Biennial Report on the Progress with Railway Interoperability in The
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Progress with Railway Interoperability in the European Union 2013 Biennial Report Contents 2 Foreword 6 1. Introduction 8 1.1. About this report 9 1.2. Data availability 10 2. Regulatory framework 12 2.1. Legal framework 13 2.1.1. Interoperability Directive 13 2.1.2. Registers 13 2.1.3. TSI development and revision 13 2.1.4. Open points 20 2.1.5. Equivalence of rules between Member States 22 2.1.6. European railway standards 24 2.2. Institutional framework 26 2.2.1. Railways Interoperability and Safety Committee (RISC) 26 2.2.2. NSA Network 26 2.2.3. Representative Bodies 27 2.2.4. European Standardisation Organisations 27 2.2.5. NB Rail 27 2.2.6. Task force on vehicle authorisation 28 3. Administrative and institutional indicators 30 3.1. National safety authorities 31 3.1.1. Number of staff involved in interoperability 31 3.1.2. Staff recruitment 32 3.2. Notified bodies 33 3.2.1. Notification of conformity assessment bodies 33 3.2.2. Number of notified bodies 34 3.2.3. Level of competition between notified bodies 35 3 4. Interoperability constituents 36 4.1. Rolling stock interoperability constituents 37 4.2. Command control signalling interoperability constituents 38 4.3. Fixed installations interoperability constituents 39 4.4. Persons with reduced mobility 39 5. Fixed installations 40 5.1. Authorisation placing in service of high-speed lines 41 5.2. Authorisation placing in service of conventional lines 42 5.3. Tunnels 44 5.4. Stations 45 6. ERTMS track-side 46 6.1. ETCS deployment 47 6.2. GSMR deployment 47 7. Vehicles 48 7.1. Authorisations for placing in service of vehicles 49 7.1.1. First authorisation of vehicles and type of vehicles 49 7.1.2. Additional authorisation of vehicles and type of vehicles 52 7.1.3. Upgrades and renewals 56 7.1.4. Trend in authorisations for placing in service of railway vehicles: 2004–2012 56 7.2. Administrative issues on authorisation 58 7.2.1. Fees for authorisation for placing into service 58 7.2.2. Average time for authorisation procedure 59 8. Operational aspects 60 8.1. Train drivers 61 8.2. Service quality report 61 4 9. Registers 62 9.1. European Centralised Virtual Vehicle Register 63 9.1.1. General information 63 9.1.2. ECVVR users 63 9.1.3. Vehicles registered in NVRs 64 9.2. European Register of Authorised Types of Vehicles 68 9.3. European Railway Agency Database of Interoperability and Safety 69 9.4. Vehicle Keeper Marking Register 69 10. Conclusions 72 11. Annex A: EU interoperability legislation 74 12. Annex B: List of acronyms 81 13. Annex C. NSA Staff Number and Recruitment Problems 84 14. Annex D: ETCS equipped lines 87 15. Annex E: Details on vehicles 90 15.1. Locomotive 91 15.2. Fixed formation 91 15.3. Passengers coaches 92 15.4. Wagons 92 15.5. Special vehicles 93 16. Annex F: Vehicle trends 2004 – 2012 94 17. Annex G: Train drivers per Member State 97 18. Annex H: Specimen of EU train driver licence 99 19. Annex I : List of tables 100 20. Annex J: List of figures 102 21. Annex K: Database available in electronic format 104 5 Foreword 6 Having taken over the role of Head of the Interoperability Unit of the European Railway Agency back in September 2012, I have the honour and the pleasure of introducing the reader to this third biennial report on the progress of railway interoperability in the European Union. Rail is a fascinating mode of transport, praised for its outstanding safety levels and its environmental friendliness. Railway is also a world of passion, which makes it unlike any other mode of transport in the heart of many citizens. I believe that all stakeholders in the railway world, as well as all those who take an interest in it, will find in this report an objective analysis of several indicators giving a picture of recent developments in interoperability. Thanks to the efforts made by all actors in the sector who take part in the activities of the Agency and, before its creation those of no less motivated organisations, we are at the dawn of interoperability on the EU railway network. The tools for managing the railway system as a shared system like roads and aviation have reached the final phase of the development process. They include a harmonised set of regulatory documents upon which all components of the railway system will be authorised for placing in service only once for the entire European Union network. The Agency plays a prominent role in drafting and revising these technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) with the active and appreciated contribution of sector organisations and national safety authorities. The introduction of TSIs applicable on the entire European railway network is a major milestone in this process. In parallel, the implementation of the registers is progressing, giving access to a wide range of information related to Interoperability from the Agency website. The development and implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System is one of the measures to create a Trans-European Railway Network and to ensure interoperability. The EU institutions provide support for its deployment not only by establishing the harmonised technical solutions and specifications but also by co-financing ERTMS projects through the TEN-T programme and the Connecting Europe Facility. As a result, despite the economic crisis the length of the lines equipped with European Train Control System shows a constant trend of increase. The introduction of the Global System for Mobile Communications Railway introduction is also progressing; 45% of the planned network had it in operation in June 2013 Looking forward, the applicability of specific national rules will reduce drastically over the coming years. As a matter of fact, these national rules are recognised as the major hurdle for the development of interoperability. This will be reflected accurately in the indicators of this report. In the meantime, the huge task undertaken by the national safety authorities supported by the Agency, in identifying and classifying their applicable national rules for mutual recognition, continues to bridge the gap until all parts of the rail system achieve full conformity with European regulation. Any interested party may consult on the Agency website the repository of all rules applicable for each parameter. Over the coming years, the Agency will continue to improve the Report on progress of railway interoperability in the European Union by including more relevant data (as soon as they become available) and refining criteria from a general perspective. In this respect, any researchers’ analysis, contributions or suggestions from interested parties would be welcomed. We will all endeavour to further remove technical barriers to the safe and uninterrupted movement of trains on the network of the European Union and beyond by actively working together with ‘external’ international organisations with the aim of harmonising rules. In this way, ERA is pursuing its main objective: making the railway system work better for society. Denis BIASIN Head of Interoperability Unit 7 1. Introduction 8 1.1. About this report ADMINISTRATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL INDICATORS This publication provides an overview of the railway interoperability-related indicators in the European Union. This chapter examines the NSAs and, in particular, the number It covers the 28 EU Member States(1), with the following of staff involved directly with interoperability-related activities considerations: as well as the problems with staff recruitment. It also analyses the trends of the number of notified bodies competent for the − Malta and Cyprus have no railways, so they have not different subsystems and their number per Member State. been included in this report; and INTEROPERABILITY CONSTITUENTS − Croatia has been part of the EU since 1 July 2013: at that date the project was already at an advanced stage of The indicators in this chapter aim to provide a picture of the development, so it was not possible to include figures market of interoperability constituents. Given the limitations from Croatia. of data sources, the analysis is based on the Notified Bodies database of the certificates issued by the notified bodies for the interoperability constituents for rolling stock, fixed This report also includes Norway and the railway safety installations, and control–command and signalling. authority of the Channel Tunnel (IGC - Intergovernmental Commission)(2). FIXED INSTALLATION Most of the data are as of December 2012; more recent data This chapter provides measurements of the length of the track have been provided where available. (high-speed and conventional line) in service in each Member State according to the TSI in the time frame under assessment. The Agency publishes the report on progress with This chapter deals with tunnels and stations too. interoperability every two years. Through objective indicators, it shows how far interoperability has been implemented across ERTMS track-side the European Union. The legal basis for this report is provided by Article 14(2) of the Agency Regulation (3): This chapter is subdivided into sections on the European Train Control System (ETCS) and on GSMR deployment. The ETCS The Agency shall monitor progress with the interoperability section provides information about the lines equipped; the of the railway systems. Every two years it shall present and GSMR section details the percentage of the network covered publish a report on progress with interoperability. The first by radio communication. Annex D lists the European lines such report shall be published during the Agency’s second equipped with ETCS. year of activity. VEHICLES For the time being, the availability of interoperability-related This chapter provides the number of vehicles in service per data in the Agency is rather limited because databases and Member State in the time frame under assessment.