COMMISSION DECISION
of 21 October 2010
amending Decisions 2006/920/EC and 2008/231/EC concerning the technical specifications of interoperability relating to the subsystem ‘Traffic Operation and Management’ of the trans-European conventional and high-speed rail systems
(notified under document C(2010) 7179)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2010/640/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community (1), and in particular Article 6(1) thereof,
Having regard to the recommendations of the European Railway Agency of 17 July 2009 on consistent ERTMS rules in Control-Command and Signalling and Traffic Operation and Management TSIs (ERA/REC/2009-02/INT), on revised Annex P of Traffic Operation and Management TSIs for high-speed and conventional rail (ERA/REC/2009-03/INT), on revised Annex T of Traffic Operation and Management TSI for conventional rail (ERA/REC/2009-04/INT) and on an amendment aiming to achieve consistency between Directive 2007/59/EC and Traffic Operation and Management TSIs in respect to train driver competence provisions (ERA/REC/2009-05/INT),
Whereas:
(1)
Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) requires that the European Rail Agency (hereinafter ‘the Agency’) shall ensure that the technical specifications for interoperability (hereinafter ‘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.
(2)
By Decision C(2007) 3371 of 13 July 2007, the Commission gave a framework mandate to the Agency to perform certain activities under Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system (3) and Directive 2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 19 March 2001 on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system (4). Under the terms of this framework mandate, the Agency was requested to perform the revision of the conventional rail TSI on Traffic Operation and Management, adopted by Commission Decision 2006/920/EC (5), and of the revised high-speed TSI on Traffic Operation and Management, adopted by Commission Decision 2008/231/EC (6), as well as to provide technical opinions on critical errors and to publish a list of detected minor errors.
(3)
A European Train Control System (hereinafter ‘ETCS’) and a Global System for Mobile communications - Railways (hereinafter ‘GSM-R’) are considered as important means on the way to a harmonised trans-European railway system. It is therefore necessary to harmonise the rules for these systems as early as possible. Following this principle, ETCS and GSM-R are specified in TSIs.
(4)
It is vital that the requirements laid down in TSIs are coherent and unambiguous. This means also that different TSIs may not refer to technical requirements in different stages of development All TSIs should therefore refer to identical technical requirements.
(5)
In order to harmonise the relevant rules in the TSIs for the trans-European conventional and high-speed rail system, the rules regarding operational aspects should be published as a Technical Document on the website of the Agency.
(6)
The TSI on Traffic Operation and Management for conventional rail should contain the same reference as the revised TSI on Traffic Operation and Management for high speed.
(7)
The revision of the technical document ‘Annex A of TSI OPE’ should follow the ‘Change Control Management process (CCM)’ which is applied for validations of technical ERTMS specifications.
(8)
According to Article 32(1) of Directive 2008/57/EC, each vehicle must receive a European Vehicle Number (EVN) when the first authorisation for placing in service is granted. According to Commission Decision 2007/756/EC of 9 November 2007 adopting a common specification of the national vehicle register provided for under Articles 14(4) and (5) of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC (7), the EVN is registered in the national vehicle register which is kept and updated by the national body designated by the Member State concerned.
(9)
The requirements on Vehicle Identification stipulated in Annex P of the TSI on Traffic Operation and Management (for high speed and conventional rail) need to be revised, taking also into account the development of the legal frame given by Directive 2008/57/EC and Decision 2007/756/EC. As a number of technical codes are of an evolving nature due to technical progress, the Agency should be given the task of publishing and updating such lists of technical codes.
(10)
The requirements on braking performance are an open point in the TSI on Traffic Operation and Management for conventional rail. The operational aspects of braking performance should be harmonised.
(11)
Requirements on professional competence, physical and psychological fitness of train drivers are set out in Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (8). In order to avoid overlapping and duplication, the TSIs on Traffic Operation and Management should not include such requirements.
(12)
Decisions 2006/920/EC and 2008/231/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.
(13)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established in accordance with Article 29(1) of Directive 2008/57/EC,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Amendment to Decision 2006/920/EC
Decision 2006/920/EC is amended as follows:
(a)
the following Articles 1a and 1b are inserted:
‘Article 1a
Management of technical codes
1. The European Railway Agency (ERA) shall publish on its website the lists of technical codes referred in Annexes P.9, P.10, P.11, P.12 and P.13.
2. The ERA shall keep the lists of codes referred to in paragraph 1 up to date and inform the Commission of their evolution. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the evolution of these technical codes through the Committee established under Article 29 of Directive 2008/57/EC.
Article 1b
Until 31 December 2013, if a vehicle is sold or rented for a continuous period exceeding 6 months and if all technical characteristics under which the vehicle has been authorised to be placed in service remain unchanged, its European Vehicle Number (EVN) may be changed through a new registration of the vehicle and withdrawal of the first registration.
If this new registration concerns a Member State which is different from that of the first registration, the registering entity competent for the new registration may require a copy of the documentation related to the former registration.
Such change of EVN is without prejudice to the application of Articles 21 to 26 of Directive 2008/57/EC as far as the authorisation procedures are concerned.
The administrative costs incurred to change the EVN shall be covered by the applicant requesting the change of EVN.’;
(b)
the Annexes are amended as set out in Annex I.
Article 2
Amendment to Decision 2008/231/EC
Decision 2008/231/EC is amended as follows:
(a)
the following Articles 1a and 1b are inserted:
‘Article 1a
Management of technical codes
1. The European Railway Agency (ERA) shall publish on its website the lists of technical codes referred in Annexes P.9, P.10, P.11, P.12 and P.13.
2. The ERA shall keep the lists of codes referred to in paragraph 1 up to date and inform the Commission of their evolution. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the evolution of these technical codes through the Committee established under Article 29 of Directive 2008/57/EC.
Article 1b
Until 31 December 2013, if a vehicle is sold or rented for a continuous period exceeding 6 months and if all technical characteristics under which the vehicle has been authorised to be placed in service remain unchanged, its European Vehicle Number (EVN) may be changed through a new registration of the vehicle and withdrawal of the first registration.
If this new registration concerns a Member State which is different from that of the first registration, the registering entity competent for the new registration may require a copy of the documentation related to the former registration.
Such change of EVN is without prejudice to the application of Articles 21 to 26 of Directive 2008/57/EC as far as the authorisation procedures are concerned.
The administrative costs incurred to change the EVN shall be covered by the applicant requesting the change of EVN.’;
(b)
the Annexes are amended as set out in Annex II.
Article 3
This Decision shall apply from 25 October 2010.
However point 6 of Annex I and point 5 of Annex II shall apply from 1 January 2014.
Article 4
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 October 2010.