, 33, 34, 35 and 37 of Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council .2. The Agency may be requested by the Commission to perform other tasks relating to railway staff in accordance with Directive 2007/59/EC.3. The Agency shall consult the authorities competent on railway staff issues on the tasks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. The Agency may promote cooperation between those authorities, including by organising appropriate meetings with their representatives.




Article 33Registers and their accessibility

1. The Agency shall set up and keep European registers provided for in Article 43, 44 and 45 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive]. The Agency shall act as the system authority for all registers and databases referred to in the Safety, Interoperability and Train Drivers Directives. This shall include, in particular:a) developing and maintaining specifications of the registers;b) coordinating of developments in the Member States in relation to the registers;c) providing guidance on the registers to relevant stakeholders;d) making recommendations to the Commission regarding improvements to the specification of existing registers and any need to set up new ones.





2. The Agency shall make the following documents and registers provided for by Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and Directive … [Railway Safety Directive] publicly available:a) the EC declarations of verification of subsystems;b) the EC declarations of conformity of interoperability constituents and EC declarations of suitability of use of interoperability constituents;c) the licences issued in accordance with Directive … [Directive on the establishment of the Single European Rail Area (recast)];d) the safety certificates issued in accordance with Article 10 of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive];e) the investigation reports sent to the Agency in accordance with Article 24 of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive];f) the national rules notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 8 of Directive … [Railway Safety Directive] and Articles 14 of Directive … [Interoperability Directive];g) the vehicle registers, including via links to relevant national registers;h) the infrastructure registers, including via links to relevant national registers;i) the European register of authorised types of vehicles;j) the register of requests for changes and planned changes to the ERTMS specifications;





2. The Agency shall make the following documents and registers provided for by Directive … [Interoperability Directive] and Directive … [Railway Safety Directive] publicly available:k) the register of requests for changes and planned changes to the Telematics Applications for Passengers (TAP) TSI/Telematics Applications for Freight (TAF) TSI specifications;l) the register of vehicle keeper markings kept by the Agency in accordance with the TSI on operation and traffic management;m) quality reports issued in accordance with Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007.3. The practical arrangements for sending the documents referred to in paragraph 2 shall be discussed and agreed by the Commission and the Member States on the basis of a draft prepared by the Agency.4. When sending the documents referred to in paragraph 2, the bodies concerned may indicate which documents are not to be disclosed to the public for reasons of security.5. The national authorities responsible for issuing the licences and certificates referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 2 shall notify the Agency within one month of each individual decision to issue, renew, amend or revoke those licenses and certificates.6. The Agency may include any public document or link relevant to the objectives of this Regulation in the public database, taking into account applicable Union legislation on data protection.




Article 34Networks of national safety authorities, investigating bodies and representative bodies

1. The Agency shall establish a network of the national safety authorities and a network of the investigating bodies referred to in Article 21 of Directive…/… [Railway Safety Directive]. The Agency shall provide them with a secretariat. The tasks of the networks shall, in particular, be:a) exchange of information related to railway safety and interoperability;b) promotion of good practices;c) provision of data on railway safety to the Agency, in particular data relating to common safety indicators.The Agency shall facilitate cooperation between those networks, in particular it may decide to hold joint meetings of both networks.2. The Agency shall establish a network of representative bodies from the railway sector acting at the Union level. The list of these bodies shall be defined in an implementing act adopted by the Commission, in accordance with advisory procedure referred to in Article 75. The Agency shall provide the network with a secretariat. The tasks of the network shall, in particular, be:a) exchange of information related to railway safety and interoperability;b) promotion of good practices;c) provision of data on railway safety and interoperability to the Agency.




Article 34Networks of national safety authorities, investigating bodies and representative bodies

3. The networks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may issue non-binding opinions on draft recommendations referred to in Article 9(2). 4. The Agency may establish other networks with bodies or authorities with responsibility for a part of the railway system.5. The Commission may participate in meetings of networks referred to in this Article.

Article 35Communication and dissemination

The Agency shall communicate and disseminate to relevant stakeholders the European framework of railway legislation, standards and guidance, in accordance with relevant communication and dissemination plans adopted by the Management Board. Those plans, based on an analysis of needs, shall be regularly updated by the Management Board.




Article 36Research and promotion of innovation

1. The Agency shall contribute, upon request of the Commission, to railway research activities at Union level, including through support to relevant Commission services and representative bodies. This contribution shall be without prejudice to other research activities at the Union level.2. The Commission may entrust the Agency with the task of promoting innovation aimed at improving railway interoperability and safety, particularly the use of new information technologies and tracking and tracing systems.

Article 37Assistance to the Commission

1. The Agency shall, at the Commission’s request, assist the Commission with the implementation of Union legislation aimed at enhancing the level of interoperability of railway systems and at developing a common approach to safety on the European railway system.2. This assistance may include:providing technical advice in matters requiring specific know-how;collecting information through the networks referred to in Article 34.




Article 38Assistance with the assessment of rail projects

Without prejudice to the derogations provided for by Article 9 of Directive […] [Railway Interoperability Directive], the Agency shall, at the Commission’s request, examine, from the point of view of interoperability and safety, any project involving the design, construction, renewal or upgrading of the subsystem for which an application for Union financial support has been submitted. Within a period to be agreed with the Commission according to the importance of the project and the resources available and which may not exceed two months, the Agency shall give an opinion on whether the project complies with the relevant railway interoperability and safety legislation.




Article 39Assistance to Member States, candidate countries and stakeholders

1. On its own initiative or at the request of the Commission, Member States, candidate countries or the networks referred to in Article 34, the Agency shall engage in training and other appropriate activities concerning the application and explanation of railway interoperability and safety legislation and related Agency’s products such as registers, implementation guides or recommendations.2. The nature and extent of the activities referred to in paragraph 1 shall be decided by the Board and included in the work programme.




Article 41Coordination regarding spare parts

The Agency shall contribute to identifying potential railway spare parts to be standardised. To this end, the Agency may establish a working party in order to coordinate the stakeholders’ activities and may establish contacts with the European standardisation bodies. The Agency shall present the Commission with appropriate recommendations.




CHAPTER 9ORGANISATION OF THE AGENCY Article 42

Administrative and management structure

The Agency's administrative and management structure shall comprise:

a) A Management Board, which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 47;b) An Executive Board which shall exercise the functions set out in Article 49;c) An Executive Director who shall exercise the responsibilities set out in Article 50;d) A Board of Appeal who shall exercise the responsibilities set out in Articles 54 to 56.




Article 43Composition of the Management Board

1. The Management Board shall be composed of one representative from each Member State and four representatives of the Commission, all with a right to vote. The Management Board shall also include six representatives, without the right to vote, representing at European level the following groups:a) railway undertakings;b) infrastructure managers;c) the railway industry;d) trade unions;e) passengers;f) freight customers.For each of these groups, the Commission shall appoint a representative and an alternate from a shortlist of four names submitted by their respective European organisations.




Article 43Composition of the Management Board

2. Board members and their alternates shall be appointed in light of their knowledge of the agency's core business, taking into account relevant managerial, administrative and budgetary skills. All parties shall make efforts to limit turnover of their representatives in the Board, in order to ensure continuity of the Board's work. All parties shall aim to achieve a balanced representation between men and women on the Management Board.3. Member States and the Commission shall appoint their members of the Management Board and an alternate who will represent the member in his/her absence.4. The term of office of the members shall be four years and may be renewed.5. When appropriate, the participation of representatives of third countries and the conditions thereof shall be established in the arrangements referred to in Article 68.




Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on railway safety



Article 1

This Directive lays down provisions to ensure the development and improvement of safety of the Union’s railways and improved access to the market for rail transport services by:(a) harmonising the regulatory structure in the Member States;(b) defining responsibilities between the actors of the rail system;(c) developing common safety targets and common safety methods with a view to gradually removing the need for national rules;(d) requiring the establishment, for each Member State, of a national safety authority and an accident and incident investigating body;(e) defining common principles for the management, regulation and supervision of railway safety.




Article 3DefinitionsFor the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply:(a) ‘rail system’ means the Union rail system as defined in Article 2 of Directive [xx on interoperability of the rail system];(b)‘infrastructure manager’ means infrastructure manager as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2001/14/EC16;(c)‘railway undertaking’ means railway undertaking as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2001/14/EC, and any other public or private undertaking, the activity of which is to provide transport of goods and/or passengers by rail on the basis that the undertaking must ensure traction,including undertakings which provide traction only;(d)‘technical specification for interoperability (TSI)’ means a specification by which each subsystem or part of a subsystem is covered in order to meet the essential requirements and ensure the interoperability of the rail system as defined in Article 2 of Directive xx on interoperability of the rail system;




Article 3 (continued)DefinitionsFor the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply (continue):(f)‘common safety methods (CSMs)’ means the methods describing the assessment of safety levels and achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements;(g)‘ national safety authority’ means the national body entrusted with the tasks regarding railway safety in accordance with this Directive or any body entrusted by several Member States with these tasks in order to ensure a unified safety regime;(h)‘national rules’ means all binding rules containing railway safety or technical requirements imposed at Member State level and applicable to railway undertakings, irrespective of the body issuing them;(p)‘light rail’ means an urban and/or sub-urban rail transport system with lower capacity and lower speeds than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speeds than tram systems. Light rail systems may have their own right-of-way or share it with road traffic and usually do not exchange vehicles with long-distance passenger or freight traffic;




Article 3 (continued)DefinitionsFor the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply (continue):(q)‘notified bodies’ means the bodies which are responsible for assessing the conformity or suitability for use of the interoperability constituents or for appraising the ‘EC’ procedure for verification of the subsystem;(r)‘interoperability constituents’ means any elementary component, group of components, subassembly or complete assembly of equipment incorporated or intended to be incorporated into a subsystem upon which the interoperability of the rail system depends directly or indirectly, as defined in Article 2 of Directive xx on interoperability of the rail system;(u)‘vehicle’ means a railway vehicle suitable for circulation on its own wheels on railway lines, with or without traction n a fixed or variable composition. A vehicle is composed of one or more structural and functional subsystems;




Article 3 (continued)DefinitionsFor the purpose of this Directive, the following definitions apply (continue):(v)‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures an interoperability constituent or subsystem or has it designed or manufactured, and markets it under his name or trademark;(w)‘consignor’ means the enterprise which consigns goods either on its own behalf or for a third party;(x)‘loader’ means any enterprise that loads packaged goods, including dangerous goods, small containers or portable tanks onto a wagon or a container or which loads a container, bulk-container, multiple-element gas container, tank-container or portable tank onto a wagon;(y)‘filler’ means any enterprise that loads goods, including dangerous goods, into a tank (tank-wagon, wagon with demountable tank, portable tank or tank-container) into a wagon, large container or small container for carriage in bulk, or into a batterywagon or multiple-element gas container.




Article 4Role of the actors of the rail system in developing and improving railway safety

1. Member States and the Agency shall ensure that railway safety is generally maintained and, where reasonably practicable, continuously improved, taking into consideration the development of Union legislation and technical and scientific progress and giving priority to the prevention of serious accidents.2. Member States shall ensure that the responsibility for the safe operation of the railway system and the control of risks associated with it is laid upon the infrastructure managers and railway undertakings, obliging them:a) to implement necessary risk control measures, where appropriate in cooperation with each other,b) to apply Union and national rules, c) to establish safety management systems in accordance with this Directive. Without prejudice to civil liability in accordance with the legal requirements of the Member States, each infrastructure manager and railway undertaking shall be made responsible for its part of the system and its safe operation, including supply of material and contracting of services, vis-à-vis users, customers, the workers concerned and third parties. The risks associated with the activities of third parties shall also be taken into account in the safety management systems of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.




Article 4 (continued)Role of the actors of the rail system in developing and improving railway safety

3. Each manufacturer, maintenance supplier, keeper, service provider and procurement entity to shall ensure that rolling stock, installations, accessories and equipment and services supplied by them comply with the specified requirements and conditions for use, so that they can be safely put into operation by the railway undertaking and/or infrastructure manager.4. All actors having a relevant role in safety operations shall implement the necessary risk control measures, where appropriate in cooperation with the others. In addition to railway undertakings and infrastructure managers those actors include:(a) the entities in charge of the maintenance of vehicles;(b) the consignors, the loaders and the fillers, which have a role in safe loading operations,(c) the manufacturers, which are responsible for the design and manufacturing of safe railway vehicles, parts, components or sub-assemblies of vehicle, railway infrastructure, energy and track side control command, as well as issuing of the preliminary maintenance documentation associated to the vehicle.




Article 4 (continued)Role of the actors of the rail system in developing and improving railway safety

5. Each railway undertaking, infrastructure manager and entity in charge of maintenance shall ensure that its contractors implement risk control measures. To this end, each railway undertaking, infrastructure manager and entity in charge of maintenance shall apply the common methods for monitoring processes set out in the Regulation (EU) 1078/201218. Their contractors shall apply this process through contractual arrangements. Railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and entities in charge of maintenance shall disclose their contractual arrangements on request of the Agency or the national safety authority.6. Any actor of the rail system who identifies a safety risk related to defects and construction non-conformities or malfunctions of technical equipment, including those of structural subsystems, shall report those risks to the other parties involved to enable them to take any necessary corrective actions to ensure continuous achievement of the safety performance ofthe rail system.7. In case of exchange of vehicles between railways undertakings, all actors shall exchange all information relevant to safe operation. Such information shall include information on the status and history of the vehicle, elements of the maintenance files, traceability of loading operations, and consignment notes. It shall be sufficiently detailed to allow an assessment of the risks of operating the vehicle by the railway undertaking.




Article 6Common safety methods

1. The CSMs shall describe how the safety levels, the achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements, are assessed by elaborating and defining:(a) risk evaluation and assessment methods,(b) methods for assessing conformity with requirements in safety certificates and safety authorisations issued in accordance with Articles 10 and 11,(c) methods for supervision to be applied by national safety authorities and methods for monitoring to be applied by railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and entities in charge of maintenance;(d) any other methods covering a process of the safety management system which need to be harmonised at Union level.




Article 6 (continued)Common safety methods

2. The Commission shall issue mandates to the Agency to draft the new CSMs referred in point 1(d), to review and update all CSMs to take account of developments in technology or social requirements and to make the relevant recommendations to the Commission.When drafting the recommandations, the Agency shall take account of the opinion of the users and of the stakeholders. The recommendations shall enclose a report on the results of this consultation and a report assessing the impact of the new CSM to be adopted.3. The CSMs shall be revised at regular intervals, taking into account the experience gained from their application and the global development of railway safety and in view of generally maintaining and where reasonably praticable, continuously improving safety.4. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts laying down CSMs and revised CSMs in accordance with Article 26.




Article 7Common safety targets

1. The CSTs shall define the minimum safety levels that shall be reached by different parts of the railway system and by the system as a whole in each Member State, expressed in risk acceptance criteria for:(a) individual risks relating to passengers, staff including the staff of contractors, level crossing users and others, and, without prejudice to existing national and international liability rules, individual risks relating to unauthorised persons on railway premises;(b) societal risks.2. The Commission shall issue a mandate to the Agency to draft revised CSTs and to make the relevant recommendations to the Commission.3. The CSTs shall be revised at regular intervals, taking into account the global development of railway safety. The revised CSTs shall reflect any priority areas where safety needs to be further improved.4. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts laying down revised CSTs in accordance with Article 26.5. Member States shall make any necessary amendments to their national safety rules in order to achieve at least the CSTs, and any revised CSTs, in accordance with the implementation timetables attached to them. They shall notify these rules to the Commission in accordance with Article 8(3).




Article 8National rules

1. Member States may lay down new national rules only in the following cases:(a) where rules concerning existing safety methods are not covered by a CSM;(b) as an urgent preventive measure, in particular following an accident. Member States shall ensure that national rules take account of the need for a system-based approach.2. If a Member State intends to introduce a new national rule, it shall notify the draft of that rule to the Agency and the Commission using the appropriate IT system in accordance with article 23 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation].3. If the Agency becomes aware of any national rule notified or not which that has become redundant or is in conflict with the CSMs or any other Union legislation adopted after the application of the national rule the procedure established in article 22 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation] shall apply.4. Member States shall ensure that national rules are made available free of charge and in a language that can be understood by all parties concerned.5. National rules notified in accordance with this Article are not subject to the notification procedure set out in Directive 98/34/EC.




Article 10Single safety certificate

1. Access to the railway infrastructure shall be granted only to railway undertakings which hold the single safety certificate.2. The single safety certificate shall be granted by the Agency on the basis of the evidence that the railway undertaking has established its safety management system in accordance with Article 9 and meets the requirements laid down in TSIs and in other relevant legislation in order to control risks and provide transport services safely on the network.3. The single safety certificate shall specify the type and extent of the railway operations covered. It shall be valid throughout the Union for equivalent operations.




Article 10 (continued)Single safety certificate

4. Three months before the start of operation of any new service, the railway undertaking shall notify to the relevant national safety authority the documentation confirming that:(a) the railway undertaking will follow the operating rules, including national rules made available to them in accordance with Article 8(4), and assess the safety of their operation, taking into account the requirements in Commission Regulation (EC) No 352/200919 and ensuring that they are managing all risks through their safety management system and that they are making all necessary arrangements to operate safely;(b) the railway undertaking has made the arrangements necessary for cooperation and coordination with the infrastructure manager(s) of the network(s) where it proposes to operate;(c) the railway undertaking has taken any action necessary to ensure the safe operation of the service;(d) the railway undertaking has a licence issued in accordance with Council Directive 95/18/EC20;(e) the type and extent of its intended operation corresponds to that specified in its single safety certificate.





4. (continued)If the national safety authority has doubts concerning the fulfilment of one or more conditions it shall request more information from the railway undertaking. However, this exchange may not have any suspensive or delaying effect on the start of operation. If the national safety authority finds evidence that one or more conditions are not met, it shall refer the matter to the Agency, which shall take the appropriate measures, including revocation of the certificate.5. The single safety certificate shall be renewed upon application by the railway undertaking at intervals not exceeding five years. It shall be wholly or partly updated whenever the type or extent of the operation is substantially altered.The holder of the single safety certificate shall inform the Agency without delay of any major changes in the conditions of the single safety certificate. It shall furthermore notify the Agency whenever new categories of staff or new types of rolling stock are introduced.The Agency may require that the single safety certificate be revised following substantial changes to the safety regulatory framework.





6. If a national safety authority finds that a holder of a single safety certificate no longer satisfies the conditions for certification, it shall ask the Agency to revoke it. The Agency may revoke the single safety certificate, giving reasons for its decision. The Agency shall immediately inform all the national safety authorities of the networks on which the railway undertaking operates.7.The Agency shall inform the national safety authorities within one month of the issue, renewal, amendment or revocation of a single safety certificate. It shall state the name and address of the railway undertaking, the issue date, the scope and validity of the certificate and, in the case of revocation, the reasons for its decision.8. The Agency shall continuously monitor the effectiveness of the measures for the issuing of single safety certificates and supervision by national safety authorities and, where appropriate, shall make recommendations to the Commission for improvement. These may include a recommandation for a CSM covering a process of the safety management system which needs to be harmonised at Union level, as referred to in Article 6(1)(d).




Article 11Applications for single safety certificates

1. Applications for single safety certificates shall be submitted to the Agency. The Agency shall take a decision on an application without delay and in any event not more than four months after all required information and any supplementary information requested by the Agency has been submitted. If the applicant is requested to submit supplementary information, such information shall be submitted promptly.2. The Agency shall provide detailed guidance on how to obtain the single safety certificate. It shall list all requirements that have been laid down for the purpose of Article 10(2) and shall publish all relevant documents.3. An application guidance document describing and explaining the requirements for the single safety certificates and listing the required documents shall be made available to applicants free of charge. The national safety authorities shall cooperate with the Agency in disseminating such information.




Article 12Safety authorisation of infrastructure managers

1. In order to be allowed to manage and operate a rail infrastructure, the infrastructure manager shall obtain a safety authorisation from the national safety authority in the Member State where it is established.The safety authorisation shall comprise authorisation confirming acceptance of the infrastructure manager’s safety management system laid down in Article 9, which shall include the procedures and provisions for meeting the requirements necessary for the safe design, maintenance and operation of the railway infrastructure, including, where appropriate, the maintenance and operation of the traffic control and signalling system.2. The safety authorisation shall be renewed upon application by the infrastructure manager at intervals of five years. It shall be wholly or partly updated whenever substantial changes are made to the infrastructure, signalling or energy supply or to the principles of its operation and maintenance. The holder of the safety authorisation shall without delay inform the national safety authority of all such changes. The national safety authority may require that the safety authorisation be revised following substantial changes to the safety regulatory framework.If the national safety authority finds that an authorised infrastructure manager no longer satisfies the conditions for a safety authorisation it shall revoke the authorisation, giving reasons for its decisions.




Article 12 (continued)Safety authorisation of infrastructure managers

3. The national safety authority shall take a decision on an application for safety authorisation without delay and in any event not more than four months after all the information required and any supplementary information requested has been submitted.4. The national safety authority shall inform the Agency within one month of the safety authorisations that have been issued, renewed, amended or revoked. It shall state the name and address of the infrastructure manager, the issue date, the scope and validity of the safety authorisation and, in case of revocation, the reasons for its decision.




Article 14Maintenance of vehicles

1. Each vehicle, before it is placed in service or used on the network, shall have an entity in charge of maintenance assigned to it and this entity shall be registered in the national vehicle register in accordance with Article 43 of Directive XX on interoperability of the rail system.2. A railway undertaking, an infrastructure manager or a keeper may be an entity in charge of maintenance. (...)4. In the case of freight wagons, each entity in charge of maintenance shall be certified by a body accredited or recognised in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 445/2011, or by a national safety authority. The recognition process shall also be based on criteria of independence, competence and impartiality.Where the entity in charge of maintenance is an infrastructure manager, compliance with Regulation (EU) No 445/2011 shall be checked by the relevant national safety authority pursuant to the procedures referred to in Article 12 and shall be confirmed on the certificates specified in those procedures.5. The certificates granted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall be valid throughout the Union.




Article 14 (continued)Maintenance of vehicles

6. By 31 May 2014, the Agency shall evaluate the system of certification of the entity in charge of maintenance for freight wagons and shall consider the opportunity for an extension of that system to all vehicles and shall submit a report to the Commission.7. The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt common conditions for certification of the entity in charge of maintenance for all vehicles by 24 December 2016. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27 (2).The certification system applicable to freight wagons adopted by Regulation (EU) No 445/2011 shall continue to apply until the implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph are adopted.




Article 15Derogations from the system of certification of the entities in charge of maintenance

1. Member States may decide to fulfil the obligations to identify the entity in charge of maintenance and to certify it through alternative measures respect to the system of certification established in article 14, in the following cases:(a) vehicles registered in a third country and maintained according to the law of that country;(b) vehicles which are used on networks or lines the track gauge of which is different from that of the main rail network within the Union and for which fulfilment of the requirements referred to in Article 14(3) is ensured by international agreements with third countries;(c) vehicles covered by Article 2(2), and military equipment and special transport requiring an ad hoc national safety authority permit to be delivered prior to the service. In this case derogations shall be granted for periods not longer than five years.




Article 15 (continued)Derogations from the system of certification of the entities in charge of maintenance

2. Alternative measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be implemented through derogations to be granted by the relevant national safety authority or the Agency:(a) when registering vehicles pursuant to Article 43 of Directive xx on interoperability of the rail system, as far as the identification of the entity in charge of maintenance is concerned;(b) when delivering safety certificates and authorisations to railway undertakings and infrastructure managers pursuant to Articles 10 and 12 of this Directive, as far as the identification or certification of the entity in charge of maintenance is concerned.3. Such derogations shall be identified and justified in the annual safety report referred to in Article 18. Where it appears that undue safety risks are being taken on the Union rail system, the Agency shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. The Commission shall make contact with the parties involved and, where appropriate, request the Member State to withdraw its derogation decision.




CHAPTER IVNATIONAL SAFETY AUTHORITIESArticle 16Tasks

1. Each Member State shall establish a safety authority. This authority shall be independent in its organisation, legal structure and decision making from any railway undertaking, infrastructure manager, applicant and procurement entity.2. The national safety authority shall be entrusted with at least the following tasks:(a) authorising the placing in service of the energy and infrastructure subsystems constituting the rail system in accordance with Article 18(2) of Directive XX on interoperability of the rail system;(b) supervising that the interoperability constituents are in compliance with the essential requirements as required by Article [x] of Directive [XX] on interoperability of the rail system;(c) assigning a European vehicle numbering in accordance with Article 42 of Directive [XX] on interoperability of the rail system;(d) on request of the Agency, supporting it in the issue, renewal, amendment and revocation of single safety certificates granted in accordance with Article 10 and checking that the conditions and requirements laid down in them are met and that railway undertakings are operating in accordance with the requirements of Union or national law;




Article 16 (continued)Tasks

2. (continued)(e) issuing, renewing, amending and revoking safety authorisations granted in accordance with Article 12 and checking that the conditions and requirements laid down in them are met and that infrastructure managers are operating in accordance with the requirements of Union or national law;(f) monitoring, promoting, and, where appropriate, enforcing and updating the safety regulatory framework including the system of national rules;(g) supervising the railway undertakings in accordance with Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1158/201023 and with Regulation (EU) No 1077/201224;(h) supervising that vehicles are duly registered in the national vehicle register and that safety-related information contained in it is accurate and up to date.




Article 16 (continued)Tasks

3. The national safety authority of the Member State where the railway undertaking operates shall make necessary arrangements to coordinate with the Agency and other safety authorities to ensure that any key information on the specific railway undertaking is shared, particularly on known risks and its safety performance. The national safety authority shall also share information with other relevant national safety authorities if it finds that the railway undertaking is not taking the necessary risk control measures.It shall inform the Agency immediately of any concerns about the safety performance of the railway undertakings under supervision. The Agency shall take appropriate action provided for in Article 10(6).4. The tasks referred to in paragraph 2 may not be transferred or subcontracted to any infrastructure manager, railway undertaking or procurement entity.




Article 17Decision-making principles

1. The national safety authorities shall carry out their tasks in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way. In particular they shall allow all parties to be heard and give reasons for their decisions.They shall promptly respond to requests and applications and communicate their requests for information without delay and adopt all their zdecisions within four months after all requested information has been provided. They may at any time request the technical assistance of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings or other qualified bodies when they are carrying out the tasks referred to in Article 16.In the process of developing the national regulatory framework, the national safety authority shall consult all persons involved and interested parties, including infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, manufacturers and maintenance providers, users and staff representatives.




Article 17 (continued)Decision-making principles

2. The Agency and the national safety authorities shall be free to carry out all inspections and investigations that are needed for accomplishment of their tasks and they shall be granted access to all relevant documents and to premises, installations and equipment of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.3. Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that decisions taken by the national safety authority are subject to judicial review.4. The national safety authorities shall conduct an active exchange of views and experience within the network established by the Agency in order to harmonise their decision-making criteria across the Union.5. The scope of cooperation between the Agency and the national safety authorities in all matters relating to inspections on site related to issuing the single safety certificate and supervision of the railway undertakings after issuing the single safety certificate shall be set out in contractual or other arrangements between the Agency and the national safety authorities.




Article 18Annual report

Each year the national safety authority shall publish an annual report concerning its activities in the preceding year and send it to the Agency by 30 September at the latest. The report shall contain information on:(a) the development of railway safety, including an aggregation at Member State level of the CSIs laid down in Annex I;(b) important changes in legislation and regulation concerning railway safety;(c) the development of safety certification and safety authorisation;(d) results of and experience relating to the supervision of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings;(e) the derogations decided in accordance with Article 14(8);(f) all inspections or audits of railway undertakings operating in the Member Statein the course of supervision activities.




CHAPTER VACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATIONArticle 19Obligation to investigate

1. Member States shall ensure that an investigation is carried out by the investigating body referred to in Article 21 after serious accidents on the rail system, the objective of which is possible improvement of railway safety and the prevention of accidents.2. In addition to serious accidents, the investigating body referred to in Article 21 may investigate those accidents and incidents which under slightly different conditions might have led to serious accidents, including technical failures of the structural subsystems or of interoperability constituents of the European rail system.The investigating body shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not an investigation of such an accident or incident shall be undertaken. In its decision it shall take into account:(a) the seriousness of the accident or incident;(b) whether it forms part of a series of accidents or incidents relevant to the system as a whole;(c) its impact on railway safety on a Union level;(d) requests from infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, the national safety authority or the Member States.




Article 19 (continued)Obligation to investigate

3. The extent of investigations and the procedure to be followed in carrying out such investigations shall be determined by the investigating body, taking into account the principles and the objectives of Articles 20 and 22 and depending on the lessons it expects to draw from the accident or incident for the improvement of safety.4. The investigation shall in no case be concerned with apportioning blame or liability.




Article 20Status of investigation1. Member States shall define, in the framework of their respective legal system, the legal status of the investigation that shall enable the investigators-in-charge to carry out their task in the most efficient way and within the shortest time.2. In accordance with the legislation in force, Member States shall ensure full cooperation by the authorities responsible for the judicial inquiry, and shall ensure that the investigators are, as soon as possible, given:(a) access to the site of the accident or incident as well as to the rolling stock involved, the related infrastructure and traffic control and signalling installations;(b) the right to an immediate listing of evidence and controlled removal of wreckage, infrastructure installations or components for examination or analysis purposes;(c) access to and use of the contents of on-board recorders and equipment for recording of verbal messages and registration of the operation of the signalling and traffic control system;(d) access to the results of examination of the bodies of victims;(e) access to the results of examinations of the train staff and other railway staff involved in the accident or incident;(f) the opportunity to question the railway staff involved and other witnesses;(g) access to any relevant information or records held by the infrastructure manager, the railway undertakings involved and the national safety authority.3. The investigation shall be accomplished independently of any judicial inquiry.




Article 23Reports

1. An investigation of an accident or incident referred to in Article 19 shall be the subject of reports in a form appropriate to the type and seriousness of the accident or incident and the relevance of the investigation findings. The reports shall state the objectives of the investigations as referred to in Article 19(1) and contain, where appropriate, safety recommendations.2. The investigating body shall make public the final report in the shortest possible time and normally not later than 12 months after the date of the occurrence. The report, including the safety recommendations, shall be communicated to the relevant parties referred to in Article 22(3) and to bodies and parties concerned in other Member States.The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts, the content of accident and incident investigation reports. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 27(2).3. Each year the investigating body shall publish by 30 September at the latest an annual report accounting for the investigations carried out in the preceding year, the safety recommendations that were issued and actions taken in accordance with recommendations issued previously.




Article 25Safety recommendations

1. A safety recommendation issued by an investigating body shall in no case create a presumption of blame or liability for an accident or incident.2. Recommendations shall be addressed to the Agency, to the national safety authority and, where needed by reason of the character of the recommendation, to other bodies or authorities in the Member State or to other Member States. Member States and their national safety authorities shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the safety recommendations issued by the investigating bodies are duly taken into consideration, and, where appropriate, acted upon.3. The national safety authority and other authorities or bodies or, when appropriate, other Member States to which recommendations have been addressed, shall report back at least annually to the investigating body on measures that are taken or planned as a consequence of the recommendation.




CHAPTER VIFINAL PROVISIONSArticle 26Exercise of delegation1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditionslaid down in this Article.2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 5(2) and 7(2) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time.3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 5(2) and 7(2) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 5(2) and 7(2) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed by either the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council, or if, before expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. The period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.




Article 27Committee procedure1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committeewithin the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011shall apply.

Article 32 Transposition1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Articles 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 16, 18, 20 and Annex I by [specific date to be inserted by OPOCE - two years after the date of entry into force] at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.2. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication.They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the directives repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.




Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (Recast)



CHAPTER IGENERAL PROVISIONSArticle 1 Subject matter and scope

1. This Directive establishes the conditions to be met to achieve interoperability within the Union’s rail system in a manner compatible with the provisions of Directive […/…on the safety of the rail system within the Union] . These conditions concern the design, construction, placing in service, upgrading, renewal, operation and maintenance of the parts of this system as well as the professional qualifications and health and safety conditions of the staff who contribute to its operation and maintenance.2. This Directive lays down the provisions relating to, for each subsystem, the interoperability constituents, the interfaces and procedures as well as the conditions of overall compatibility of the rail system required to achieve its interoperability.




Article 2DefinitionsFor the purposes of this Directive:

1. ‘Union rail system’ means theelements listed in Annex I;2. 'interoperability’ means the ability of a rail system to allow the safe and uninterrupted movement of trains which accomplish the required levels of performance for these lines. 3. ‘vehicle’ means a railway vehicle suitable for circulation on its own wheels on railway lines, with or without traction, in a fixed or variable composition . A vehicle is composed of one or more structural and functional subsystems ;4. ‘network’ means the lines, stations, terminals, and all kinds of fixed equipment needed to ensure safe and continuous operation of the rail system;5. ‘subsystems’ means the structural or functional parts of the rail system, asset out in Annex II; 6. ‘interoperability constituents’ means any elementary component, group of components, subassembly or complete assembly of equipment incorporated or intended to be incorporated into a subsystem, upon which the interoperability of the rail system depends directly or indirectly, including both tangible objects and intangible objects;




Article 2Definitions

7. ‘essential requirements’ means all the conditions set out in Annex III which must be met by the rail system, the subsystems, and the interoperability constituents, including interfaces;8. ‘European specification’ means a common technical specification, a European technical approval as defined in Annex XXI to Directive 2004/17/EC or a European standard as defined in Article 2(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012; 9. ‘technical specification for interoperability’ (TSI) means a specification adopted in accordance with this Directive by which each subsystem or part of a subsystem is covered in order to meet the essential requirements and ensure the interoperability of the rail system;10. ‘basic parameter’ means any regulatory, technical or operational condition which is critical to interoperability and is specified in the relevant TSIs;11. ‘specific case’ means any part of the rail system which needs special provisions in the TSIs, either temporary or definitive, because of geographical, topographical or urban environment constraints or those affecting compatibility with the existing system,in particular railway lines and networks isolated from the rest of theUnion , the loading gauge, the track gauge or space between the tracks and vehicles strictly intended for local, regional or historical use, as well as vehicles originating from or destined for third countries;





12. ‘upgrading’ means anymodification work on a subsystem or partof it which results in a change in the technical file accompanying the 'EC' declaration of verification, if this technical file exists, and which improves the overall performance of the subsystem;13. ‘renewal’ means any substitution work on a subsystem or partof it which does not change the overall performance of the subsystem;14. ‘existing rail system’ means the structure composed of lines and fixed installations of the existing rail system as well as the vehicles of all categories and origin travelling on that infrastructure;15. ‘substitution in the framework of maintenance’ means any replacement of components by parts of identical function and performance in the framework of preventive or corrective maintenance;16. ‘placing in service’ means all the operations by which a subsystem or a vehicle is put into its operational service;17. ‘contracting entity’ meanspublic or private entity which orders the design and/or construction or the renewal or upgrading of a subsystem. This entity may be a railway undertaking, an infrastructure manager or a keeper, or a concession holder responsible for carrying out a project;





18. ‘keeper’ means the person or entity that, being the owner of a vehicle or having the right to use it, exploits the vehicle as a means of transport and is registered as such in the national vehicle register referred to in Article 43;19. ‘project at an advanced stage of development’ means any project whose planning/construction stage has reached a point wherea change in the technical specifications may compromise the viability of the project as planned;20. ‘harmonised standard’ means a European standard as defined in Article 2(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012;21. ‘national safety authority’ means a safety authority as defined in Article 3 of Directive …/… [on the safety of the rail system within the Union];22. ‘type’ means a vehicle type defining the basic design characteristics of the vehicle as covered by a type or design examination certificate described in the relevant verification module;23. ‘series’ means a number of identical vehicles of a design type;24. ‘entity in charge of maintenance’ means an entity in charge of maintenance as defined in Article 3 of Directive …/…. [Railway Safety Directive];





25. ‘light rail’ means an urban and/or sub-urban rail transport system with lower capacity and lower speeds than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speeds than tram systems. Light rail systems may have their own right-of-way or share it with road traffic and usually do not exchange vehicles with long-distance passenger or freight traffic;26. ‘national rules’ means all binding rules containing railway safety or technical requirements imposed at Member State level and applicable to railway undertakings, irrespective of the body issuing them;27. ‘design operating state’ means the normal operating mode and the foreseeable degraded conditions (including wear) within the range and the conditions of use specified in the technical and maintenance files;28. ‘acceptable means of compliance’ means non-binding opinions issued by the Agency to define ways of establishing compliance with the essential requirements;29. ‘placing on the market’ means the first making available on the Union’s market of an interoperability constituent, subsystem or vehicle ready to function in its design operating state;30. ‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures an interoperability constituent or subsystem or has it designed or manufactured, and markets it under his name or trademark;





31. ‘authorised representative’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks;32. ‘technical specification’ means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by a product, process or service;33. ‘accreditation’ has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;34. ‘national accreditation body’ has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;35. ‘conformity assessment’ means the process demonstrating whether specified requirements relating to a product, process, service, system, person or body have been fulfilled;36. ‘conformity assessment body’ means a body that performs conformity assessment activities including calibration, testing, certification and inspection;37. ‘disabled person and person with reduced mobility’ shall include any person who has a permanent or temporary physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective use of transport on an equal basis with other passengers or whose mobility when using transport is reduced due to age.





38. ‘infrastructure manager’ means infrastructure manager as defined in Article 3 of Directive …/… [establishing a single European railway area]; 39. ‘railway undertaking’ means railway undertaking as defined in Article 3 of Directive …/… [establishing a single European railway area], and any other public or private undertaking, the activity of which is to provide transport of goods and/or passengers by rail on the basis that the undertaking must ensure traction; this also includes undertakings which provide traction only.




Article 3Essential requirements

1. The rail system, subsystems and interoperability constituents including interfaces shall meet the relevant essential requirements. 2. The technical specifications referred to in Article 34 of Directive 2004/17/EC which are necessary to complete European specifications or other standards in use within theUnion shall not conflict with the essential requirements.




CHAPTER IITECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR INTEROPERABILITYArticle 4Content of Technical Specifications for Interoperability 1. Each of the subsystems defined in Annex II shall be covered by one TSI. Where necessary, a subsystem may be covered by several TSIs and one TSI may cover several subsystems. 2. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 46 concerning adaptation to technical progress of Annex II regarding the breakdown of the rail system into subsystems and to the description of these subsystems. 3. Subsystems shall comply with the TSIs in force at the time of their placing in service, upgrading or renewal, in accordance with this Directive; this compliance shall be permanently maintained while each subsystem is in use.




Article 4Content of Technical Specifications for Interoperability 4. Each TSI shall:

(a) indicate its intended scope (part of network or vehicles referred to in Annex I; subsystem or part of subsystem referred to in Annex II);

(b) lay down essential requirements for each subsystem concerned and its interfacesin relation to other subsystems;

(c) establish the functional and technical specifications to be met by the subsystem and its interfacesin relation to other subsystems. If need be, these specifications may vary according to the use of the subsystem;

(d) determine the interoperability constituents and interfaces which must be covered by European specifications, including European standards, which are necessary to achieve interoperability within the rail system;

(e) state, in each case under consideration, which procedures are to be used in order to assess the conformity or the suitability for use of the interoperability constituents, on the one hand, or the 'EC' verification of the subsystems, on the other hand. These procedures shall be based on the modules defined in Decision 2010/713/EU;




Article 4Content of Technical Specifications for Interoperability 4. Each TSI shall:

(f) indicate the strategy forthe application of the TSIs. In particular, it is necessary to specify the stages to be completed in order to make a gradual transition from the existing situation to the final situation in which compliance with the TSIs shall be the norm including setting deadlines for completion of those stages where necessary;

(g) indicate, for the staff concerned, the professional qualifications and health and safety conditions at work required for the operation and maintenance of the above subsystem, as well as for theapplication of the TSIs.

(h) indicate the provisions applicable to the existing subsystems and types of vehicles, in particular in the event of upgrading and renewal, with and without a new authorisation or decision for placing in service;

(i) indicate the parameters to be checked by the railway undertaking and the procedures to be applied to check those parameters after the delivery of the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market and before the decision for placing in service to ensure the compatibility between vehicles and routes on which they are intended to be operated;




Article 4Content of Technical Specifications for Interoperability 5. Each TSI shall be drawn up on the basis of an examination of an existing subsystem and indicate a target subsystem that may be obtained gradually within a reasonable time-scale. Accordingly, the gradual adoption of the TSIs and compliance with them shall facilitate gradually within that time-scale to achieve the interoperability of the rail system.6. TSIs shall retain, in an appropriate manner, the compatibility of the existing rail system of each Member State. With this objective, provision may be made for specific cases for each TSI, with regard to both network and vehicles, and in particular for the loading gauge, the track gauge or space between the tracks and vehicles originating from or destined for third countries. For each specific case, the TSIs shall stipulate the implementing rules of the elements of the TSIsprovided for in paragraph 4(c) to (g).7. If certain technical aspects corresponding to the essential requirements cannot be explicitly covered in a TSI, they shall be clearly identified in an annex to the TSI as open points. 8. TSIs shall not prevent the Member States from deciding on the use of infrastructures for the movement of vehicles not covered by the TSIs.




Article 4Content of Technical Specifications for Interoperability

9. TSIs may make an explicit, clearly identified reference to European or international standards or specifications or technical documents published by the Agency where this is strictly necessary in order to achieve the objective of this Directive. In such case, these standards or specifications (or their relevant parts) or technical documents shall be regarded as annexes to the TSI concerned and shall become mandatory from the moment the TSI is applicable. In the absence of such standards or specifications or technical documents and pending their development, reference may be made to other clearly identified normative documents that are easily accessible and in the public domain.




Article 5Drafting, adoption and review of TSIs

1. The Commission shall issue a mandate to the Agency to draft TSIs and their amendments and to make the relevant recommendations to the Commission.Each draft TSI shall be drawn up inthe following stages.(a) the Agency shall identify the basic parameters for the TSI as well as the interfaces with the other subsystems and any other specific cases that may be necessary. The most viable alternative solutions accompanied by technical and economic justification shall be put forward for each of these parameters and interfaces.(b) the Agency shall draw up the draft TSI on the basis of these basic parameters. Where appropriate, the Agency shall take account of technical progress, of standardisation work already carried out, of working parties already in place and of acknowledged research work. An overall assessment of the estimated costs and benefits of the implementation of the TSIs shall be attached to the draft TSI. This assessment shall indicate the likely impact for all the operators and economic agents involved.





3. The Agency, in order to take account of developments in technology or social requirements, shall draft the TSIs and their amendments under the mandate referred to in paragraph 1, in accordance with Articles 4 and 15 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation] and by respecting the principles of openness, consensus and transparency as defined in Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012. 4. During the preparatory work on TSIs the Commission may formulate any terms of reference or useful recommendations concerning the design of the TSIs and the cost-benefit analysis. In particular, the Commission may,require that alternative solutions be examined and that the assessment of the cost and benefits of these alternative solutions be set out in the report annexed to the draft TSI.5.Where different subsystems have to be placed in service simultaneously for reasons of technical compatibility, the dates of entry into force of the corresponding TSIs shall be the same.6. The drafting, adoption and review of the TSIs shall take account of the opinion of users, as regards the characteristics which have a direct impact on the conditions in which they use the subsystems. To that end the Agency shall consult associations and bodies representing users during the drafting and review phases of the TSIs. It shall enclose with the draft TSI a report on the results of this consultation.





7. In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation], the Agency shall draw up and regularly update the list of users' associations and bodies to be consulted. This list may be re-examined and updated at the request of a Member State or upon the initiative of the Commission.8. The drafting, adoption and review of the TSIs shall take account of the opinion of the social partners as regards the conditions referred to in Article 4(4)(g). To this end, the Agency shall consult the social partners before submitting to the Commission recommendations on TSIs and their amendments. The social partners shall be consulted in the context of the Sectoral Dialogue Committee set up in accordance with Commission Decision 98/500/EC of 20 May 1998 on the establishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the Dialogue between the social partners at European level. The social partners shall issue their opinion within three months.





9. When revision of a TSI leads to a change of requirements, the new TSI version shall ensure compatibility with subsystems placed in service in accordance with former TSI versions.10. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 46 concerning the TSIs and their amendments. Where, in the case of deficiencies discovered in TSIs in accordance with Article 6, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 47 shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.




Article 6Deficiencies in TSIs

1. If, after its adoption, it appears that a TSI has a deficiency, that TSI shall be amended in accordance with Article 5(3). 2. Pending the review of the TSI, the Commission may request an opinion from the Agency. The Commission shall analyse the Agency opinion and inform the Member States of its conclusions. 3. At the request of the Commission, the Agency opinions referred to in paragraph 2 shall constitute acceptable means of compliance to meet the essential requirements and may therefore be used for the assessment of projects.




Article 7 Non-application of the TSIs 1. Member States are allowed not to apply one or more TSIs or parts of them in the following cases:

(a) for a proposed new subsystem or part of it, for the renewal or upgrading of an existing subsystem or part of it, or for any element referred to in Article 1(1) at an advanced stage of development or the subject of a contract in the course of performance at the date of application of these TSIs;

(b) where, following an accident or a natural disaster, the conditions for the rapid restoration of the network do not economically or technically allow for partial or total application of the relevant TSIs; in this case, the non-application of the TSIs shall be limited in time;

(c) for any proposed renewal, extension or upgrading of an existing subsystem or part of it, when the application of these TSIs would compromise the economic viability of the project.2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1(a), each Member State shall communicate to the Commission, within one year of entry into force of each TSI, a list of projects that are taking place within its territory and which are at an advanced stage of development.




Article 7 Non-application of the TSIs 3. In all cases referred to in paragraph 1, the Member State concerned shall submit to the Commission the request for non-application of the TSI, also specifying the alternative provisions that the Member State intends to apply instead of the TSIs. The Commission shall by means of implementing acts establish the content of the file which shall accompany the request of non-application of one or more TSIs or parts of them, the details, the format and the transmission modalities of that file. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3). The Commission shall check that file, analyse the alternative provisions that the Member State intends to apply instead of the TSIs, decide whether to accept or not the request of non-application of the TSI and inform the Member State of this decision.4. Pending the decision of the Commission, the Member State may apply the alternative provisions as referred to in paragraph 3 without delay.5. The Commission shall give its decision within four months of the submission of the request supported by the complete file. In the absence of such a decision, the request shall be deemed to have been accepted. 6. All Member States shall be informed of the results of the analyses and of the outcome of the procedure set out in paragraph 3 .




CHAPTER IIIINTEROPERABILITY CONSTITUENTSArticle 8Placing on the market of interoperability constituents

1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that interoperability constituents:(a) are placed on the market only if they enable interoperability to be achieved within the

rail system while at the same time meeting the essential requirements;(b) are used in their area of use as intended and are suitably installed and maintained.

These provisions shall not obstruct the placing on the market of these constituents for other applications.2. Member States may not, in their territory and on the basis of this Directive, prohibit, restrict or hinder the placing on the market of interoperability constituents for use in the rail system where they comply with this Directive. In particular, they may not require checks which have already been carried out as part of the procedure of 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use. The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts, the scope and the content of the EC declaration of conformity and suitability for use of interoperability constituents, its format and the details of the information included in it. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3).




Article 9Conformity or suitability for use

1. Member States and the Agency shall consider as being interoperable and meeting the essential requirements, those interoperability constituents which are covered by the 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use. 2. All interoperability constituents shall be subject to the procedure for assessing conformity and suitability for the use indicated in the relevant TSI and shall be accompanied by the corresponding certificate.3. Member States and the Agency shall consider that an interoperability constituent meets the essential requirements if it complies with the conditions laid down by the corresponding TSI or the corresponding European specifications developed to comply with these conditions.4. Spare parts for subsystems that are already placed in service when the corresponding TSI enters into force may be installed in these subsystems without being subject to the procedure referred to in paragraph 2.5. TSIs may provide for a period of transition for rail products identified by those TSIs as interoperability constituents which have already been placed on the market when the TSIs enter into force. Such constituents shall satisfy the requirements of Article 8(1).




Article 10Procedure for 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use

1. In order to establish the 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use of an interoperability constituent, the manufacturer or his authorised representative established in theUnion shall apply the provisions laid down by the relevant TSIs.2. Where the corresponding TSI so requires, assessment of the conformity or suitability for use of an interoperability constituent shall be carried out by the notified conformity assessment body with which the manufacturer or his authorised representative established in theUnion has lodged the application.3. Where interoperability constituents are the subject of otherUnion directives covering other aspects, the 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use shall, in such cases, state that the interoperability constituents also meet the requirements of those other directives.4. Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorised representative has met the obligations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 3, those obligations shall be incumbent on any person who places interoperability constituents on the market. The same obligations shall apply to any person who assembles interoperability constituents or parts of interoperability constituents having diverse origins or manufactures interoperability constituents for his own use, for the purposes of this Directive.




Article 10Procedure for 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use

5. In order to avoid that interoperability constituents non complying with essential requirements are being placed on the market, and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 11:

(a) in each instance where the Member State finds that the 'EC' declaration of conformity has been drawn up improperly, the manufacturer or his authorised representative established in theUnion shall be required, if necessary, to restore the interoperability constituent to a state of conformity and to terminate the infringement under the conditions laid down by that Member State;

(b) where non-conformity persists, the Member State shall take all appropriate steps to restrict or prohibit the placing on the market of the interoperability constituent in question, or to ensure that it is withdrawn from the market in accordance with the procedures provided for in Article 11.




Article 11Non-compliance of interoperability constituents with essential requirements

1. Where a Member State finds that an interoperability constituent covered by the 'EC' declaration of conformity or suitability for use and placed on the market is unlikely, when used as intended, to meet the essential requirements, it shall take all necessary steps to restrict its field of application, prohibit its use,withdraw it from the market or recall it . The Member State shall forthwith inform the Commission and the other Member States of the measures taken and give the reasons for its decision, stating in particular whether failure to conform is due to:

(a) failure to meet the essential requirements;(b) incorrect application of European specifications where application of such specifications

is relied upon;(c) inadequacy of European specifications.




Article 11Non-compliance of interoperability constituents with essential requirements

2. The Commission shall consult the parties concerned as quickly as possible. Where, following that consultation, the Commission establishes that the measure is justified it shall forthwith inform the Member State that has taken the initiativethereof. Where, after that consultation, the Commission establishes that the measure is unjustified it shall forthwith inform the Member State that has taken the initiative and the manufacturer or his authorised representative established within theUnion thereof. 3. Where an interoperability constituent bearing the 'EC' declaration of conformity fails to comply, the competent Member State shall take appropriate measures againstany person who has drawn up the declaration and shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof.4. The Commission shall ensure that the Member States are kept informed of the course and results of that procedure.




CHAPTER IVSUBSYSTEMSArticle 12Free movement of subsystems

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Chapter V , Member States may not, in their territory and on grounds relating to this Directive, prohibit, restrict or hinder the construction, placing in service and operation of structural subsystems constituting the rail system which meet the essential requirements. In particular, they may not require checks which have already been carried out:a) either as part of the procedure leading to the 'EC' declaration of verification,b) or in other Member States, before or after the entry into force of this Directive, with a view to verifying compliance with identical requirements under identical operational conditions.




Article 13Conformity with TSIs and national rules

1. Member States and the Agency shall consider as being interoperable and meeting the essential requirements, those structural subsystems constituting the rail system which are covered by the'EC' declaration of verification.2. Verification of the interoperability, in accordance with the essential requirements, of a structural subsystem constituting the rail system shall be established by reference to TSIs, and national rules notified in accordance with paragraph 3.3. Member States shall draw up, for each subsystem, a list of the national rules in use for implementing the essential requirements in the following cases :(a) when the TSIs do not fully cover certain aspects corresponding to the essential requirements (open points); (b) when anon-application of one or more TSIs or parts of them has been notified under Article 7; (c) when specific case requires the application of technical rules not included in the relevant TSI(d) in case of national rules used to describe existing systems. 4. Member States shall designate the bodies responsible for establishing, in the case of these technical regulations, the EC declaration of verification referred to in Article 15.





1. Member States shall notify to the Commission the list of national rules referred to in Article 13(3) either:a) each time the list of rulesis changed, orB) after a request for non-application of the TSI has beensubmitted in accordance with Article 7, orc) after publication of the TSI concerned or its revision, in view of the removal of national rules made redundant by the closure of open points in the TSIs .2. Member States shall notify the full text of existing national rules to the Agency and the Commission through the appropriate IT system in accordance with article 23 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation].3. Member States may lay down new national rules only in the following cases:(a) when a TSI does not fully meet the essential requirements;(b) as an urgent preventive measure, in particular following an accident.4. If a Member State intends to introduce a new national rule, it shall notify the draft to the Agency and the Commission through the appropriate IT system in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation].





5. Member States shall ensure that national rules, including those covering the interfaces between vehicles and network, are made available free of charge and in a language that can be understood by all parties concerned.6. Member States may decide not to notify rules and restrictions of a strictly local nature. In such cases, Member States shall mention these rules and restrictions in the infrastructure registers referred to in Article 45.7. National rules notified under this Article are not subject to the notification procedure set out in Directive 98/34/EC.8. The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts, the classification of the notified national rules in different groups with the aim of facilitating the compatibility checks between fixed and mobile equipment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3). The Agency shall classify in accordance with the implementing acts referred to in the first subparagraph the national rules which are notified in accordance with this Article.9. Draft national rules and national rules in force shall be examined by the Agency in accordance with the procedures laid down in Articles 21 and 22 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [Agency Regulation].




Article 15Procedure for establishing the 'EC' declaration of verification

1. In order to establish the 'EC' declaration of verification, the applicant shall ask the notified conformity assessment body that it has selected for that purpose to apply the 'EC' verification procedure. The applicant may be the contracting entity or the manufacturer, or their authorised representative within the Union.2. The task of the notified conformity assessment body responsible for the 'EC' verification of a subsystem shall begin at the design stage and cover the entire manufacturing period through to the acceptance stage before the subsystem is placed in service. It may also cover verification of the interfaces of the subsystem in question with the system into which it is incorporated, based on the information available in the relevant TSI and in the registers provided for in Articles 44 and 45.3. The notified conformity assessment body shall be responsible for compiling the technical file that has to accompany the 'EC' declaration of verification. This technical file shall contain all the necessary documents relating to the characteristics of the subsystem and, where appropriate, all the documents certifying conformity of the interoperability constituents. Itshall also contain all the elements relating to the conditions and limits of use and to the instructions concerning servicing, constant or routine monitoring, adjustment and maintenance.




Article 15Procedure for establishing the 'EC' declaration of verification

4. Any amendment of the technical file referred to in paragraph 3 that has an impact on the verifications carried out implies the need to establish a new 'EC' declaration of verification.5. The notified conformity assessment body may issue intermediate statement verifications to cover certain stages of the verification procedure or certain parts of the subsystem. In such a case, the verification procedures established in accordance with paragraph 7(a)shall apply.6. If the relevant TSIs allow, the notified conformity assessment body may issue certificates of conformity for a series of subsystems or certain parts of those subsystems.7. The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts:the verification procedures for subsystems, including the general principles, the content, procedure and documents related to the 'EC' verification procedure, and to the verification procedure in the case of national rules.the templates for the 'EC' declaration of verification and for the declaration of verification in the case of national rules and templates for documents of the technical file that has to accompany the declaration of verification. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to Article 48(3).




Article 16Non-compliance of subsystems with essential requirements

1. Where a Member State finds that a structural subsystem covered by the 'EC' declaration of verification accompanied by the technical file does not fully comply with this Directive and in particular does not meet the essential requirements, it may request that additional checks be carried out.2. The Member State making the request shall forthwith inform the Commission of any additional checks requested and set out the reasons therefor. The Commission shall consult the interested parties.3. The Member State making the request shall state whether the failure to fully comply with this Directive is due to:

(a) non-compliance with the essential requirements or with a TSI, or incorrect application of a TSI; in that case, the Commission shall forthwith inform the Member State where the person who drew up the 'EC' declaration of verification in error resides and shall request that Member State to take the appropriate measures;

(b) inadequacy of a TSI; in that case, the procedure for amending the TSI as referred to in Article 6 shall apply.




Article 17Presumption of conformity

Interoperability constituents and subsystems which are in conformity with harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the Union shall be presumed to be in conformity with the essential requirements covered by those standards or parts thereof set out in Annex III.




CHAPTER VPLACING ON THE MARKET AND PLACING IN SERVICEArticle 18Placing in service of fixed installations

1. The trackside control-command and signalling, energy and infrastructure subsystems shall be placed in service only if they are designed, constructed and installed in such a way as to meet the essential requirements as set out in Annex III, and the relevant authorisation is received in accordance with paragraph 2.2. Each national safety authority shall authorise the placing in service of the energy and infrastructure subsystems which are located or operated in the territory of its Member State. The Agency shall grant decisions authorising the placing in service of the trackside control-command and signalling subsystems located or operated throughout the Union. The Agency and the national safety authorities shall provide detailed guidance on how to obtain the authorisations referred to in the first and second subparagraph. An application guidance document describing and explaining the requirements for those authorisations and listing the required documents shall be made available to applicants free of charge. The Agency and the national safety authorities shall cooperate in disseminating such information.





3. In order to authorise the placing in service of the subsystems referred to in paragraph 1, the national safety authority or the Agency, depending on which is the competent authority as set out in paragraph 2, shall obtain proof of:a) the EC declaration of verification;b) the technical compatibility of these subsystems with the system into which they are being integrated, established on the basis of the relevant TSIs, national rules and registers;c) the safe integration of these subsystems, established on the basis of the relevant TSIs, national rules, registers, and the common safety methods set out in Article 6 of Directive…/… [on the safety of the rail system within the Union].





4. In the event of renewal or upgrading of existing subsystems, the applicant shall send to the national safety authority (for energy and infrastructure subsystems) or the Agency (for trackside control-command and signalling subsystems), a file describing the project. The national safety authority or the Agency shall examine this file and shall decide, on the basis of the criteria set out in paragraph 5, whether a new authorisation for placing in service is needed. The national safety authority and the Agency shall take their decisions within a pre‑ determined, reasonable time, and, in any case, within four months from receipt of all relevant information. 5. In the event of renewal or upgrading of existing subsystems, a new 'EC' declaration of verification shall be needed as set out in Article 15(4). In addition, a new authorisation for placing in service shall be required when:a) the overall safety level of the subsystem concerned may be adversely affected by the works envisaged; orb) it is required by the relevant TSIs; orc) it is required by the national implementation plans established by the Member States.




Article 19Placing on the market of mobile subsystems

1. The rolling stock subsystem and the on-board control-command and signalling subsystem shall be placed on the market by the applicant only if they are designed, constructed and installed in such a way as to meet the essential requirements as set out in Annex III.2. In particular, the applicant shall ensure that the EC declaration of verification has been provided.3. In the event of renewal or upgrading of existing subsystems, a new 'EC' declaration of verification shall be needed as set out in Article 15(4).




Article 20Vehicle authorisation for placing on the market

1. A vehicle shall be placed on the market only after having received the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market issued by the Agency in accordance with paragraph 5. 2. The Agency shall issue decisions granting vehicle authorisations for placing on the market. Those authorisations attest the values of the parameters relevant for checking the technical compatibility between the vehicle and the fixed installations as set out in the TSIs. The vehicle authorisation for placing on the market shall also provide information about the vehicle’s compliance with the relevant TSIs and sets of national rules, related to these parameters.3. The vehicle authorisation for placing on the market may stipulate conditions for the use of the vehicle and other restrictions.





4. The vehicle authorisation for placing on the market shall be issued on the basis of a file of the vehicle or type of vehicle produced by the applicant and including the documentary evidence of:a) the placing on the market of the mobile subsystems composing the vehicle according to Article 19;b) the technical compatibility of the subsystems referred to in point (a) within the vehicle, established on the basis of the relevant TSIs, national rules and registers;c) the safe integration of the subsystems referred to in point (a) within the vehicle, established on the basis of the relevant TSIs, national rules, and the common safety methods set out in Article 6 of Directive …/… [on the safety of the rail system within the Union].5. The Agency shall take the decisions referred to in paragraph 2 within a pre‑ determined, reasonable time, and, in any case, within four months from receipt of all relevant information. These authorisations shall be valid in all Member States. The Agency shall provide detailed guidance on how to obtain the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market. An application guidance document describing and explaining the requirements for the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market and listing the required documents shall be made available to applicants free of charge. The national safety authorities shall cooperate with the Agency in disseminating such information.





6. The Agency may issue vehicle authorisation for placing on the market for a series of vehicles. Those authorisations shall be valid in all Member States.7. The applicant may bring an appeal before the Board of Appeal designated under Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [establishing a European railway agency] against decisions of the Agency or its failure to act within the time limits referred to in paragraph 5.8. In the event of renewal or upgrading of existing vehicles which already have a vehicle authorisation for placing on the market:a) a new 'EC' declaration of verification shall be needed as set out in Article 15(4), andb) a new vehicle authorisation for placing on the market shall be required if any changes are made to the values of the parameters included in the vehicle authorisation already granted.9. At the request of the applicant, the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market may include a clear indication of the networks or lines or groups of networks or lines where the railway undertaking may place such a vehicle in service without further verifications, checks or tests concerning the technical compatibility between the vehicle and these networks or lines. In that case, the applicant shall include in its request the proof of the technical compatibility of the vehicle with the networks or lines concerned.This indication may be also added, at the request of the original or another applicant, after the relevant authorisation for placing on the market has been issued.




Article 21Placing in service of vehicles

1. Railway undertakings shall place in service a vehicle only after having checked, , in consultation with the infrastructure manager, the technical compatibility between the vehicle and the route and the safe integration of the vehicle into the system in which it is intended to operate, established on the basis of the relevant TSIs, national rules, registers, and the common safety methods set out in Article 6 of Directive. To this aim, vehicles shall first receive the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market in accordance with Article 20.2. The railway undertaking shall communicate its decisions with respect to the placing in service of vehicles to the Agency, the infrastructure manager and the national safety authority concerned. These decisions shall be recorded in the national vehicle registers referred to in Article 43.3. In the event of renewal or upgrading of existing vehicles, a new 'EC' declaration of verification shall be needed as set out in Article 15(4). In addition, a new decision taken by the railway undertaking for placing in service of these vehicles shall be required when:a) the overall safety level of the subsystem concerned may be adversely affected by the works envisaged, orb) it is required by the relevant TSIs.




Article 22Authorisation to place vehicle types on the market

1. The Agency shall grant authorisationsto place vehicle types on the market .The Agency shall provide detailed guidance on how to obtain the authorisation to place vehicle types on the market. An application guidance document describing and explaining the requirements for the authorisation to place vehicle types on the market and listing the required documents shall be made available to applicants free of charge. The national safety authorities shall cooperate with the Agency in disseminating such information.2. However, if the Agency issues a vehicle authorisation for placing on the market, it shall at the same time issue the authorisation to place the corresponding vehicle type on the market.3. A vehicle which is in conformity with a vehicle type for which an authorisation to place the corresponding vehicle type on the market has been already issued shall, without further checks, receive a vehicle authorisation for placing on the market on the basis of a declaration of conformity to this type submitted by the applicant.





4. In the event of changes to any relevant provisions in TSIs or national rules, on the basis of which an authorisation to place a vehicle type on the market has been issued, the TSI or national rule shall determine whether the authorisation to place that vehicle type on the market already granted remains valid or needs to be renewed. If that authorisation needs to be renewed, the checks performed by the Agency may only concern the changed rules. The renewal of the authorisation to place a vehicle type on the market does not affect vehicle authorisations for placing on the market already issued on the basis of the previous authorisation to place that vehicle type on the market.5. The declaration of conformity to type shall be established in accordance with Decision 2010/713/EU .





6. The declaration of conformity to type shall be established in accordance with:(a) for TSI-conform vehicles, the verification procedures of the relevant TSIs;(b) for non-TSI-conform vehicles, the conformity assessment procedures as defined in

modules B+D and B+F of Decision 768/2008/EC. Where appropriate, the Commission may adopt implementing acts establishing ad hoc modules for conformity assessment. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3). 7. The authorisation to place vehicle types on the marketshall be registered in the European register of authorisations to place a vehicle types on the market referred to in Article 44.




CHAPTER VINOTIFICATION OF CONFORMITY ASSESMENT BODIES Article 23Notification

Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of bodies authorised to carry out third-party conformity assessment tasks under this Directive.




Article 24Notifying authorities

1. Member States shall designate a notifying authority that shall be responsible for setting up and carrying out the necessary procedures for the assessment and notification of conformity assessment bodies and the monitoring of notified conformity assessment bodies, including compliance with the provisions of Articles 27 to 29.2. Member States may decide that the assessment and monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out by a national accreditation body within the meaning of and in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.3. Where the notifying authority delegates or otherwise entrusts the assessment, notification or monitoring referred to in paragraph 1 to a body which is not a governmental entity, that body shall be a legal entity and shall comply with the requirements laid down in Article 25. It shall put in place arrangements to cover liabilities arising out of its activities.4. The notifying authority shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed by the body referred to in paragraph 3.




Article 25Requirements relating to notifying authorities

1. A notifying authority shall be established in such a way that no conflict of interest with conformity assessment bodies occurs.2. A notifying authority shall be organised and operated so as to safeguard the objectivity and impartiality of its activities.3. A notifying authority shall be organised in such a way that each decision relating to notification of a conformity assessment body is taken by competent persons different from those who carried out the assessment.4. A notifying authority shall not offer or provide any activities that are performed by conformity assessment bodies or consultancy services on a commercial or competitive basis.5. A notifying authority shall safeguard the confidentiality of the information it obtains.6. A notifying authority shall have a sufficient number of competent personnel at its disposal for the proper performance of its tasks.




Article 26Information obligation on notifying authorities

Member States shall inform the Commission of their procedures for the assessment and notification of conformity assessment bodies and the monitoring of notified bodies, and of any changes thereto.The Commission shall make that information publicly available.




Article 27Requirements relating to conformity assessment bodies1. For the purposes of notification, a conformity assessment body shall meet the requirements laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and in Articles 28 and 29. These requirements are also applicable to bodies designated by Member States pursuant to Article 13(4).2. A conformity assessment body shall be established under national law and have legal personality.3. A conformity assessment body shall be capable of carrying out all the conformity assessment tasks assigned to it by the relevant TSI and in relation to which it has been notified, whether those tasks are carried out by the conformity assessment body itself or on its behalf and under its responsibility.At all times and for each conformity assessment procedure and each kind or category of products in relation to which it has been notified, a conformity assessment body shall have at its disposal :(a) the necessary personnel with technical knowledge and sufficient and appropriate experience to perform the conformity assessment tasks;(b) the relevant descriptions of procedures in accordance with which conformity assessment is carried out, ensuring the transparency and the ability of reproduction of those procedures. It shall have appropriate policies and procedures in place that distinguish between tasks it carries out as a notified conformity assessment body and other activities;




Article 27Requirements relating to conformity assessment bodies

3. (continued) (c) the proper procedures for the performance of activities which take due account of the size of an undertaking, the sector in which it operates, its structure, the degree of complexity of the product technology in question and the mass or serial nature of the production process.It shall have the means necessary to perform the technical and administrative tasks connected with the conformity assessment activities in an appropriate manner and shall have access to all necessary equipment or facilities.4. Conformity assessment bodies shall take out liability insurance unless liability is assumed by the State in accordance with national law, or the Member State itself is directly responsible for the conformity assessment.5. The personnel of a conformity assessment body shall observe professional secrecy with regard to all information obtained in carrying out their tasks under the relevant TSI or any provision of national law giving effect to it, except in relation to the competent authorities of the Member State in which its activities are carried out. Proprietary rights shall be protected.




Article 27Requirements relating to conformity assessment bodies

6. Conformity assessment bodies shall participate in, or ensure that their assessment personnel are informed of, the relevant standardisation activities and the activities of the notified conformity assessment bodies coordination group established under the relevant Union's legislation and apply as general guidance the administrative decisions and documents produced as a result of the work of that group.7. Conformity assessment bodies shall participate in, or shall ensure that their assessment personnel are informed of, the activities of the ERTMS ad hoc working group set out in Article 25 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [establishing a European railway agency]. They shall follow the guidelines produced as a result of the work of that group. In case they consider it inappropriate or impossible to apply them, the conformity assessment bodies concerned shall submit their observations for discussion to the ERTMS ad hoc working group for the continuous improvement of the guidelines.




Article 28Impartiality of conformity assessment bodies

1. A conformity assessment body shall be a third-party body independent from the organisation or from the manufacturer of the product it assesses.A body belonging to a business association or professional federation representing undertakings involved in the design, manufacturing, provision, assembly, use or maintenance of products which it assesses, may, on condition that its independence and the absence of any conflict of interest are demonstrated, be considered such a body.2. The impartiality of the conformity assessment bodies, their top level management and of the assessment personnel shall be guaranteed.3. A conformity assessment body, its top level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier, installer, purchaser, owner, user or maintainer of the products which they assess, nor the authorised representative of any of those parties. This shall not preclude the use of assessed products that are necessary for the operations of the conformity assessment body or the use of such products for personal purposes.




Article 28Impartiality of conformity assessment bodies

4. A conformity assessment body, its top level management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks shall not be directly involved in the design, manufacture or construction, the marketing, installation, use or maintenance of those products, or represent the parties engaged in those activities. They shall not engage in any activity that may conflict with their independence of judgement or integrity in relation to conformity assessment activities for which they are notified. This shall in particular apply to consultancy services.5. Conformity assessment bodies shall ensure that the activities of their subsidiaries or subcontractors do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity or impartiality of their conformity assessment activities.6. Conformity assessment bodies and their personnel shall carry out the conformity assessment activities with the highest degree of professional integrity and the requisite technical competence in the specific field and shall be free from all pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which might influence their judgement or the results of their conformity assessment activities, especially as regards persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities.




Article 29 Personnel of conformity assessment bodies

1. The personnel responsible for carrying out conformity assessment activities shall have the following skills:(a) sound technical and vocational training covering all the conformity assessment activities in relation to which the conformity assessment body has been notified;(b) satisfactory knowledge of the requirements of the assessments they carry out and adequate authority to carry out those assessments;(c) appropriate knowledge and understanding of the essential requirements, of the applicable harmonised standards and of the relevant provisions of Union's legislation and of its implementing regulations;(d) the ability to draw up certificates, records and reports demonstrating that assessments have been carried out.2. The remuneration of the top level management and assessment personnel of a conformity assessment body shall not depend on the number of assessments carried out or on the results of those assessments.




Article 30Presumption of conformity of a conformity assesment body

Where a conformity assessment body demonstrates its conformity with the criteria laid down in the relevant harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it shall be presumed to comply with the requirements set out in Articles 27 to 29, in so far as the applicable harmonised standards cover those requirements.




Article 31Subsidiaries of and subcontracting by conformity asssessment bodies

1. Where a notified conformity assessment body subcontracts specific tasks connected with conformity assessment or has recourse to a subsidiary, it shall ensure that the subcontractor or the subsidiary meets the requirements set out in Articles 27 to 29 and shall inform the notifying authority accordingly.2. Notified bodies shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed by subcontractors or subsidiaries wherever these are established.3. Activities of notified bodies may be subcontracted or carried out by a subsidiary only with the agreement of the client.4. Notified bodies shall keep at the disposal of the notifying authority the relevant documents concerning the assessment of the qualifications of the subcontractor or the subsidiary and the work carried out by them under the relevant TSI.




Article 32Accredited in-house bodies

1. The applicant undertaking may use an accredited in-house body to carry out conformity assessment activities for the purpose of implementing the procedures set out in modules A1, A2, C1 or C2 defined in Annex II to Decision 768/2008/EC and modules CA1, and CA2 defined in Annex I to Decision 2010/713/EC. That body shall constitute a separate and distinct part of the applicant undertaking and shall not participate in the design, production, supply, installation, use or maintenance of the products it assesses.2. An accredited in-house body shall meet the following requirements:(a) it shall be accredited in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;(b) the body and its personnel shall be organisationally identifiable and have reporting methods within the undertaking of which they form a part which ensure their impartiality and demonstrate it to the relevant national accreditation body;(c) neither the body nor its personnel shall be responsible for the design, manufacture, supply, installation, operation or maintenance of the products they assess nor shall they engage in any activity that might conflict with their independence of judgment or integrity in relation to their assessment activities;(d) the body shall supply its services exclusively to the undertaking of which it forms a part.




Article 32Accredited in-house bodies

3. An accredited in-house body shall not be notified to the Member States or the Commission, but information concerning its accreditation shall be given by the undertaking of which it forms a part or by the national accreditation body to the notifying authority at the request of that authority.




Article 33Application for notification

1. A conformity assessment body shall submit an application for notification to the notifying authority of the Member State in which it is established.2. That application shall be accompanied by a description of the conformity assessment activities, the conformity assessment module or modules and the product or products for which that body claims to be competent, as well as by an accreditation certificate, where one exists, issued by a national accreditation body attesting that the conformity assessment body fulfils the requirements laid down in Articles 27 to 29.3. Where the conformity assessment body concerned cannot provide an accreditation certificate, it shall provide the notifying authority with all the documentary evidence necessary for the verification, recognition and regular monitoring of its compliance with the requirements laid down in Articles 27 to 29.




Article 34Notification procedure

1. Notifying authorities may notify only conformity assessment bodies which comply with the requirements laid down in Articles 27 to 29.2. They shall notify the Commission and the other Member States using the electronic notification tool developed and managed by the Commission.3. The notification shall include full details of the conformity assessment activities, the conformity assessment module or modules and product or products concerned and the relevant attestation of competence.4. Where a notification is not based on an accreditation certificate as referred to in Article 33(2), the notifying authority shall provide the Commission and the other Member States with documentary evidence which attests to the conformity assessment body’s competence and the arrangements in place to ensure that that body will be monitored regularly and will continue to satisfy the requirements laid down in Articles 27 to 29.5. The body concerned may perform the activities of a notified conformity assessment body only where no objections are raised by the Commission or the other Member States within two weeks of a notification where an accreditation certificate is used or within two months of a notification where accreditation is not used.6. The Commission and the other Member States shall be notified of any subsequent relevant changes to the notification.




Article 35Identification numbers and lists of notified conformity assessment bodies

1. The Commission shall assign an identification number to a notified conformity assessment body.A notified conformity assessment body shall be assigned a single identification number even where it is notified under several Union acts.2. The Commission shall make publicly available the list of the bodies notified under this Directive, including the identification numbers that have been allocated to them and the activities for which they have been notified.The Commission shall ensure that that list is kept up to date.




Article 36Changes to notifications

1. Where a notifying authority has ascertained or has been informed that a notified conformity assessment body no longer meets the requirements laid down in Articles 27 to 29, or that it is failing to fulfil its obligations, the notifying authority shall restrict, suspend or withdraw notification as appropriate, depending on the seriousness of the failure to meet those requirements or fulfil those obligations. It shall immediately inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly.2. In the event of restriction, suspension or withdrawal of notification, or where the notified conformity assessment body has ceased its activity, the notifying Member State shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the files of that body are either processed by another notified conformity assessment body or kept available for the responsible notifying and market surveillance authorities at their request.




Article 37Challenge of the competence of notified bodies

1. The Commission shall investigate all cases where it doubts, or doubt is brought to its attention, regarding the competence of a notified conformity assessment body or the continued fulfilment by a notified conformity assessment body of the requirements and responsibilities to which it is subject.2. The notifying Member State shall provide the Commission, on request, with all information relating to the basis for the notification or the maintenance of the competence of the body concerned.3. The Commission shall ensure that all sensitive information obtained in the course of its investigations is treated confidentially.4. Where the Commission ascertains that a notified conformity assessment body does not meet or no longer meets the requirements for its notification, it shall inform the notifying Member State accordingly and request it to take the necessary corrective measures, including withdrawal of notification if necessary.




Article 38Operational obligations of notified bodies

1. Notified bodies shall carry out conformity assessments in accordance with the conformity assessment procedures provided for in the relevant TSI.2. Conformity assessments shall be carried out in a proportionate manner, avoiding unnecessary burdens for economic operators. Conformity assessment bodies shall perform their activities taking due account of the size of an undertaking, the sector in which it operates, its structure, the degree of complexity of the product technology in question and the mass or serial nature of the production process.In so doing they shall nevertheless operate with the aim of assessing the compliance of the product with the provisions of this Directive.3. Where a notified conformity assessment body finds that requirements laid down in the relevant TSI or corresponding harmonised standards or technical specifications have not been met by a manufacturer, it shall require that manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall not issue a conformity certificate.




Article 38Operational obligations of notified bodies

4. Where, in the course of the monitoring of conformity following the issue of a certificate, a notified conformity assessment body finds that a product no longer complies with the relevant TSI or corresponding harmonised standards or technical specifications, it shall require the manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall suspend or withdraw the certificate if necessary.5. Where corrective measures are not taken or do not have the required effect, the notified conformity assessment body shall restrict, suspend or withdraw any certificates, as appropriate.




Article 39Information obligation on notified bodies

1. Notified bodies shall inform the notifying authority of the following:(a) any refusal, restriction, suspension or withdrawal of a certificate;(b) any circumstances affecting the scope of and conditions for notification;(c) any request for information which they have received from market surveillance authorities regarding conformity assessment activities;(d) on request, conformity assessment activities performed within the scope of their notification and any other activity performed, including cross-border activities and subcontracting.2. Notified bodies shall provide the other bodies notified under this Directive carrying out similar conformity assessment activities covering the same products with relevant information on issues relating to negative and, on request, positive conformity assessment results. 3. Notified bodies shall provide to the Agency the EC certificates of verification of subsystems, the EC certificates of conformity of interoperability constituents and the EC certificates of suitability of use of interoperability constituents.




Article 40Exchange of experience

The Commission shall provide for the organisation of exchange of experience between the Member States’ national authorities responsible for notification policy.

Article 41Coordination of notified bodies

The Commission shall ensure that appropriate coordination and cooperation between bodies notified under this Directive are put in place and properly operated in the form of a sectoral group of notified bodies. The Agency shall support the activities of notified bodies in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EU) No …/… [establishing a European railway agency].Member States shall ensure that the bodies notified by them participate in the work of that group, directly or by means of designated representatives.




CHAPTER VIIREGISTERS Article 42Vehicle numbering system

1. Any vehicle placed in service in theUnion’s rail system shall carry a European vehicle number (EVN) assigned by the national safety authority competent for the relevant territory before the first placing in service of the vehicle .The railway undertaking operating a vehicle shall ensure the vehicle is marked with the assigned EVN.3. The EVN is specified in Decision 2007/756/EC .4. A vehicle shall be assigned an EVN only once, unless otherwise specified in Decision 2007/756/EC.5. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, in the case of vehicles operated or intended to be operated from or to third countries the track gauge of which is different from that of the main rail network within the Union, Member States may accept vehicles clearly identified according to a different coding system.




Article 43National vehicle registers

1. Each Member State shall keep a register of the vehicles placed in service in its territory. This register shall meet the following criteria:

(a) it shall comply with the common specifications referred to in paragraph 2;(b) it shall be kept updated by a body independent of any railway undertaking;(c) it shall be accessible to the national safety authorities and investigating bodies

designated in Articles 16 and 21 of Directive […/… on the safety of the rail system within the Union] ; it shall also be made accessible, in response to any legitimate request, to the regulatory bodies designated in Articles 55 and 56 of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area, and to the Agency, the railway undertakings and the infrastructure managers, as well as those persons or organisations registering vehicles or identified in the register.2. The Commission shall adopt common specifications on content, data format, functional and technical architecture, operating mode, including arrangements for the exchange of data, and rules for data input and consultation for the national vehicle registers by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3)




Article 43National vehicle registers

3. The registration holder shall immediately declare any modification to the data entered in the national vehicle register, the destruction of a vehicle or its decision to no longer register a vehicle, to the national safety authority of any Member State where the vehicle has been placed in service.4. As long as Member States’ national vehicle registers are not linked, each Member State shall update its register with the modifications made by another Member State in its own register, as regards the data with which it is concerned.5. In the case of vehicles placed in service for the first time in a third country and subsequently placed in service in a Member State, that Member State shall ensure that the vehicle datacan be retrieved through the national vehicle register or through provisions of an international agreement.




Article 44European register of authorisation to place vehicle types on the market 1. The Agency shall set up and keep a register of authorisations to place vehicle types on the market issued in accordance with Article 22 . This register shall meet the following criteria:

(a) it shall be public and electronically accessible;(b) it shall comply with the common specifications referred to in paragraph 3;(c) it shall be linked with all national vehicle registers.

2. The Commission shall adopt common specifications relating to content, data format, functional and technical architecture, operating mode and rules for data input and consultation for the register of authorisations to place vehicle types on the market by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3).




Article 45Register of infrastructure

1. Each Member State shall publish a register of infrastructure stating the values of the network parameters of each subsystem or part of subsystem concerned.2. The values of the parameters recorded in the register of infrastructure shall be used in combination with the values of the parameters recorded in the vehicle authorisation for placing on the market to check the technical compatibility between vehicle and network.3. The register of infrastructure may stipulate conditions for the use of fixed installations and other restrictions.4. Each Member State shall update the register of infrastructure in accordance with Commission Decision 2011/633/EU.5. Other registers, such as a register on accessibility, may also be associated to the register of infrastructure.6. The Commissionshall adopt common specifications relating to content, data format, functional and technical architecture, operating mode and rules for data input and consultation for the register of infrastructure by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(3)




CHAPTER VIIITRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 46Exercise of delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 4(2) and 5(3) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from the date of entry into force of this Directive.3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 4(2) and 5(3) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.




CHAPTER VIIITRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 46Exercise of delegation

4. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.5. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 4(2) and 5(3) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.




Article 47Urgency procedure 1. Delegated acts adopted under this Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.2. Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 46(5). In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act without delay following the notification of the decision to object by the European Parliament or the Council.




Article 50Reports and information

1. Every three years and for the first time three years after the publication of this Directive, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and the Council on the progress made towards achieving interoperability of the rail system. That report shall also include an analysis of the cases set out in Article 7 and of the application of Chapter V .2. The Agency shall develop and regularly update a tool capable of providing, at the request of a Member State or the Commission, an overview of the interoperability level of the rail system. That tool shall use the information included in the registers provided for in Chapter VII .




Article 51Transitional regime for placing in service of vehicles

1. Member States may continue to apply the provisions set out in Chapter V of Directive 2008/57/EC until [two years after the date of entry into force].2. Authorisations for placing in service of vehicles which have been granted pursuant to paragraph 1, including authorisations delivered under international agreements, in particular RIC (Regolamento Internazionale Carrozze) and RIV (Regolamento Internazionale Veicoli), shall remain valid in accordance with the conditions under which the authorisations have been granted.3. Vehicles authorised for placing in service pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2, have to receive a vehicle authorisation for placing on the market in order to operate on one or more networks not covered by their authorisation. The placing in service on these additional networks is subject to the provisions of Article 21.




Annexes:

ANNEX I - Elements of Union rail system 1. Network2. Vehicles

ANNEX II - SUBSYSTEMS1. List of subsystems2. Description of the subsystems

ANNEX III - ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS1. General requirements2. Requirements specific to each subsystem

ANNEX IVPART A - Repealed Directives with list of the successive amendments thereto (referred to in Article 55)PART B - Time limits for transposition into national law (referred to in Article 55)

ANNEX V - CORRELATION TABLE


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