CHAPTER 3

The Agency shall contribute to the development and implementation of rail interoperability in accordance with the principles and definitions laid down in Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC. To this end, the Agency shall: organise and conduct, on a mandate from the Commission, the work of the working parties referred to in Article 3 on drafting the TSIs and forward the draft TSIs to the Commission; ensure that the TSIs are adapted to technical progress and market trends and to the social requirements and propose to the Commission the amendments to the TSIs which it considers necessary; ensure coordination between the development and updating of the TSIs on the one hand and the development of the European standards which prove necessary for interoperability on the other and maintain the relevant contacts with the European standardisation bodies; assist the Commission in organising and facilitating the cooperation of notified bodies, as described in Article 20(5) of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC; advise and address recommendations to the Commission relating to the working conditions of all staff executing safety-critical tasks. Without prejudice to the responsibility of Member States for the notified bodies which they designate, the Agency may, at the request of the Commission, monitor the quality of the work of notified bodies. It shall submit an opinion to the Commission where appropriate. The Agency shall recommend, at the request of the Commission, procedures for implementing interoperability of the railway systems by facilitating coordination between railway undertakings and between infrastructure managers, in particular to organise systems migration. The Agency shall monitor progress with the interoperability of the railway systems. Every two years it shall present and publish a report on progress with interoperability. The first such report shall be published during the Agency's second year of activity. At the request of the Commission, the Agency shall examine, from the point of view of interoperability, any railway infrastructure project for which Community financial support is requested. The Agency shall give an opinion on the conformity of the project with the relevant TSIs within two months of the request. This opinion shall take fully into account the derogations provided for in Article 7 of Directive 96/48/EC and of Directive 2001/16/EC. Within 3 years from the start of its activities, the Agency shall develop a European system for certification of maintenance workshops for rolling stock and shall make recommendations with a view to the implementation of the system. These recommendations shall address in particular the following items: structured management system, staff with the necessary competences, facilities and tools, technical documentation and maintenance prescriptions. The Agency shall draw up recommendations concerning the determination of common uniform criteria for the vocational competences and the assessment of the staff involved in the operation and maintenance of the railway system. In doing so it shall give priority to drivers and trainers. The Agency shall consult the representatives of the social partners in accordance with the arrangements laid down in Article 4. The Agency shall draw up recommendations with a view to putting in place a system for accreditation of training centres. The Agency shall promote and support exchanges of drivers and trainers between railway companies from different Member States. The Agency shall draw up and recommend to the Commission a standard format for the national vehicle register in accordance with Article 14 of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC. The Agency shall keep a public list of the following documents provided for by Directives 2001/16/EC and 96/48/EC: the "EC" declarations of verification of subsystems; the "EC" declarations of conformity of constituents; the authorisations for putting into service, including the corresponding registration numbers; the registers of infrastructure and rolling stock. The bodies concerned shall submit these documents to the Agency, which shall determine in agreement with Member States the practical procedures for submitting them. When transmitting the documents referred to in paragraph 1, the bodies concerned may indicate which documents are not to be disclosed to the public for reasons of security. The Agency shall set up an electronic database for the documents, taking full account of paragraph 3. This database shall be accessible to the public through a website.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-03 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.