Legislation
New TSIs revision procedure Recast of the 1st Railway Package 4th Railway PackageNew TSIs revision procedure
Why a new process for revising the TSIs?
There are four main issues for the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) related to the current process for the revision of the TSIs:
- The siloed process followed until now with one Working Party dealing with an individual TSI, which prevents a consistent horizontal approach between TSIs;
- The current work procedures do not allow to adapt the composition of the Working Parties;
- Discussions in the different Working Parties are difficult to track and trace;
- The assignment of two Project Officers per TSI over the long term during the entire TSI revision process becomes an issue.
Objectives
ERA´s new ‘Change Control Management’ (CCM) is a set of standardised tools, methods and procedures that the ERA uses and will use further in order to control and manage the changes made to the TSIs.
The new CCM is meant to ensure that:
- Change Requests (CRs) are traced and duly documented;
- Unnecessary changes are prevented;
- Avoiding duplication of efforts by reviewing the same CRs several times;
- Resources are used efficiently;
- Stakeholders have an opportunity, in accordance to applicable rules, to initiate changes and participate in the control of changes;
- Users are aware of any changes that occur.
CRs are classified as ‘Error’ or ‘Enhancement’ and can cover the following topics:
- Alignment with newly available standards (‘ENs’);
- Correction of deficiencies;
- Closure of open points;
- Request for specific cases;
- Request to consider new topics/items not covered by TSIs.
TSIs concerned
The ERA proposes to extend the usage of its new CCM to the following TSIs:
- ENE TSI;
- INF TSI;
- LOC&PAS TSI;
- NOI TSI;
- WAG TSI;
- SRT TSI;
- PRM TSI;
- CCS TSI;
- OPE TSI.
ERA proposal for the new TSI revision process
The CR submitter is an entity entitled to submit a CR to the Agency. A CR submitter has a unique access to the CR IT Tool.
The following entities can submit a CR:
- The Representative Bodies;
- The National Safety Authorities;
- Each Member State;
- The European Commission;The Agency (ERA).
The ERA Core Team is composed of the Agency staff members having chaired Working Parties already. The ERA Core Team receives, filters and classifies the CRs. ERA staff from the Core Team chairs the Working Party and report at each Working Party meeting via the CCM tool about the current state of the CRs, their progress and the workload of the Topical Working Groups (TWGs).
- The Working Party will have the role to steer the activities of the TWGs:
- Validate and amend the proposals from the ERA Core Team;
- Ask for reporting from the TWG;
- Contribute to the selection of an alternative where several are possible;
- Finally validate and amend proposed changes to the TSIs.
TWGs are temporary groups created to solve a specific CR or several CRs focusing on technical discussions on specific areas. The composition of a TWG is proposed by the ERA Core Team and validated by the Working Party.
EIM in action
EIM received the following 6 proposals for the TWGs from the ERA:
- TWG on the adaptation of the TSIs to facilitate intermodal freight transport;
- TWG on the Composite Brake Blocks;
- TWG on the Train Modular Architecture – on board CCS;
- TWG on the Interfaces between Rolling Stock and Fixed Installations;
- TWG on Freight;
- TWG on the standardisation.
EIM appointed experts that will attend the TWGs. The following table shows the 6 TWGs and the date for the TWGs meetings:
| TOPICAL WGS Proposed by ERA | Dates of meetings | TSIs affected | |
| Adapt the TSIs so as to facilitate intermodal freight transport | 16 April | WAG INF OPE | |
| Composite Brake Blocks | 15 April | WAG | |
| Train Modular Architecture | 26 May 25 June 8 September 12 November | CCS | |
| Interfaces between Rolling Stock and Fixed Installations | 12/13 May 24/25 June 15/16 September 17/18 November | LOC&PAS | |
| WAG | |||
| INF | |||
| ENE | |||
| SRT | |||
| PRM | |||
| Topical WG on Freight | 14th of May | WAG
OPE |
|
| TWG on standardisation | March (TBD) | All |
Recast of the 1st Railway Package
Facts & context
Directive 2012/34/EU (the so-called “Recast Directive”) was adopted in November 2012 and aimed to simplify and consolidate the three Directives of the First Railway Package by merging them into a single text. In addition, the Recast Directive clarified existing provisions on funding and maintenance of infrastructure, access to rail-related facilities and the independence of regulatory bodies.
EIM in action
- EIM advocated the interests of its members during the recast process, thanks to its involvement with the Platform of Rail Infrastructure Managers (PRIME);
- EIM monitors the work of the European Commission’s Single European Railway Area Committee (SERA) and the Rail Interoperability and Safety Committee (RISC). EIM is also a recognised stakeholder in the EC Expert Group meetings.
2019
- EIM closely monitors the implementation of the Delegated Decision on schedule for capacity allocation, especially the redesign of the international timetable process.
Outlook 2020
- EIM will continue monitoring any initiative of the European Commission related to capacity allocation and timetabling.
Directive 2012/34/EU
4th Railway Package
Objective
The Fourth Railway Package (4th RP) is divided into a Political and a Technical pillar – including three proposals for each pillar. All proposals were adopted between May and December 2016. The proposals cover rules concerning the opening of domestic passenger transport, common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of Railway Undertakings (RUs), additional rules on safety (Directive 2016/798) and interoperability (Directive 2016/797), as well as the reform of the European Railway Agency (Regulation 2016/796), which changed its name to European Union Agency for Railways (ERA).
From June 2019 onwards, ERA acts as a One-Stop-Shop for safety certifications, vehicle authorisations and ERTMS track side approvals. This means that RUs and manufacturers can reduce costs and efforts by only having to apply to one single authority. This authority will then issue a safety certificate or a vehicle authorisation which is valid across the entire EU.
EIM in action
- EIM has produced a legal analysis of the 4th RP for its members;
- EIM has consolidated and advised its members on a wide variety of topics related to the 4th RP: the economic equilibrium test, the role of the Platform of Rail Infrastructure Managers (PRIME), the improvement of the process of issuing safety certificates, the vehicle authorisation process, the new route compatibility checks as well as the ERTMS track side approvals and their related fees & charges, etc.;
- EIM was one of the main authors of the sector guideline on the technical pillar of the 4th Railway Package;
- EIM contributed to all amendments to the TSIs and Application Guides related to the already known open points, error corrections and text adaptations during the revision processes carried out by the European Commission and the EU Agency for Railways;
EIM monitors the work of the ‘European Commission’s Single European Railway Area Committee’ (SERAC) and the ‘Rail Interoperability and Safety Committee’ (RISC). EIM is also a recognised stakeholder in the EC Expert Group meetings related to the technical pillar of the 4th RP.
2019
- EIM has monitored, and where possible commented, the work of the European Commission on the implementation of the Political and the Technical pillars of the 4th RP;
- EIM has informed its members on the relevance of the 4th RP and its impact on their business;
- EIM has also established a constructive dialogue with all relevant rail actors regarding the 4th RP
Outlook 2020
- EIM will continue monitoring the implementation of the 4th RP.
