1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE96/49/EC
of23July1996
ontheapproximationofthelawsoftheMemberStateswithregardtothetransportofdangerous
goodsbyrail
(OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 25)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Directive 96/87/EC of 13 December 1996 L 335 45 24.12.1996
►M2Commission Directive 1999/48/EC of 21 May 1999 L 169 58 5.7.1999
►M3Directive 2000/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
10 October 2000L 279 44 1.11.2000
►M4Commission Directive 2001/6/EC of 29 January 2001 L 30 42 1.2.2001
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE96/49/EC
of23July1996
ontheapproximationofthelawsoftheMemberStateswithregard
tothetransportofdangerousgoodsbyrail
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, andin particular Article 75 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 189c of
the Treaty(3),
(1)Whereas in recent years the transport of dangerous goods by rail
has considerably expanded, thus increasing the risks of accidents
occurring; whereas measures must therefore be taken to ensurethat such transport is carried out under the best possible condi-tions of safety;
(2)Whereas all Member States are Contracting Parties to theConvention concerning international carriage by rail (COTIF),which, in Appendix B thereto, defines uniform rules concerningthe contract for international carriage of goods by rail (CIM),Annex 1 to which constitutes the regulations concerning the
international carriage of dangerous goods by rail (RID); whereas
the geographical scope of the Convention extends beyond theCommunity;
(3)Whereas the Convention does not cover the national carriage ofdangerous goods by rail; whereas it is therefore important toensure the uniform application of harmonized safety rulesthroughout the Community; whereas the most appropriate wayof achieving this is to align the laws applied by the MemberStates on the RID;
(4)Whereas, in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, theselaws must be approximated in order to ensure a high level ofsafety for national and international transport operations, to guar-
antee the elimination of distortions of competition by facilitating
the free movement of goods and services throughout theCommunity and to ensure consistency with the other Communityprovisions;
(5)Whereas the provisions of this Directive are without prejudice tothe commitment entered into by the Community and its MemberStates, in accordance with the goals set under Agenda 21,Chapter 19, at the UNCED Conference in June 1992 in Rio deJaneiro, to strive for the future harmonization of systems for the
classification of dangerous substances;
(6)Whereas no specific Community legislation yet governs the
safety conditions under which biological agents and geneticallymodified micro-organisms, regulated under Directives 90/219/1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 389, 31. 12. 1994, p. 15, and amended proposal forwarded on 3
October 1995 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(2) OJ No C 236, 11. 9. 1995, p. 36.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 13 July 1995 (OJ No C 249, 25. 9.
1995, p. 138), Council common position of 8 December 1995 (OJ No C
356. 30. 12. 1995, p. 34) and Decision of the European Parliament of 16
April 1996 (OJ No C 141, 13. 5. 1996, p. 51).
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EEC(1), 90/220/EEC(2) and 90/676/EEDC(3) should be trans-
ported;
(7)Whereas the provisions of this Directive are without prejudice tothe application of other Community provisions in the field ofworker safety and environmental protection;
(8)Whereas the Member States must be able to apply specifictraffic regulations to the transport on their territory of dangerousgoods by rail;
(9)Whereas, the Member States should retain the right, with regardto the transport of dangerous goods by rail, provisionally toimplement rules in conformity with the United Nations recom-mendations on the multimodal transport of dangerous goods, inso far as the RID is not yet harmonized with those regulations,which should facilitate the inter-modal transport of dangerous
goods;
(10)Whereas each Member State must retain the right to regulate or
prohibit, strictly for reasons other than safety, the internal trans-port of certain dangerous goods by rail;
(11)Whereas account should be taken of the more stringent safetymeasures applied in the Channel Tunnel because of its specificcharacteristics, in particular its route and length; whereas provi-sion should also be made for Member States to be able to
introduce the same kind of measures where similar situations
arise; whereas it must be possible for some Member States toapply more stringent standards for material intended for transportbecause of the ambient temperature in their countries;
(12)Whereas, in view of the volume of investment required in thissector, a transitional period should be laid down to enableMember States to retain temporarily certain specific nationalprovisions concerning construction requirements or the use oftanks, receptacles, packaging or an emergency action code;
(13)Whereas the introduction of new developments in technologyand industry must not be hindered; whereas temporary deroga-tions should be provided for that purpose;
(14)Whereas the provisions of the RID authorize the conclusion ofagreements derogating therefrom; whereas the large number ofagreements concluded bilaterally between Member Statesimpedes the free provision of dangerous-goods transportservices; whereas including the necessary provisions in the
Annex to this Directive should overcome the need for such dero-
gations; whereas provision should be made for a transitionalperiod during which the Member States may continue to applyexisting agreements amongst themselves;
(15)Whereas the transport of dangerous goods by rail to or from athird country is authorized, provided it is carried out in accor-dance with the requirements of the RID; whereas, however, inthe case of transport operations from and to the Republics ofthe former Soviet Union which are not contracting parties to
the COTIF, the Member States are entitled to adopt appropriate
measures with regard to such operations; whereas they guaranteea level of safety equivalent to that provided for in the RID;
(16)Whereas it must be possible to adapt this Directive rapidly to
technical progress, notably by adoption of the new provisions
laid down within the framework of the RID; whereas, for thatpurpose, a Committee should be set up and a procedure estab-1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 117, 8. 5. 1990, p. 1. Directive amended by Commission Directive
94/51/EC (OJ No L 297, 18. 11. 1994, p. 29).
(2) OJ No L 117, 8. 5. 1990, p. 15. Directive amended by Commission Direc-
tive 94/15/EC (OJ No L 103, 23. 4. 1994, p. 20).
(3) OJ No L 374, 31. 12. 1990, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Commission
Directive 95/30/EC (OJ No L 155, 6. 7. 1995, p. 41).
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lished for close cooperation between Member States and the
Commission within that Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
CHAPTER I
Scope
Article 1
1. This Directive shall apply to the transport of dangerous goods by
rail within Member States or between Member States. Member States
may, however, exempt from the scope of this Directive the transportof dangerous goods conducted by means of transport equipmentbelonging to or under the responsibility of the armed forces.
2. This Directive shall not, however, affect the Member State's right,
having due regard to Community law, to lay down specific safety
requirements for the national or international transport of dangerous
goods by rail, in so far as the Annex thereto does not cover that area,in particular as regards, inter alia:
— the running of trains;
— the marshalling of freight wagons in trains in national traffic;— operating rules for operations ancillary to transport such as marshal-
ling and stabling;
— the training of staff and the management of information concerning
the dangerous goods transported;
— special rules for the transport of dangerous goods in passenger
trains.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
— ‘RID’ shall mean the regulations concerning the international
carriage of dangerous goods by rail, appearing as Annex I toAppendix B to the Convention concerning international carriage by
rail (COTIF), together with its amendments;
— ‘CIM’ shall mean the uniform rules concerning the contract for
international carriage of goods by rail, appearing as Appendix B tothe Convention concerning international carriage by rail (COTIF),together with its amendments;
— ‘dangerous goods’ shall mean those substances and articles the
transport by rail of which is prohibited or authorized only on certainconditions by the Annex to this Directive;
— ‘transport’ shall mean any operation for the transport of dangerous
goods by rail, conducted wholly or partially within the territory of a
Member State, including the activities of loading, unloading andtransfer to or from another mode of transport and the stops necessi-tated by the circumstances of the transport, covered by the Annexto this Directive, without prejudice to the arrangements laid downby the laws of the Member States concerning liability in respect of
such operations; it shall not include transport wholly performed
within the perimeter of an undertaking.
Article 3
1. Without prejudice to Article 6, dangerous goods the transport of
which is prohibited by the provisions of the Annex may not be trans-ported by rail.
2. Save as otherwise provided in this Directive and without preju-
dice to the rules on market access for railway undertakings or to therules generally applicable to the transport of goods by rail, the transportof dangerous goods by rail shall be authorized, subject to compliancewith the rules laid down in the Annex.1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 4
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CHAPTER II
Derogations,restrictions andexemptions
Article 4
Each Member State may, for the purposes of national rail transport
operations within its territory, retain provisions of its national law onthe transport of dangerous goods by rail which are consistent with theUnited Nations recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods,
until such time as the Annex to this Directive is revised to reflect those
recommendations. In such cases, the Member State concerned shallinform the Commission thereof.
Article 5
1. Without prejudice to other Community provisions, each Member
State shall retain the right to regulate or prohibit, strictly for reasonsother than safety during transport connected in particular with nationalsecurity or environmental protection, the transport of certain dangerousgoods within its territory.
2. (a) For transport via the Channel Tunnel, France and the United
Kingdom may impose more stringent provisions than those
provided for in the Annex. The Commission shall be informed
of such provisions and it shall inform the other Member States.
(b) Where a Member State considers that stricter provisions should
be applied to transport through tunnels with characteristicssimilar to the Channel Tunnel within its territory, it shall inform
the Commission. The Commission, acting in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 9, shall decide whether thetunnel in question has similar characteristics. Provisions adoptedby a Member State shall be notified to the Commission, whichshall inform the other Member States.
(c) A Member State in which the ambient temperature is regularly
lower than − 20 ºC may impose more stringent standards asregards the ►
M3operating temperature of materials used for
plastic packaging, tanks and their equipment intended ◄for
use in the national transport of dangerous goods by rail within
its territory until provisions on the appropriate reference
temperatures for given climatic zones are incorporated in theAnnex.
3. If, on the occasion of an accident or an incident, a Member State
considers that the safety provisions applicable have been found to beinsufficient to limit the hazards involved in the transport operationand if there is an urgent need to take action, that Member State shall
notify the Commission at the planning stage of the measures which it
proposes to take. Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down inArticle 9, the Commission shall decide whether the implementation ofthe measures in question should be authorized and shall determine theduration thereof.
4. Member States may maintain all national provisions applicable on
31 December 1996 to the transport and packaging of substances
containing dioxins or furans.
Article 6
1. Each Member State may authorize the transport by rail within its
territory of dangerous goods classified, packed and labelled in accor-
dance with international requirements for maritime or air transportwhenever the transport involves a sea or air voyage.
Where a national or international journey involves carriage by sea, a
Member State may apply provisions additional to those of the Annexto take account of international rules governing maritime transport,including international rules governing ferry transport.
2. The provisions of the Annex concerning the format of transport
documentation and the use of languages in marking or in the documen-1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 5
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tation required shall not apply to transport operations confined to the
territory of a single Member State. A Member State may authorize theuse of documentation and languages other than those provided for in
the Annex for transport operations confined to its territory.
3. Within its own territory a Member State may authorise the use of
wagons constructed before 1 January 1997 which do not comply with
this Directive, but were constructed in accordance with national provi-sions in force on 31 December 1996, provided that those wagons aremaintained to the required safety levels.
Tanks and wagons constructed on or after 1 January 1997 which do not
comply with the Annex but were constructed in accordance with the
requirements of this Directive that were applicable on the date of theirconstruction may continue to be used for national transport until a datedetermined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 9.
4. A Member State may retain national provisions in force on 31
December 1996 relating to the construction, use and conditions ofcarriage of new tanks, and new receptacles as defined in Class 2 ofthe Annex, which differ from the provisions of that Annex, until refer-
ences to standards for the construction and use of tanks and receptacles
are added to the Annex, with the same binding force as the provisionstherein, but in any event no later than ►
M330 June 2001 ◄. Recep-
tacles and tanks constructed before ►M31 July 2001 ◄and
maintained to the required safety levels may continue to be used underthe original conditions.
The dates 30 June 2001 and 1 July 2001 shall be put back for recepta-
cles and tanks for which there are no detailed technical requirements or
for which no sufficient references to the appropriate European stan-
dards have been added to the Annex.
The receptacles and tanks referred to in the second subparagraph and
the latest date for the application of this Directive as regards thosereceptacles and tanks shall be determined in accordance with the proce-
dure laid down in Article 9.
5. A Member State may retain national provisions other than those
in the Annex with regard to the reference temperature for the transport
in its territory of liquefied gases or mixtures of liquefied gases, until
provisions relating to appropriate reference temperatures for designatedclimatic areas are incorporated into European standards and referred toin the Annex.
6. A Member State may allow the use, in transport within its terri-
tory, of packaging constructed but not certified in accordance with the
RID before 1 January 1997, provided that such packaging bears thedate of its manufacture, is capable of passing the tests laid down innational provisions in force on 31 December 1996 and provided thatthey are maintained to the relevant safety levels (including testing and
inspection where required), according to the following scheme: metal
intermediate bulk containers and metal drums exceeding 50 litres incapacity may be used for up to 15 years after the date of their manu-facture; other metal packagings and all plastic packagings may be usedfor upto five years after the date of their manufacture, but not after 31December 1998.
7. A Member State may authorize the transport within its territory of
certain dangerous goods packed before 1 January 1997 until 31December 1998, provided that the goods are classified, packed andlabelled in accordance with the requirements laid down in nationalprovisions in force before 1 January 1997.
8. A Member State may retain the provisions of its national legisla-
tion which are in force on 31 December 1996 and relate to the displayof an emergency action code in place of the hazard identificationnumber, laid down in the Annex, for national rail transport operationsconducted within its territory.1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 6
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9. Provided they give the Commission advance notification no later
than 31 December 2002 or until two years after the last date of appli-cation of the amended versions of the Annex to this Directive, Member
States may adopt provisions less stringent than those in the Annex for
the transport within their territory only of small quantities of certaindangerous goods, with the exception of substances having a mediumor high level of radioactivity.
These derogations shall be applied without discrimination.Notwithstanding the above, Member States may, provided they give the
Commission advance notification, at any time adopt provisions similarto provisions adopted by other Member States with reference to thisparagraph.
The Commission shall examine whether the conditions laid down in
this paragraph have been met and shall decide, in accordance with theprocedure laid down in Article 9, whether the Member Statesconcerned may adopt these derogations.
10. The Member States may issue authorisations, valid for their
territory only, to carry out ad hoc transport operations of dangerousgoods which are either prohibited by the Annex or are performed under
conditions different from those laid down in the Annex, on condition
that these ad hoc transport operations are clearly defined and limitedin time.
11. Provided they give the Commission advance notification,
Member States may authorise the regular transport on particular desig-nated routes within their territory of dangerous goods, forming part of adefined industrial process, which are either prohibited by the provisionsof the Annex or are performed under conditions different from thoselaid down in the Annex, where such operations are of a local nature
and are tightly controlled under clearly specified conditions.
The Commission shall examine whether the requirements of the first
subparagraph have been met and shall decide, in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 9, whether the Member Statesconcerned may authorise such transport operations.
12. Provided that there is no loss of safety, a Member State may
grant temporary derogations from the Annex for the purpose of
carrying out within its territory the trials necessary before the amend-ment of that Annex in order to adapt them to technological andindustrial developments. The Commission shall be informed accord-ingly and shall in turn inform the other Member States.
Those temporary derogations, agreed among the Member States'
competent authorities on the basis of the Annex, shall take the formof a multilateral agreement proposed to all the Member States' compe-
tent authorities by the authority that takes the initiative on any
agreement. The Commission shall be informed.
The derogations referred to in the first and second subparagraphs shall
be applied without discrimination on grounds of the nationality or place
of establishment of the consignor, operator or consignee; they may lastfor upto five years and shall be non-renewable.
13. A Member State may, until 31 December 1998 at the latest,
apply existing agreements with other Member States, without discrimi-nation on grounds of the nationality or place of establishment of theconsignor, operator or consignee. Any future derogations shall complywith paragraph 12.
14. Provided they give the Commission advance notification
Member States may authorise the transport of dangerous goods underconditions less stringent than those laid down in the Annex in thecase of local transport over short distances within the perimeters of
ports, airports or industrial sites.
The Commission shall examine whether the conditions laid down in the
first subparagraph have been met and shall decide, in accordance with1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 7
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the procedure laid down in Article 9, whether the Member States
concerned may authorise such transport operations.
Article 7
1. Subject to national or Community provisions on market access,
the transport of dangerous goods by rail between Community territory
and third countries shall be authorized in so far as it complies with therequirements of the RID.
2. This Directive shall not affect a Member State's right, after
informing the Commission, to adopt regulations for its territory on thetransport of dangerous goods by rail from and to those Republics of theformer Soviet Union that are not contracting parties to the COTIF.Such regulations shall apply only to the transport of dangerous goodsby rail (in packaging, in bulk or in tanks) by means of railway wagons
authorized in a State which is not a contracting party to the COTIF. By
means of appropriate measures and obligations the Member Statesconcerned shall guarantee the maintenance of a level of safety equiva-lent to that provided for in the RID. In the case of certain MemberStates the provisions referred to in this paragraph shall apply only to
tank wagons.
CHAPTER III
Finalprovisions
Article 8
The amendments necessary to adapt the Annex to scientific and tech-
nical progress in the fields covered by this Directive, in particular to
take account of amendments to the RID, shall be adopted in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 9.
Article 9
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the ‘Committee on the
transport of dangerous goods’ set up under Article 9 of Directive 94/55/EC.(
1)
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period referred to in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 10
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directivebefore 1 January 1997. They shall forthwith inform the Commissionthereof.
When Member States adopt these measures, they shall contain a refer-
ence to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on theoccasional of their official publication. The methods of making suchreference shall be laid down by Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governedby this Directive.1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 8
(1) OJ L 319, 12.12.1994, p. 7. Directive as last amended by Directive 2000/61/
EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 279 of 1.11.2000,
p. 40).▼B
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Article 11
This Directive shall enter into force on the day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 12
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 9
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ANNEX
Regulations concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by
rail (RID), appearing as Annex I to Appendix B to COTIF, as applicable
witheffectfrom1July2001,ontheunderstandingthat‘ContractingParty’
and‘theStatesortherailways’willbereplaced by‘Member State’
NB:The consolidated text of the 2001 version of the RID will be published as
soon as the text is available in all the official languages of the Community.
For the purposes of this Annex, ‘consignment’ note means a CIM consignmentnote used for international transport, but shall not prejudice the right of a
Member State to use, for transport not covered by CIM, any other equivalent
documentation. In addition, the use of the expression ‘ADR’ in marginal 15 of
this Annex shall not affect a Member State's right, in national traffic, to
authorize the rail transport of road vehicles in accordance with national provi-
sions laid down in implementation of Directive 94/55/EC.1996L0049 — EN — 21.02.2001 — 001.001 — 10
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