(4)

One or several railway undertakings in cooperation with one or several infrastructure managers (“the applicants”) may carry out pilot projects to test alternative means of ensuring the effective communication required by paragraph 1. The following procedure shall apply: (a) the applicants shall identify the parts of the network and nature of the services concerned, the initial duration of the pilot project and in particular: i) specify the scope of the pilot project, ii) indicate what alternative language competences they propose to apply, iii) describe which additional tools they propose to use to support communication in routine, degraded and emergency situations, iv) demonstrate how the alternative language competences and additional tools ensure at least an equivalent level of safety to full compliance with the requirements of paragraph 1, when integrated in their respective Safety Management Systems (*1), v) explain how they shall implement the pilot project in their Safety Management System, including training programs and documentation of the results, and vi) consult the representatives of the concerned staff in the process of preparing the application. (b) The applicants shall request the opinion of the concerned national safety authority/authorities that issued their single safety certificate(s) or safety authorisation(s), and of the European Union Agency for Railways, where it is the safety certification body (“the authorising entity or entities”). Each authorising entity shall issue an opinion on whether the alternative means ensure at least an equivalent level of safety to full compliance with the requirements of paragraph 1, within 60 days from the day the last authorising entity concerned has received the request. In case several authorising entities are involved, they are encouraged to work together and ensure coordination. The opinions shall assess in particular whether the following conditions are fulfilled: i) the proposed alternative language competences and other tools for communication are sufficient to ensure effective communication between the concerned drivers and the staff of the infrastructure manager in routine, degraded and emergency situations. ii) the safety management systems of the applicants have been adapted to using alternative language competences and other tools for communication. iii) the applicants have provided evidence that these tools have been tested under operational conditions involving drivers fulfilling the language requirements of paragraph 2. iv) all concerned staff of the railway undertaking and infrastructure manager have received appropriate training through their safety management systems. In the event of diverging opinions, the provisions of point (5) second subparagraph shall apply. (c) The applicants shall jointly submit to the Commission an application for derogation from paragraph 2, including the opinions of the authorising entity or entities and the detailed description of the pilot project on which the opinions are based. Alternatively, the participants in the project can designate a coordinator among them, who may submit the joint application on behalf of all participants in the project.