1.   For drawing up the recommendations provided for in Articles 6, 7, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 18, the Agency shall establish a limited number of working parties. These working parties shall take as a basis, on the one hand, the expertise built up by professionals from the railway sector, in particular the experience gained by the European Association for Railway Interoperability (AEIF), and, on the other hand, the expertise of the competent national authorities. The Agency shall ensure that its working parties are competent and representative and that they include adequate representation of those sectors of the industry and of those users which will be affected by measures which might be proposed by the Commission on the basis of the recommendations addressed to it by the Agency. The work of the working parties shall be transparent.

Whenever the work provided for in Articles 6, 12, 16 and 17 has a direct impact on the working conditions, health and safety of workers in the industry, representatives from the workers' organisations shall participate in the relevant working parties.

2.   The Agency shall forward the adopted work programme to the representative bodies from the railway sector acting on a European level. The list of these bodies shall be drawn up by the Committee referred to in Article 21 of Directive 96/48/EC. Each body and/or group of bodies shall forward to the Agency a list of the most qualified experts mandated to represent them in each working party.

3.   The national safety authorities defined in Article 16 of the Railway Safety Directive shall appoint their representatives for the working parties in which they wish to participate.

4.   The Agency may, if necessary, add to the working parties independent experts recognised as competent in the field concerned.

5.   The working parties shall be chaired by a representative of the Agency.

1.   The Agency shall recommend to the Commission the common safety methods (CSMs) and the common safety targets (CSTs) provided for in Articles 6 and 7 of the Railway Safety Directive.

2.   The Agency shall recommend to the Commission, at the request of the Commission or of the committee referred to in Article 21 of Directive 96/48/EC or on its own initiative, other measures in the field of safety.

3.   For the transitional period preceding adoption of the CSTs, of the CSMs and of the technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), as well as for matters concerning equipment and infrastructure not covered by the TSIs, the Agency may submit any appropriate recommendation to the Commission. The Agency shall ensure consistency between these recommendations and the TSIs already existing or being drawn up.

4.   The Agency shall present a detailed cost-benefit analysis in support of the recommendations which it submits pursuant to this Article.

5.   The Agency shall organise and facilitate cooperation between the national safety authorities and the investigating bodies defined in Articles 16 and 21 of the Railway Safety Directive.

1.   At the request of the Commission, the Agency shall carry out a technical examination of the new national safety rules submitted to the Commission in accordance with Article 8 of the Railway Safety Directive.

2.   The Agency shall examine the compatibility of the abovementioned rules with the CSMs defined by the Railway Safety Directive and with the TSIs in force. The Agency shall also examine whether these rules enable the CSTs defined by the said Directive to be achieved.

3.   If, after taking account of the reasons given by the Member State, the Agency considers that any of these rules either is incompatible with the TSIs or the CSMs or does not allow CSTs to be reached, it shall submit an opinion to the Commission within two months of transmission of the rules to the Agency by the Commission.

1.   The Agency shall establish a network with the national authorities responsible for safety and the national authorities responsible for the investigations provided for by the Railway Safety Directive in order to define the content of the common safety indicators listed in Annex I to that Directive and to collect relevant data on railway safety.

2.   On the basis of the common safety indicators, national reports on safety and accidents and its own information, the Agency shall submit every two years a report on safety performance, which shall be made public. The first such report shall be published during the Agency's third year of operation.

3.   The Agency shall draw on the data collected by Eurostat and shall cooperate with Eurostat to avoid any duplication of work and to ensure methodological consistency between the common safety indicators and the indicators used in other modes of transport.

1.   The national regulatory bodies referred to in Article 30 of Directive 2001/14/EC may request a technical opinion from the Agency concerning the safety-related aspects of matters drawn to their attention.

2.   The committees provided for in Article 35 of Directive 2001/14/EC and Article 11a of Directive 91/440/EEC may request a technical opinion from the Agency concerning safety-related aspects within their respective areas of competence.

3.   The Agency shall give its opinion within two months. This opinion shall be made public by the Agency in a version from which all commercially confidential material has been removed.

1.   The Agency shall be responsible for keeping a public database of the following documents:

2.   The national authorities responsible for issuing the documents referred to in paragraph 1(a) and (b) shall notify the Agency within one month of each individual decision to issue, renew, amend or revoke them.

3.   The Agency may add to this public database any public document or link relevant to the objectives of this Regulation.

1.   The Agency shall recommend, at the request of the Commission, procedures for implementing interoperability of the railway systems by facilitating coordination between railway undertakings and between infrastructure managers, in particular to organise systems migration.

2.   The Agency shall monitor progress with the interoperability of the railway systems. Every two years it shall present and publish a report on progress with interoperability. The first such report shall be published during the Agency's second year of activity.

1.   The Agency shall draw up recommendations concerning the determination of common uniform criteria for the vocational competences and the assessment of the staff involved in the operation and maintenance of the railway system. In doing so it shall give priority to drivers and trainers. The Agency shall consult the representatives of the social partners in accordance with the arrangements laid down in Article 4.

2.   The Agency shall draw up recommendations with a view to putting in place a system for accreditation of training centres.

3.   The Agency shall promote and support exchanges of drivers and trainers between railway companies from different Member States.

1.   The Agency shall keep a public list of the following documents provided for by Directives 2001/16/EC and 96/48/EC:

2.   The bodies concerned shall submit these documents to the Agency, which shall determine in agreement with Member States the practical procedures for submitting them.

3.   When transmitting the documents referred to in paragraph 1, the bodies concerned may indicate which documents are not to be disclosed to the public for reasons of security.

4.   The Agency shall set up an electronic database for the documents, taking full account of paragraph 3. This database shall be accessible to the public through a website.

1.   The Agency shall be a body of the Community. It shall have legal personality.

2.   In each of the Member States, the Agency shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their laws. It may in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings.

3.   The Agency shall be represented by its Executive Director.

1.   The Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities, the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities and the rules adopted jointly by the institutions of the European Communities for purposes of the application of those Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment shall apply to the staff of the Agency.

2.   Without prejudice to Article 26, the powers conferred on the appointing authority and on the contracting authority by the said Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment shall be exercised by the Agency in respect of its own staff.

3.   Without prejudice to Article 26(1), the Agency's staff shall consist of:

4.   The experts who participate in the working parties organised by the Agency shall not belong to the Agency's staff. Their travel and subsistence expenses, based on rules and scales adopted by the Administrative Board, shall be met by the Agency.

1.   An Administrative Board is hereby set up.

2.   The Administrative Board shall:

1.   The Administrative Board shall be composed of one representative of each Member State and four representatives of the Commission, as well as of six representatives, without the right to vote, the latter representing at European level the following groups:

and appointed by the Commission from a shortlist of three names submitted by their respective European organisations.

Board members shall be appointed on the basis of their degree of relevant experience and expertise.

2.   Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint their members of the Administrative Board as well as an alternate.

3.   The term of office shall be five years and may be renewed once.

4.   When appropriate, the participation of representatives of third countries and the conditions thereof shall be established in the arrangements referred to in Article 36(2).

1.   The Administrative Board shall elect a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson from among its members. The Deputy Chairperson shall replace the Chairperson in the event of the Chairperson being unable to attend to his/her duties.

2.   The term of office of the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson shall be three years and may be renewed once. If, however, their membership of the Administrative Board ends at any time during their term of office as Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson, then their term of office shall automatically expire on that date also.

1.   Meetings of the Administrative Board shall be convened by its Chairperson. The Executive Director of the Agency shall participate in the meetings.

2.   The Administrative Board shall meet at least twice a year. It shall also meet at the instance of the Chairperson, at the request of the Commission, at the request of the majority of its members or of one-third of the Member States' representatives on the Board.

1.   The Agency shall be managed by its Executive Director, who shall be completely independent in the performance of his/her duties, without prejudice to the respective competences of the Commission and the Administrative Board.

2.   The Executive Director shall:

3.   The Executive Director may be assisted by one or more Heads of Unit. If the Executive Director is absent or unable to attend to his/her duties, one of the Heads of Unit shall take his/her place.

1.   The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Administrative Board on the grounds of merit and documented administrative and managerial skills, as well as competence and experience relevant to the railway sector. The Administrative Board shall take its decision by a four-fifths majority of all members entitled to vote. The Commission may propose a candidate or candidates.

Power to dismiss the Executive Director shall lie with the Administrative Board, according to the same procedure.

2.   The Executive Director shall appoint the other members of the Agency's staff in accordance with Article 24.

3.   The term of office of the Executive Director shall be five years. This term of office is renewable once.

1.   In order to perform the tasks entrusted to it by Articles 8, 9, 10, 13 and 15, the Agency may carry out visits to the Member States in accordance with the policy defined by the Administrative Board. The national authorities of the Member States shall facilitate the work of the Agency's staff.

2.   The Agency shall inform the Member State concerned of the planned visit, the names of the delegated Agency officials, and the date on which the visit is to start. The Agency officials delegated to carry out such visits shall do so on presentation of a decision from the Executive Director specifying the purpose and the aims of their visit.

3.   At the end of each visit, the Agency shall draw up a report and send it to the Commission and to the Member State concerned.

1.   The contractual liability of the Agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the contract in question.

2.   The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction to give judgment pursuant to any arbitration clause contained in a contract concluded by the Agency.

3.   In the case of non-contractual liability, the Agency shall, in accordance with the general principles common to the laws of the Member States, make good any damage caused by its departments or by its staff in the course of performance of their duties.

4.   The Court of Justice of the European Communities shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to compensation for the damage referred to in paragraph 3.

5.   The personal liability of its staff towards the Agency shall be governed by the provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations or Conditions of Employment applicable to them.

1.   The Administrative Board shall decide on the linguistic arrangements for the Agency. At the request of a Member of the Administrative Board, this decision shall be taken by unanimity. The Member States may address the Agency in the Community language of their choice.

2.   The translation services required for the functioning of the Agency shall be provided by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union.

1.   The Agency shall be open to participation by European countries which have concluded agreements with the Community, whereby the countries concerned have adopted and are applying Community legislation in the field covered by this Regulation.

2.   In accordance with the relevant provisions of the abovementioned agreements, arrangements shall be made which shall specify the detailed rules for participation by these countries in the work of the Agency, in particular the nature and extent of such participation. These arrangements shall include, inter alia, provisions on financial contributions and staff. They may provide for representation, without vote, on the Administrative Board.

1.   Estimates of all the revenue and expenditure of the Agency shall be prepared for each financial year, corresponding to the calendar year, and shall be set out in the budget of the Agency. Revenue and expenditure shall be in balance.

2.   The revenue of the Agency shall consist of:

3.   The expenditure of the Agency shall include staff, administrative, infrastructure and operational expenses.

4.   Each year, the Administrative Board, on the basis of a draft drawn up by the Executive Director, shall produce a statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the Agency for the following financial year. This statement of estimates, which shall include a draft establishment plan, shall be forwarded by the Administrative Board to the Commission by 31 March at the latest.

5.   The statement of estimates shall be forwarded by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council (hereinafter referred to as the budgetary authority) together with the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union

6.   On the basis of the statement of estimates, the Commission shall enter in the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union the estimates it considers necessary for the establishment plan and the amount of the subsidy to be charged to the general budget, which it shall place before the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 272 of the Treaty.

7.   The budgetary authority shall authorise the appropriations for the subsidy to the Agency. The budgetary authority shall adopt the establishment plan for the Agency.

8.   The budget shall be adopted by the Administrative Board. It shall become final following final adoption of the general budget of the European Union. Where appropriate, it shall be adjusted accordingly.

9.   The Administrative Board shall notify the budgetary authority as soon as possible of its intention to implement any project which may have significant financial implications for the funding of the budget, in particular any projects relating to property such as the rental or purchase of buildings. It shall inform the Commission thereof. Where a branch of the budgetary authority has notified its intention to deliver an opinion on the project, it shall forward its opinion to the Administrative Board within six weeks after the date of notification of the project.

1.   The Executive Director shall implement the budget of the Agency.

2.   By 1 March at the latest following each financial year, the Agency's accounting officer shall communicate the provisional accounts to the Commission's accounting officer together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The Commission's accounting officer shall consolidate the provisional accounts of the institutions and decentralised bodies in accordance with Article 128 of the general Financial Regulation.

3.   By 31 March at the latest, following each financial year, the Commission's accounting officer shall forward the Agency's provisional accounts to the Court of Auditors, together with a report on the budgetary and financial management for that financial year. The report on the budgetary and financial management for the financial year shall also be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council.

The Court of Auditors shall examine these accounts in accordance with Article 248 of the Treaty. It shall publish a report on the Agency's activities every year.

4.   On receipt of the Court of Auditors' observations on the Agency's provisional accounts, under Article 129 of the general Financial Regulation, the Executive Director shall draw up the Agency's final accounts under his own responsibility and submit them to the Administrative Board for an opinion.

5.   The Administrative Board shall deliver an opinion on the Agency's final accounts.

6.   The Executive Director shall, by 1 July at the latest following each financial year, forward the final accounts to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors, together with the Administrative Board's opinion.

7.   The final accounts shall be published.

8.   The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to its observations by 30 September at the latest. He shall also send this reply to the Administrative Board.

9.   The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter's request, all information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question, in accordance with Article 146(3) of the general Financial Regulation.

10.   The European Parliament, on a recommendation from the Council acting by a qualified majority, shall, before 30 April of year N + 2 give a discharge to the Executive Director in respect of the implementation of the budget for year N.

1.   For the purposes of combating fraud, corruption and other unlawful acts, Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 shall apply in full.

2.   The Agency shall accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May 1999 concerning internal investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and shall immediately adopt the necessary provisions applicable to all Agency staff.

3.   The decisions concerning funding and the implementing agreements and instruments resulting from them shall explicitly state that the Court of Auditors and OLAF may, if necessary, carry out on-the-spot checks on the recipients of the Agency's funding.

1.   This Directive applies to the railway system in the Member States, which may be broken down into subsystems for structural and operational areas. It covers safety requirements on the system as a whole, including the safe management of infrastructure and of traffic operation and the interaction between railway undertakings and infrastructure managers.

2.   Member States may exclude from the measures they adopt in implementation of this Directive:

1.   Member States shall ensure that railway safety is generally maintained and, where reasonably practicable, continuously improved, taking into consideration the development of Community legislation and technical and scientific progress and giving priority to the prevention of serious accidents.

Member States shall ensure that safety rules are laid down, applied and enforced in an open and non-discriminatory manner, fostering the development of a single European rail transport system.

2.   Member States shall ensure that measures to develop and improve railway safety take account of the need for a system-based approach.

3.   Member States shall ensure that the responsibility for the safe operation of the railway system and the control of risks associated with it is laid upon the infrastructure managers and railway undertakings, obliging them to implement necessary risk control measures, where appropriate in cooperation with each other, to apply national safety rules and standards, and to establish safety management systems in accordance with this Directive.

Without prejudice to civil liability in accordance with the legal requirements of the Member States, each infrastructure manager and railway undertaking shall be made responsible for its part of the system and its safe operation, including supply of material and contracting of services, vis-à-vis users, customers, the workers concerned and third parties.

4.   This shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of each manufacturer, maintenance supplier, wagon keeper, service provider and procurement entity to ensure that rolling stock, installations, accessories and equipment and services supplied by them comply with the requirements and the conditions for use specified, so that they can be safely put into operation by the railway undertaking and/or infrastructure manager.

1.   In order to facilitate the assessment of the achievement of the CST and to provide for the monitoring of the general development of railway safety Member States shall collect information on common safety indicators (CSIs) through the annual reports of the safety authorities as referred to in Article 18.

The first reference year for the CSIs shall be 2006; they shall be reported on in the annual report the following year.

The CSIs shall be established as set out in Annex I.

2.   Before 30 April 2009 Annex I shall be revised in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2), in particular to include common definitions of the CSI and common methods to calculate accident costs.

1.   A first set of CSMs, covering at least the methods described in paragraph 3(a), shall be adopted by the Commission, before 30 April 2008, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2). They shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

A second set of CSMs, covering the remaining part of the methods as described in paragraph 3, shall be adopted by the Commission before 30 April 2010, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2). They shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2.   Draft CSMs and draft revised CSMs shall be drawn up by the Agency under mandates which shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

The draft CSMs shall be based on an examination of existing methods in the Member States.

3.   The CSMs shall describe how the safety level, and the achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements, are assessed by elaborating and defining:

4.   The CSMs shall be revised at regular intervals, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2), taking into account the experience gained from their application and the global development of railway safety and the obligations on Member States laid down in Article 4(1).

5.   Member States shall make any necessary amendments to their national safety rules in the light of the adoption of CSMs and revisions to them.

1.   The CSTs shall be developed, adopted and revised following the procedures laid down in this Article.

2.   Draft CSTs and draft revised CSTs shall be drawn up by the Agency under mandates which shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

3.   The first set of draft CSTs shall be based on an examination of existing targets and safety performance in the Member States and shall ensure that the current safety performance of the rail system is not reduced in any Member State. They shall be adopted by the Commission, before 30 April 2009, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2), and shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The second set of draft CSTs shall be based on the experiences gained from the first set of CSTs and their implementation. They shall reflect any priority areas where safety needs to be further improved. They shall be adopted by the Commission, before 30 April 2011, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2) and shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

All proposals for draft and revised CSTs shall reflect the obligations on Member States laid down in Article 4(1). Such proposals shall be accompanied by an assessment of the estimated costs and benefits, indicating their likely impact for all the operators and economic agents involved and their impact on the societal acceptance of risk. They shall contain a timetable for gradual implementation, where necessary, in particular to take account of the nature and extent of investment required to apply them. They shall analyse the possible impact on TSI for the subsystems and contain, where appropriate, consequential proposals for amendments to the TSI.

4.   The CSTs shall define the safety levels that must at least be reached by different parts of the railway system and by the system as a whole in each Member State, expressed in risk acceptance criteria for:

5.   The CSTs shall be revised at regular intervals, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2), taking into account the global development of railway safety.

6.   Member States shall make any necessary amendments to their national safety rules in order to achieve at least the CSTs, and any revised CSTs, in accordance with the implementation timetables attached to them. They shall notify these rules to the Commission in accordance with Article 8(3).

1.   In application of this Directive, Member States shall establish binding national safety rules and shall ensure that they are published and made available to all infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, applicants for a safety certificate and applicants for a safety authorisation in clear language that can be understood by the parties concerned.

2.   Before 30 April 2005 Member States shall notify the Commission of all the relevant national safety rules in force, as set out in Annex II, and indicate their area of application.

The notification shall further provide information on the principal content of the rules with references to the legal texts, on the form of legislation and on which body or organisation is responsible for its publication.

3.   Not later than four years after the entry into force of this Directive, the Agency shall evaluate the way in which national safety rules are published and made available in accordance with paragraph 1. It shall also make appropriate recommendations to the Commission for the publication of such rules in order to make the relevant information more easily accessible.

4.   Member States shall forthwith notify the Commission of any amendment to the notified national safety rules and of any new such rule that might be adopted, unless the rule is wholly relating to the implementation of TSIs.

5.   In order to keep the introduction of new specific national rules to a minimum and thus prevent further barriers from being created, and with a view to the gradual harmonisation of safety rules, the Commission shall monitor the introduction of new national rules by Member States.

6.   If, after the adoption of CSTs, a Member State intends to introduce a new national safety rule which requires a higher safety level than the CSTs, or if a Member State intends to introduce a new national safety rule which may affect operations of railway undertakings from other Member States on the territory of the Member State concerned, the Member State shall consult all interested parties in due time and the procedure in paragraph 7 shall apply.

7.   The Member State shall submit the draft safety rule to the Commission for examination, stating the reasons for introducing it.

If the Commission finds that the draft safety rule is incompatible with the CSMs or with achieving at least the CSTs, or that it constitutes a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operations between Member States, a Decision, addressed to the Member State concerned, shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

If the Commission has serious doubts as to the compatibility of the draft safety rule with the CSMs or with achieving at least the CSTs, or considers that it constitutes a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on rail transport operations between Member States, the Commission shall immediately inform the Member State concerned, which shall suspend the adoption, entry into force or implementation of the rule until a Decision is adopted, within a period of six months, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

1.   Infrastructure managers and railway undertakings shall establish their safety management systems to ensure that the railway system can achieve at least the CSTs, is in conformity with the national safety rules described in Article 8 and Annex II and with safety requirements laid down in the TSIs, and that the relevant parts of CSMs are applied.

2.   The safety management system shall meet the requirements and contain the elements laid down in Annex III, adapted to the character, extent and other conditions of the activity pursued. It shall ensure the control of all risks associated with the activity of the infrastructure manager or railway undertaking, including the supply of maintenance and material and the use of contractors. Without prejudice to existing national and international liability rules, the safety management system shall also take into account, where appropriate and reasonable, the risks arising as a result of activities by other parties

3.   The safety management system of any infrastructure manager shall take into account the effects of operations by different railway undertakings on the network and make provisions to allow all railway undertakings to operate in accordance with TSIs and national safety rules and with conditions laid down in their safety certificate. It shall furthermore be developed with the aim of coordinating the emergency procedures of the infrastructure manager with all railway undertakings that operate on its infrastructure.

4.   Each year all infrastructure managers and railway undertakings shall submit to the safety authority before 30 June an annual safety report concerning the preceding calendar year. The safety report shall contain:

1.   In order to be granted access to the railway infrastructure, a railway undertaking must hold a safety certificate as provided for in this Chapter. The safety certificate may cover the whole railway network of a Member State or only a defined part thereof.

The purpose of the safety certificate is to provide evidence that the railway undertaking has established its safety management system and can meet requirements laid down in TSIs and other relevant Community legislation and in national safety rules in order to control risks and operate safely on the network.

2.   The safety certificate shall comprise:

3.   The safety authority in the Member State where the railway undertaking first establishes its operation shall grant the certification in accordance with paragraph 2.

The certification granted in accordance with paragraph 2 must specify the type and extent of the railway operations covered. The certification granted in accordance with paragraph 2(a) shall be valid throughout the Community for equivalent rail transport operations.

4.   The safety authority in the Member State in which the railway undertaking is planning to operate additional rail transport services shall grant the additional national certification necessary in accordance with paragraph 2(b).

5.   The safety certificate shall be renewed upon application by the railway undertaking at intervals not exceeding five years. It shall be wholly or partly updated whenever the type or extent of the operation is substantially altered.

The holder of the safety certificate shall without delay inform the competent safety authority of all major changes in the conditions of the relevant part of the safety certificate. It shall furthermore notify the competent safety authority whenever new categories of staff or new types of rolling stock are introduced.

The safety authority may require that the relevant part of the safety certificate be revised following substantial changes in the safety regulatory framework.

If the safety authority finds that the holder of the safety certificate no longer satisfies the conditions for a certification which it has issued, it shall revoke part (a) and/or (b) of the certificate, giving reasons for its decision. The safety authority that has revoked an additional national certification granted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall promptly inform the safety authority that granted the certification under paragraph 2(a) of its decision.

Similarly, a safety authority must revoke a safety certificate if it is apparent that the holder of the safety certificate has not used it as intended in the year following its issue.

6.   The safety authority shall inform the Agency within one month of the safety certificates referred to in paragraph 2(a) that have been issued, renewed, amended or revoked. It shall state the name and address of the railway undertaking, the issue date, scope and validity of the safety certificate and, in case of revocation, the reasons for its decision.

7.   Before 30 April 2009 the Agency shall evaluate the development of safety certification and submit a report to the Commission with recommendations on a strategy for migration towards a single Community safety certificate. The Commission shall take appropriate action following the recommendation.

1.   In order to be allowed to manage and operate a rail infrastructure the infrastructure manager must obtain a safety authorisation from the safety authority in the Member State where he is established.

The safety authorisation shall comprise:

2.   The safety authorisation shall be renewed upon application by the infrastructure manager at intervals not exceeding five years. It shall be wholly or partly updated whenever substantial changes are made to the infrastructure, signalling or energy supply or to the principles of its operation and maintenance. The holder of the safety authorisation shall without delay inform the safety authority of all such changes.

The safety authority may require that the safety authorisation be revised following substantial changes to the safety regulatory framework.

If the safety authority finds that an authorised infrastructure manager no longer satisfies the conditions for a safety authorisation it shall revoke the authorisation, giving reasons for its decisions.

3.   The safety authority shall inform the Agency within one month of the safety authorisations that have been issued, renewed, amended or revoked. It shall state the name and address of the infrastructure manager, the issue date, the scope and validity of the safety authorisation and, in case of revocation, the reasons for its decision.

1.   The safety authority shall take a decision on an application for safety certification or safety authorisation without delay and in any event not more than four months after all information required and any supplementary information requested by the safety authority has been submitted. If the applicant is requested to submit supplementary information, such information shall be submitted promptly.

2.   In order to facilitate the establishment of new railway undertakings and the submission of applications from railway undertakings from other Member States, the safety authority shall give detailed guidance on how to obtain the safety certificate. It shall list all requirements that have been laid down for the purpose of Article 10(2) and make all relevant documents available to the applicant.

Special guidance shall be given to railway undertakings that apply for a safety certificate concerning services on a defined limited part of an infrastructure, specifically identifying the rules that are valid for the part in question.

3.   An application guidance document describing and explaining the requirements for the safety certificates and listing the documents that must be submitted shall be made available to the applicants free of charge. All applications for safety certificates shall be submitted in the language required by the safety authority.

1.   Member States shall ensure that railway undertakings applying for a safety certificate have fair and non-discriminatory access to training facilities for train drivers and staff accompanying the trains, whenever such training is necessary for the fulfilment of requirements to obtain the safety certificate.

The services offered must include training on necessary route knowledge, operating rules and procedures, the signalling and control command system and emergency procedures applied on the routes operated.

Member States shall also ensure that infrastructure managers and their staff performing vital safety tasks have fair and non-discriminatory access to training facilities.

If the training services do not include examinations and granting of certificates, Member States shall ensure that railway undertakings have access to such certification if it is a requirement of the safety certificate.

The safety authority shall ensure that the provision of training services or, where appropriate, the granting of certificates meets the safety requirements laid down in TSIs or national safety rules described in Article 8 and Annex II.

2.   If the training facilities are available only through the services of one single railway undertaking or the infrastructure manager, Member States shall ensure that they are made available to other railway undertakings at a reasonable and non-discriminatory price, which is cost-related and may include a profit margin.

3.   When recruiting new train drivers, staff on board trains and staff performing vital safety tasks, railway undertakings must be able to take into account any training, qualifications and experience acquired previously from other railway undertakings. For this purpose, such members of staff shall be entitled to have access to, obtain copies and communicate all documents attesting to their training, qualifications and experience.

4.   In every case each railway undertaking and each infrastructure manager shall be responsible for the level of training and qualifications of its staff carrying out safety-related work as set out in Article 9 and Annex III.

1.   Rolling stock that has been authorised to be placed in service in one Member State in accordance with Article 10(2)(b) and is not fully covered by the relevant TSIs shall be authorised to be placed in service in another or other Member States in accordance with this Article, if an authorisation is required by the latter Member State or States.

2.   The railway undertaking applying for authorisation to place rolling stock in service in another Member State shall submit a technical file concerning the rolling stock or type of rolling stock to the relevant safety authority, indicating its intended use on the network. The file shall contain the following information:

3.   The safety authority may request that test runs on the network be undertaken to verify compliance with the restrictive parameters referred to in paragraph 2(c) and shall in that case prescribe their range and content.

4.   The safety authority shall adopt its decision on an application in accordance with this Article without delay and not later than four months after the complete technical file, including documentation of the test runs, has been submitted. The certificate of authorisation may contain conditions for use and other restrictions.

1.   Before 30 April 2009 decisions on common harmonised requirements in accordance with Article 10(2)(b) and Annex IV and a common format for application guidance documents shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

2.   The Agency shall recommend common harmonised requirements and a common format for application guidance documents under a mandate which shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

1.   Each Member State shall establish a safety authority. This authority may be the Ministry responsible for transport matters and shall be independent in its organisation, legal structure and decision making from any railway undertaking, infrastructure manager, applicant and procurement entity.

2.   The safety authority shall be entrusted with at least the following tasks:

3.   The tasks referred to in paragraph 2 may not be transferred or subcontracted to any infrastructure manager, railway undertaking or procurement entity.

1.   The safety authority shall carry out its tasks in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way. In particular it shall allow all parties to be heard and give reasons for its decisions.

It shall promptly respond to requests and applications and communicate its requests for information without delay and adopt all its decisions within four months after all requested information has been provided. It may at any time request the technical assistance of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings or other qualified bodies when it is carrying out the tasks referred to in Article 16.

In the process of developing the national regulatory framework, the safety authority shall consult all persons involved and interested parties, including infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, manufacturers and maintenance providers, users and staff representatives.

2.   The safety authority shall be free to carry out all inspections and investigations that are needed for accomplishment of its tasks and it shall be granted access to all relevant documents and to premises, installations and equipment of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.

3.   Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that decisions taken by the safety authority are subject to judicial review.

4.   The safety authorities shall conduct an active exchange of views and experience for the purpose of harmonising their decision-making criteria across the Community. Their cooperation shall in particular aim at facilitating and coordinating the safety certification of railway undertakings which have been granted international train paths in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15 of Directive 2001/14/EC.

The Agency shall support the safety authorities in these tasks.

1.   Member States shall ensure that an investigation is carried out by the investigating body referred to in Article 21 after serious accidents on the railway system, the objective of which is possible improvement of railway safety and the prevention of accidents.

2.   In addition to serious accidents, the investigating body referred to in Article 21 may investigate those accidents and incidents which under slightly different conditions might have led to serious accidents, including technical failures of the structural subsystems or of interoperability constituents of the trans-European high-speed or conventional rail systems.

The investigating body shall, at its discretion, decide whether or not an investigation of such an accident or incident shall be undertaken. In its decision it shall take into account:

3.   The extent of investigations and the procedure to be followed in carrying out such investigations shall be determined by the investigating body, taking into account the principles and the objectives of Articles 20 and 22 and depending on the lessons it expects to draw from the accident or incident for the improvement of safety.

4.   The investigation shall in no case be concerned with apportioning blame or liability.

1.   Member States shall define, in the framework of their respective legal system, the legal status of the investigation that will enable the investigators-in-charge to carry out their task in the most efficient way and within the shortest time.

2.   In accordance with the legislation in force in the Member States and, where appropriate, in cooperation with the authorities responsible for the judicial inquiry, the investigators shall, as soon as possible, be given:

3.   The investigation shall be accomplished independently of any judicial inquiry.

1.   Each Member State shall ensure that investigations of accidents and incidents referred to in Article 19 are conducted by a permanent body, which shall comprise at least one investigator able to perform the function of investigator-in-charge in the event of an accident or incident. This body shall be independent in its organisation, legal structure and decision-making from any infrastructure manager, railway undertaking, charging body, allocation body and notified body, and from any party whose interests could conflict with the tasks entrusted to the investigating body. It shall furthermore be functionally independent from the safety authority and from any regulator of railways.

2.   The investigating body shall perform its tasks independently of the organisations referred to in paragraph 1 and shall be able to obtain sufficient resources to do so. Its investigators shall be afforded status giving them the necessary guarantees of independence.

3.   Member States shall make provision that railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and, where appropriate, the safety authority, are obliged immediately to report accidents and incidents referred to in Article 19 to the investigating body. The investigating body shall be able to respond to such reports and make the necessary arrangements to start the investigation no later than one week after receipt of the report concerning the accident or incident.

4.   The investigating body may combine its tasks under this Directive with the work of investigating occurrences other than railway accidents and incidents as long as such investigations do not endanger its independence.

5.   If necessary the investigating body may request the assistance of investigating bodies from other Member States or from the Agency to supply expertise or to carry out technical inspections, analyses or evaluations.

6.   Member States may entrust the investigating body with the task of carrying out investigations of railway accidents and incidents other than those referred to in Article 19.

7.   The investigating bodies shall conduct an active exchange of views and experience for the purpose of developing common investigation methods, drawing up common principles for follow-up of safety recommendations and adaptation to the development of technical and scientific progress.

The Agency shall support the investigating bodies in this task.

1.   An accident or incident referred to in Article 19 shall be investigated by the investigation body of the Member State in which it occurred. If it is not possible to establish in which Member State it occurred or if it occurred on or close to a border installation between two Member States the relevant bodies shall agree which one of them will carry out the investigation or shall agree to carry it out in cooperation. The other body shall in the first case be allowed to participate in the investigation and fully share its results.

Investigation bodies from another Member State shall be invited to participate in an investigation whenever a railway undertaking established and licensed in that Member State is involved in the accident or incident.

This paragraph shall not preclude Member States from agreeing that the relevant bodies should carry out investigations in cooperation in other circumstances.

2.   For each accident or incident the body responsible for the investigation shall arrange for the appropriate means, comprising the necessary operational and technical expertise to carry out the investigation. The expertise may be obtained from inside or outside the body, depending on the character of the accident or incident to be investigated.

3.   The investigation shall be carried out with as much openness as possible, so that all parties can be heard and can share the results. The relevant infrastructure manager and railway undertakings, the safety authority, victims and their relatives, owners of damaged property, manufacturers, the emergency services involved and representatives of staff and users shall be regularly informed of the investigation and its progress and, as far as practicable, shall be given an opportunity to submit their opinions and views to the investigation and be allowed to comment on the information in draft reports.

4.   The investigating body shall conclude its examinations at the accident site in the shortest possible time in order to enable the infrastructure manager to restore the infrastructure and open it to rail transport services as soon as possible.

1.   An investigation of an accident or incident referred to in Article 19 shall be the subject of reports in a form appropriate to the type and seriousness of the accident or incident and the relevance of the investigation findings. The reports shall state the objectives of the investigations as referred to in Article 19(1) and contain, where appropriate, safety recommendations.

2.   The investigating body shall make public the final report in the shortest possible time and normally not later than 12 months after the date of the occurrence. The report shall, as close as possible, follow the reporting structure laid down in Annex V. The report, including the safety recommendations, shall be communicated to the relevant parties referred to in Article 22(3) and to bodies and parties concerned in other Member States.

3.   Each year the investigating body shall publish by 30 September at the latest an annual report accounting for the investigations carried out in the preceding year, the safety recommendations that were issued and actions taken in accordance with recommendations issued previously.

1.   Within one week after the decision to open an investigation the investigating body shall inform the Agency thereof. The information shall indicate the date, time and place of the occurrence, as well as its type and its consequences as regards fatalities, injuries and material damage.

2.   The investigating body shall send the Agency a copy of the final report referred to in Article 23(2) and of the annual report referred to in Article 23(3).

1.   A safety recommendation issued by an investigating body shall in no case create a presumption of blame or liability for an accident or incident.

2.   Recommendations shall be addressed to the safety authority and, where needed by reason of the character of the recommendation, to other bodies or authorities in the Member State or to other Member States. Member States and their safety authorities shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the safety recommendations issued by the investigating bodies are duly taken into consideration, and, where appropriate, acted upon.

3.   The safety authority and other authorities or bodies or, when appropriate, other Member States to which recommendations have been addressed, shall report back at least annually to the investigating body on measures that are taken or planned as a consequence of the recommendation.

1.   The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee set up by Article 21 of Directive 96/48/EC.

2.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.

3.   Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

4.   The Committee shall adopt its Rules of Procedure.

1.   Member States may bring any measures concerning the implementation of this Directive to the attention of the Commission. Appropriate decisions shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2).

2.   At the request of a Member State or on its own initiative the Commission shall, in a specific case, examine the application and enforcement of provisions concerning safety certification and safety authorisation, and within two months of receipt of such a request decide in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 27(2) whether the related measure may continue to be applied. The Commission shall communicate its decision to the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States.