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Article 2

NL proposes a strict alignment of the scope of
the Train Driver Directive (TDD) with that of
the Railway safety directive (RSD) and
Interoperability directive.

Scope
1. This Directive shall apply to train drivers
operating locomotives and trains on the
railway system in the Community for a railway
undertaking requiring a safety certificate or an
infrastructure manager requiring a safety
authorisation.
2. Member States shall not, on the basis of
national provisions pertaining to other staff on
board freight trains, prevent freight trains
from crossing borders or providing domestic
transport in their territory.
3. Without prejudice to the Article 7, Member
States may exclude from the measures they
adopt in implementation of this Directive train
drivers operating exclusively on:
(a) metros, trams and other light rail systems;
(b) networks that are functionally separate
from the rest of the rail system and are
intended only for the operation of local, urban
or suburban passenger and freight services;
(c) privately owned railway infrastructure that
exists solely for use by the infrastructure
owners for their own freight operations;
(d) sections of track that are temporarily
closed to normal traffic for the purpose of
maintaining, renewing or upgrading the
railway system.

Paras. 1 and 3 make for a rather complex
system for determining the scope of the TTD.
According to paragraph 1 the TDD applies to
train drivers operating locomotives and trains
on the railway system for an RU requiring a
safety certificate as defined in Directive
2016/798 (RSD). So, if an RU does not require
a safety certificate for some part of the railway
system because of the scope of the RSD, its
train drivers fall outside the scope of the TDD
for the part of the railway system that is
excluded from the scope of the RSD. Such
aligning of scopes of these connected
directives seems logical.
Para. 3 however confuses matters by listing
exemptions as optional whereas Art. 2(2) RSD
has already placed the rail systems concerned
beyond the scope of the RSD. Art. 2(1) TDD
should suffice in these cases.
“Without prejudice to the Article 7…”
These words in paragraph 3 suggest that a
licence would be valid on rail systems as listed
under a) to d). In view of the scope
determined by para. 1 this would not be the
case as the rail system concerned is already
excluded from the scope of the RSD.
Consequently, a safety certificate (within the
meaning of the RSD) for the use of that rail
system is not required.
As Recital #5 of the Interoperability directive
states: “Metros, trams and other light rail
systems are subject in many Member States to
local technical requirements. Such local public
transport systems are usually not subject to
licensing within the Union. Trams and light rail
systems are furthermore often subject to road
legislation because of shared infrastructure.
For those reasons, such local systems do not
need to be interoperable and should therefore
be excluded from the scope of this Directives.”
The different technical requirements and legal
framework for such local systems do not
accommodate for the automatic validity of the
licence. It should therefore be clear that
excluded rail systems are not part of the scope
of application.
Paragraph 2:

For the sake of clarity, the TTD should not
apply to other crew members as they are
already regulated in the TSI OPE (Regulation
2019/773).
Article 4
Community certification model
1. All train drivers shall have the necessary
fitness and qualifications to drive trains and
shall hold the following documents:
(a) a licence demonstrating that the driver
satisfies minimum conditions as regards
medical requirements, basic education and
general professional skills. The licence shall
identify the driver and the issuing authority
and shall state the duration of its validity. The
licence shall comply with the requirements of
Annex I, until the Community certification
model is adopted, as provided for in paragraph
4;
(b) one or more certificates indicating the
infrastructures on which the holder is
authorised to drive and indicating the rolling
stock which the holder is authorised to drive.
Each certificate shall comply with the
requirements of Annex I.
2. However, the requirement to hold a
certificate for a specific part of infrastructure
shall not apply in the exceptional cases listed
hereafter, provided that another train driver
who possesses a valid certificate for the
infrastructure concerned sits next to the driver
during driving:
(a) when a disturbance of the railway service
necessitates the deviation of trains or
maintenance of tracks, as specified by the
infrastructure manager;
(b) for exceptional, one-off services which use
historical trains;
(c) for exceptional, one-off freight services,
provided that the infrastructure manager
agrees;
(d) for the delivery or demonstration of a new
train or locomotive;
(e) for the purposes of training and examining
drivers.
The use of this possibility shall be a decision of
the railway undertaking and may not be
imposed by the relevant infrastructure
manager or by the competent authority.

Art. 4.2: “The use of this possibility shall be a
decision of the railway undertaking and may
not be imposed by the relevant infrastructure
manager or by the competent authority.”
This subparagraph seems to unintentionally
ignore the possibility of an infrastructure
manager as an employer of train drivers.
Article 4.2. c “For exceptional, one-off freight
services, provided that the infrastructure
manager agrees”;
“Whenever an additional driver is used as
provided for above, the infrastructure manager
shall be informed beforehand.”
NL does not see the added value of these
provisions and proposes to delete them.

Whenever an additional driver is used as
provided for above, the infrastructure manager
shall be informed beforehand.
3. The certificate shall authorise driving in one
or more of the following categories:
(a) category A: shunting locomotives, work
trains, maintenance railway vehicles and all
other locomotives when they are used for
shunting;
(b) category B: carriage of passengers and/or
of goods.
A certificate may contain an authorisation for
all categories, covering all codes as referred to
in paragraph 4.
4. By 4 December 2008 the Commission shall
adopt, on the basis of a draft prepared by the
Agency, a Community model for the licence,
the certificate and the certified copy of the
certificate, and also determine their physical
characteristics, taking into account therein
anti-forgery measures. These measures,
designed to amend non-essential elements of
this Directive by supplementing it, shall be
adopted in accordance with the regulatory
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article
32(3).
By 4 December 2008, the Commission shall
adopt the measures designed to amend nonessential elements of this Directive, by
supplementing it, and concerning the
Community Codes for the different types in
categories A and B as referred to in paragraph
3 of this Article in accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to
in Article 32(3) and on the basis of a
recommendation from the Agency.
Article 6
Ownership, language and issuing bodies
1. A licence shall be owned by its holder and
shall be issued by the competent authority as
defined in Article 3(a). Where a competent
authority or its agent issues a licence in a
national language which is not a Community
language, it shall draw up a bilingual version
of the licence using one of the Community
languages.
2. A certificate shall be issued by the railway
undertaking or the infrastructure manager who
employs or contracts the driver. The certificate
shall be owned by the undertaking or manager
issuing it. However, in accordance with Article
13(3) of Directive 2004/49/EC, drivers shall be
entitled to obtain a certified copy. Where a

“A licence shall be owned by its holder”:
The legal meaning of ownership presents
problems with the characteristics of a licence,
which, for instance, may be withdrawn or
suspended.
Article 17 already states that a licence remains
valid in the case of cessation of employment.

railway undertaking or an infrastructure
manager issues a certificate in a national
language which is not a Community language,
it shall draw up a bilingual version of the
certificate using one of the Community
languages.
Article 11
Basic requirements
1. Applicants shall have successfully completed
at least nine years’ education (primary and
secondary) and have successfully concluded
basic training equivalent to level 3 referred to
in Council Decision 85/368/EEC of 16 July
1985 on the comparability of vocational
training qualifications between the Member
States of the European Community (3).

Para. 1:
Council Decision 85/368/EEC has been
repealed. Clarification of basic training
requirements is needed.

2. Applicants shall provide confirmation of
their physical fitness by passing a medical
examination conducted by, or under the
supervision of — to be decided by the Member
State — a medical doctor accredited or
authorized in accordance with Article 20. The
examination shall cover at least the criteria
indicated in sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 2.1 of
Annex II.
3. Applicants shall demonstrate their
occupational psychological fitness by passing
an examination conducted by, or under the
supervision of — to be decided by the Member
State — a psychologist or a medical doctor
accredited or authorized in accordance with
Article 20. The examination shall cover at least
the criteria indicated in section 2.2 of Annex
II.
4. Applicants shall have demonstrated their
general professional competence by passing
an examination covering at least the general
subjects listed in Annex IV.
Article 16
Periodic checks
1. In order for a licence to remain valid, its
holder shall undergo periodic examinations
and/or tests relating to the requirements
referred to in Article 11(2) and (3). With
regard to medical requirements, the minimum
frequency shall be observed in accordance
with the provisions of section 3.1 of Annex II.
These medical checks shall be conducted by,
or under the supervision of, medical doctors
accredited or authorized in accordance with
Article 20. As far as general professional
knowledge is concerned, the provisions of
Article 23(8) shall apply.

It would be helpful if a maximum period
between the medical checks and application or
renewal of a licence is determined.
“As far as general professional knowledge is
concerned, the provisions of Article 23(8) shall
apply.”
Does this provision imply that a licence may
be suspended if a driver does not have proof
of training to maintain general professional
knowledge?
“When renewing a licence, the competent
authority shall verify in the register provided

When renewing a licence, the competent
authority shall verify in the register provided
for in Article 22(1)(a) that the driver has met
the requirements referred to in the first
subparagraph of this paragraph.
2. In order for a certificate to remain valid, its
holder shall undergo periodic examinations
and/or tests relating to the requirements
referred to in Articles 12 and 13. The
frequency of those examinations and/or tests
shall be determined by the railway undertaking
or the infrastructure manager employing or
contracting the driver in accordance with its
own safety management system, and respect
the minimum frequencies set out in Annex VII.

for in Article 22(1)(a) that the driver has met
the requirements referred to in the first
subparagraph of this paragraph.”
Is (the maintenance of) general professional
knowledge one of the requirements to which
the second paragraph refers?
The reference to Article 22(1)(a) concerns
the register of licences. Under point 28 of
Commission Decision 2010/17/EC, the
inclusion of general knowledge in the register
is considered optional. Does this mean that the
verification by the NSA of the upkeep of
general professional knowledge is optional?
As continuous training is a responsibility of
the RU without common standards, how can
registration in the licence register be effected?

For each of these checks the issuing body shall
confirm by a statement on the certificate and
in the register provided for in Article 22(2)(a)
that the driver has met the requirements
referred to in the first subparagraph of this
paragraph.
3. Where a periodic check is missed or gives a
negative result, the procedure laid down in
Article 18 shall be applied.
Article 17
Cessation of employment
When a driver ceases to work for a railway
undertaking or an infrastructure manager, it
shall inform the competent authority without
delay.
The licence shall remain valid, provided that
the conditions in Article 16(1) remain fulfilled.
A certificate shall become invalid when its
holder ceases to be employed as a driver.
However, the holder shall receive a certified
copy of it and of all documents providing
evidence of his training, qualifications,
experience and professional competences.
When issuing a certificate to a driver, a railway
undertaking or infrastructure manager shall
take account of all those documents.

This article suggests that the NSA registers
which train driver is employed by which
railway undertaking(s). However, this is not
the case and, moreover, is impracticable.
How to deal with self-employed drivers? They
often work for several railway undertakings at
the same time.
We propose to delete the first sentence of
Article 17 because of placing an unnecessary
administrative burden on both the RU/IM and
the NSA.

Article 18
Monitoring of drivers by railway undertakings
and infrastructure managers
1. Railway undertakings and infrastructure
managers shall be required to ensure, and to
check, that the licences and certificates of the
drivers they employ or contract are valid.
They shall set up a system for monitoring their
drivers. If the results of such monitoring call
into question a driver’s competence for the job

“As soon as a railway undertaking or
infrastructure manager is aware or is informed
…”
This should be third paragraph instead of a
subparagraph of para. 2.
“Furthermore, it shall ensure that …”
This provision should be a separate
paragraph.

and the continuing validity of his licence or
certificate, railway undertakings and
infrastructure managers shall immediately
take the necessary action.
2. If a driver considers that his state of health
calls into question his fitness for the job, he
shall immediately inform the railway
undertaking or infrastructure manager,
whichever is appropriate.

“The competent authority shall be informed
without delay of any cases of work incapacity
of more than three months.”
This provision belongs to the proposed third
paragraph.

As soon as a railway undertaking or
infrastructure manager is aware or is informed
by a medical doctor that the health of a driver
has deteriorated to a point where his fitness
for the job is called into question, it shall
immediately take the necessary action,
including the examination described in section
3.1 of Annex II and, if necessary, the
withdrawal of the certificate and the updating
of the register provided for in Article 22(2).
Furthermore, it shall ensure that at no time
during their service drivers are under the
influence of any substance which is likely to
affect their concentration, attention or
behaviour. The competent authority shall be
informed without delay of any cases of work
incapacity of more than three months.
Article 19
Tasks of the competent authority
1. The competent authority shall fulfil the
following tasks in a transparent and nondiscriminatory manner:
a) issuing and updating licences, and providing
duplicates, as provided for in Articles 6 and
14;
(b) ensuring periodic examinations and/or
tests as provided for in Article 16(1);
c) suspending and withdrawing licences, and
notifying the issuing body of reasoned
requests for the suspension of certificates, as
provided for in Article 29;
(d) if so designated by the Member State,
6uthorized6 persons or bodies as provided for
in Articles 23 and 25;
e) ensuring that a register of persons and
bodies accredited or 6uthorized as provided for
in Article 20 is published and updated;
(f) keeping and updating a register of licences
as provided for in Articles 16(1) and 22(1);
(g) monitoring the drivers’ certification process
as provided for in Article 26;

“c) suspending and withdrawing licences”
The TDD mentions withdrawing of licences as a
possibility. However it is unclear when this
would be the case. It is also unclear how
withdrawing of licences differs from permanent
suspension of licences (art. 29).
The Train Drivers Directive mentions both the
suspension and withdrawal of licences and
certificates. Unlike suspension, the grounds for
withdrawal are not elaborated. The difference
between permanent suspension (Article 29(4)
Mrl) and withdrawal of a train driving licence is
not clear.
“4. Where a competent authority delegates or
contracts tasks referred to in points (a) or (b)
of paragraph 1 to a railway undertaking, at
least one of the following conditions shall be
complied with:
a) the railway undertaking issues licences only
to its own drivers;”
We would like to see a clarification added to
this provision that it is up to the Member State
to decide whether or not the NSA should be
allowed to delegate these tasks.

(h) carrying out inspections as provided for in
Article 29;
i) establishing national criteria for examiners
as provided for in Article 25(5).
The competent authority shall respond quickly
to requests for information and present any
requests for additional information without
delay when preparing licences.
2. The competent authority shall not delegate
the tasks referred to in points c), (g) and (i) of
paragraph 1 to third parties.
3. Any delegation of tasks shall be
transparent and non-discriminatory and shall
not give rise to a conflict of interests.
4. Where a competent authority delegates or
contracts tasks referred to in points (a) or (b)
of paragraph 1 to a railway undertaking, at
least one of the following conditions shall be
complied with:
a) the railway undertaking issues licences only
to its own drivers;
(b) the railway undertaking does not enjoy
exclusivity in the territory concerned for any of
the delegated or contracted tasks.
5. Where a competent authority delegates or
contracts tasks, the authorized representative
or contractor shall be required, in performing
such tasks, to comply with the obligations
imposed on competent authorities by this
Directive.
6. Where a competent authority delegates or
contracts tasks, it shall set up a system for
checking how those tasks have been carried
out and shall ensure that the conditions laid
down in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 are complied
with.
Article 20
Accreditation and recognition
1. Persons or bodies accredited under this
Directive shall be accredited by an
accreditation body appointed by the Member
State concerned. The accreditation process
shall be based on criteria of independence,
competence and impartiality, such as the
relevant EN 45 000 series European standards
and on the evaluation of a dossier submitted
by candidates which provides appropriate
evidence of their skills in the area in question.
2. As an alternative to the accreditation
provided for in paragraph 1, a Member State

Commission Decision 2011/765/EU only
speaks of recognition – not accreditation.
Art. 11 requires medical doctors and
psychologists to be recognised or accredited.
However, the absence of common criteria for
this recognition stands in the way of mutual
acceptance between MS.

may provide that persons or bodies recognised
under this Directive shall be recognised by the
competent authority or a body appointed by
the Member State concerned. Recognition shall
be based on criteria of independence,
competence and impartiality. However, in
cases when the particular competence sought
is extremely rare, an exception to this rule
shall be allowed after a positive opinion is
given by the Commission in accordance with
the regulatory procedure referred to in Article
32(2).
The criterion of independence does not apply
in the case of the training referred to in Article
23(5) and (6).
3. The competent authority shall ensure the
publication and updating of a register of
persons and bodies which have been
accredited or recognised under this Directive.
Article 29
Controls by the competent authority
1. The competent authority may at any time
take steps to verify, on board trains operating
in its area of jurisdiction, that the train driver
is in possession of the documents issued
pursuant to this Directive.
2. Notwithstanding verification as provided for
in paragraph 1, in the event of negligence at
the workplace the competent authority may
verify if the driver in question complies with
the requirements set out in Article 13.
3. The competent authority may carry out
enquiries regarding compliance with this
Directive by drivers, railway undertakings,
infrastructure managers, examiners and
training centres pursuing their activities in its
area of jurisdiction.
4. If the competent authority finds that a
driver no longer satisfies one or more required
conditions, it shall take the following
measures:
(a) if it concerns a licence issued by the
competent authority, the competent authority
shall suspend the licence. The suspension shall
be temporary or permanent depending on the
scale of the problems created for rail safety. It
shall immediately inform the driver concerned
and his employer of its reasoned decision,
without prejudice to the right of review
provided for in Article 21. It shall indicate the
procedure to be followed for recovering the
licence;

Para. 4: “If the competent authority finds that a driver
no longer satisfies one or more required conditions …
the competent authority shall suspend the licence”
Do the required conditions only entail the
physical and psychological requirements, or
also general professional knowledge? If so, it
is not clear how this would be proven.
Could dangerous behavior be grounds for
suspension of the licence?
4.a: “The suspension shall be temporary or
permanent”/ “De schorsing is voorlopig of
definitief”.
The Dutch version differs from the English
version, thereby changing the meaning to
‘provisional suspension’ and ‘final decision’.
We propose to correct the Dutch translation
by replacing ‘voorlopig’ by ‘tijdelijk’ and
‘definitief’ by ‘permanent’.
Permanent suspension versus withdrawal of
licence: Art. 29 does not mention ‘withdrawal’
of licences. Under what circumstances may a
licence be withdrawn?

(b) if it concerns a licence issued by a
competent authority in another Member State,
the competent authority shall approach that
authority and provide a reasoned request
either that a further inspection be carried out
or that the licence be suspended. The
requesting competent authority shall inform
the Commission and the other competent
authorities of its request. The authority that
issued the licence in question shall examine
the request within four weeks and notify the
other authority of its decision. The authority
that issued the licence shall also inform the
Commission and the other competent
authorities of the decision. Any competent
authority may prohibit train drivers from
operating in its area of jurisdiction pending
notification of the issuing authority’s decision;
(c) if it concerns a certificate, the competent
authority shall approach the issuing body and
request either that a further inspection be
carried out or that the certificate be
suspended. The issuing body shall take
appropriate measures and report back to the
competent authority within a period of four
weeks. The competent authority may prohibit
train drivers from operating in its area of
jurisdiction pending the report of the issuing
body, and shall inform the Commission and
the other competent authorities thereof.
At all events, if the competent authority
considers that a particular driver creates a
serious threat to the safety of the railways, it
shall immediately take the necessary action,
such as asking the infrastructure manager to
stop the train and prohibiting the driver from
operating in its area of jurisdiction for as long
as necessary. It shall inform the Commission
and the other competent authorities of any
such decision.
In all cases the competent authority, or the
body designated for this, shall update the
register provided for in Article 22.
5. If a competent authority considers that a
decision taken by a competent authority in
another Member State pursuant to paragraph
4 fails to comply with the relevant criteria, the
matter shall be referred to the Commission
which shall deliver its opinion within three
months. If necessary, corrective measures
shall be proposed to the Member State
concerned. In the event of disagreement or
dispute, the matter shall be referred to the
Committee referred to in Article 32(1), and the
Commission shall take whatever measures are
necessary in accordance with the regulatory
procedure referred to in Article 32(2). A
Member State may maintain a prohibition on a
driver driving on its territory in accordance

with paragraph 4 until the matter is concluded
in accordance with this paragraph.
Annex VII

Frequency of examinations: the Dutch
translation of ‘every three years’ in a, b and c
is inconsistent (‘om de 3 jaar’ in a and b, and
‘iedere 3 jaar’ in c). This leads to confusion
and misunderstanding. We propose to use the
same translation for these words in a, b and c.
Furthermore, it is not clear at which date
‘every 3 years or after any absence of more
than one year’ starts, e.g. is this the start of
the calendar year? The current terminology
leads to misunderstanding about the frequency
term of examinations and we suggest a
reformulation.