Commission Decision of 25 January 2012 on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystems of the trans-European rail system (notified under document C(2012) 172) (Text with EEA relevance) (2012/88/EU) (repealed)

Commission Decision

of 25 January 2012

on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystems of the trans-European rail system

(notified under document C(2012) 172)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2012/88/EU) (repealed)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2008/57/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the interoperability of the rail system within the Community(1), and in particular the second subparagraph of Article 6(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Decision 2006/679/EC of 28 March 2006 concerning the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European conventional rail system(2) laid down the technical specifications for interoperability (‘TSI’) relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European conventional rail system.

(2) Commission Decision 2006/860/EC of 7 November 2006 concerning a technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European high speed rail system(3) lays down the TSI relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European high-speed rail system.

(3) The essential requirements for both the conventional and the high-speed networks must be identical, as must their functional and technical specifications, their interoperability constituents and interfaces, and the procedures for assessing the conformity or the suitability for use of the interoperability constituents or the ‘EC’ verification of their control-command and signalling subsystems.

(4) The implementation strategies should remain specific to each type of network and the existing requirements for the conventional trans-European network and for the high-speed trans-European network should remain unchanged. The European railway agency (‘Agency’) was given a framework mandate to perform certain activities.

(5) On 31 January 2011 the Agency gave its recommendation on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the subsystems ‘control-command and signalling’ of the trans-European rail system(4). This Decision is based on that recommendation.

(6) In the interest of clarity, Decisions 2006/679/EC and 2006/860/EC should therefore be replaced by this Decision.

(7) The changes introduced regarding safety requirements (Section 4.2.1 of Annex III) are based on the analysis that the text in the CCS TSIs in force leaves room for interpretations. The introduced changes have no negative impact in the overall safety level.

(8) The fitting of ERTMS/ETCS should be mandatory in the case of new installations or upgrade of the train protection part of a CCS assembly for railway infrastructure projects benefiting from EU financial support. Such fitting should in principle be carried out in the frame of the EU funded project. In certain cases, it is however necessary to grant a derogation to this implementation rule. The scope of such derogation is limited to the implementation strategy of the ‘control-command and signalling TSI’.

(9) The Agency has listed in the technical document ‘List of CCS Class B systems’ the national legacy control-command and signalling systems (‘Class B systems’). Those systems may still be requested on board locomotives and traction units to run on certain lines.

(10) The Class B systems significantly hamper the interoperability of locomotives and traction units but play an important role in maintaining the high level of safety of the trans-European network. For this reason, it is important to avoid creating additional obstacles to interoperability by, for example, altering these national legacy systems or by introducing new systems.

(11) To avoid creating additional obstacles to interoperability, Member States should ensure that the functionality of the legacy Class B systems and their interfaces remain as currently specified, except where modifications are needed to mitigate safety-related flaws in these systems. Member States should also ensure that systems not included in the list of Class B systems do not constitute additional barriers to interoperability.

(12) The availability of the GSM-R frequencies is essential for safe and interoperable railway operations.

(13) Decisions 2006/679/EC and 2006/860/EC should therefore be repealed.

(14) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, referred to in Article 29(1) of Directive 2008/57/EC,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

OJ L 191, 18.7.2008, p. 1.

(2)

OJ L 284, 16.10.2006, p. 1.

(3)

OJ L 342, 7.12.2006, p. 1.

(4)

ERA/REC/2011-03/ERTMS.