EU Agency for Railways becomes cross-border rail authority

摘要

THE European Union (EU) came a step closer to its goal of creating a Single European Railway Area on June 16, when the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) became responsible for vehicle authorisation, safety certification of train operators, and approval of ERTMS trackside systems. The transfer of responsibilities is being implemented under European Regulation 2016/796 - part of the Technical Pillar of the Fourth Railway Package -which aims to simplify processes and reduce costs. Companies operating across EU borders now have access to a single integrated process for vehicle authorisations, single safety certificates or ERTMS trackside approval. Applications for authorisations must now be submitted through the agency's One Stop Shop (OSS) IT tool. Upon receipt of an application, ERA assigns a project manager, who acts as a personal contact for the applicant, as well as an adviser. Each application is assessed by a dedicated multilingual team. Bulgaria, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia have all adopted the new regime, while Switzerland will adopt it on a case-by-case basis from this month. Other EU member states will transpose the legislation by June 2020.