The Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2006

Requirement for authorisation

4.—(1) No person shall place in service on the high-speed rail system or the conventional TEN rail system any structural subsystem which has been constructed, upgraded or renewed as a project unless, for the particular rail system—

(a) the Safety Authority has given an authorisation for the placing in service of that subsystem; or

(b) the Competent Authority has decided under regulation 5 that for the upgrading or renewal of the subsystem, an authorisation is not required for the subsystem to be placed in service.

(2) An application for an authorisation under paragraph (1)(a) shall be made in writing to the Safety Authority and be accompanied by—

(a) the complete technical file, including the certificate of conformity; and

(b) the verification declaration.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the Safety Authority in considering an application may not require checks carried out under the appropriate verification assessment procedure to be carried out again.

(4) The Safety Authority may require the applicant to carry out any additional checks which the Safety Authority considers necessary in relation to the project subsystem if that subsystem appears to the Safety Authority not to meet the essential requirements in accordance with regulation 7.

(5) Where additional checks are required under paragraph (4) the Safety Authority—

(a) shall inform the applicant that the application cannot be determined before the additional checks are carried out; and

(b) shall notify the Commission in writing forthwith of the additional checks it requires and the reasons for requiring those checks.

(6) The Safety Authority shall issue an authorisation for the placing in service of a project subsystem on or as part of the high-speed rail system or conventional TEN rail system, where it is satisfied that—

(a) the verification declaration has been drawn up in accordance with Schedule 8;

(b) the project subsystem has been so designed, constructed and installed as to meet the essential requirements in accordance with regulation 7 relating to that subsystem when placed in service on that rail system; and

(c) the project subsystem is compatible with the particular rail system into which it is being placed in service.

(7) The Safety Authority shall determine an application by—

(a) authorising the placing in service of the project subsystem; or

(b) refusing the application for authorisation.

(8) An authorisation issued by the Safety Authority for the placing in service of an item of rolling stock shall be treated, subject to the conditions in paragraph (9), as also being an authorisation for additional rolling stock that the contracting entity constructs or contracts with another person to construct under the same contract or project and where the construction is to the same standards and specifications.

(9) For the purposes of paragraph (8), a contract for the purchase of further items of rolling stock for construction to the same standards and specifications shall be taken to include an option for their purchase but only where the option—

(a) was agreed at the time the contract was made; and

(b) it is exercised by the contracting entity—

(i) within 24 months from the date of authorisation under paragraph (7); or

(ii) within 5 years of the date the contract was made,

whichever is the earliest.

(10) A structural subsystem is placed in service in relation to the high-speed rail system or the conventional TEN rail system when, having been constructed, upgraded or renewed, it is first used on or as part of that rail system in the transportation of passengers or freight or for the purpose for which it was designed, but does not include any testing or trials conducted in the verification assessment procedure or for additional checks required by the Safety Authority.