The common safety methods (CSMs) describe how the safety levels and the achievement of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements are assessed.

In accordance with Article 6(5) of Directive (EU) 2016/798, the CSMs are to be revised at regular intervals, taking into account the experience gained from their application and the global development of railway safety and with the objective of generally maintaining and, where reasonably practicable, continuously improving safety.

Once issued with a single safety certificate or with a safety authorisation, the applicant should continue to use its safety management system as referred to in Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798.

The human behaviour plays a central role in the safe and efficient operation of the railway. Where that behaviour is considered to have contributed to an accident or incident, it may be that organisational factors, such as workload or job design, had an influence on that behaviour, and thus led to a lesser performance and aggravation of the consequences of that accident or incident. Therefore, it is essential that the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers take a systematic approach to supporting human performance and managing human and organisational factors within the safety management system.

The way safety is perceived, valued and prioritised in an organisation reflects the real commitment to safety at all levels in the organisation. Therefore, it is also important for railway undertakings and infrastructure managers to identify the actions and behaviours that can shape a positive safety culture and to promote through their safety management system this culture of mutual trust, confidence and learning in which staff are encouraged to contribute to the development of safety by reporting dangerous occurrences and providing safety-related information.

Regulations (EU) No 1158/2010 and (EU) No 1169/2010 will become obsolete and should therefore be replaced by this Regulation.

As regards safety authorisations, it follows from Article 12(2), second subparagraph of Directive (EU) 2016/798 that the national safety authority may require that the safety authorisations be revised following substantial changes to the safety regulatory framework. The changes brought about by Article 9 of Directive 2016/798/EC and by this Regulation, even though relevant and important, are not substantial. Therefore, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2010 should apply to safety authorisations issued in accordance with Directive 2004/49/EC, until their expiry date. For the same reason, it is also necessary to postpone the repeal of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2010 until the end of the last day of the period during which it may still be applied by national safety authorities for the purposes of supervision,