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.

By its Implementing Decision of 1 September 20162, the Commission issued a mandate to the European Union Agency for Railways (the ‘Agency’) in accordance with Article 6(2) of Directive (EU) 2016/798 to revise Commission Regulations (EU) No 1158/20103, (EU) No 1169/20104 and (EU) No 1077/20125. On 9 March 2017, the Agency issued its recommendation, enclosing a report on the results of the consultation of national safety authorities, social partners and users and a report assessing the impact of the amended CSMs to be adopted, to address the mandate of the Commission. The Commission examined the recommendation issued by the Agency to verify that the mandate was fulfilled as referred to in Article 6(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/798.

The purpose of the safety management system is to ensure that the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers achieve their business objectives in a safe manner. The safety management system is often integrated with other management systems to increase the overall performance of the organisation and reduce costs while mutualising the efforts at all levels of the organisation. To this end, the common framework of the ISO High Level Structure6 is used to functionally cluster the requirements of the safety management system, as referred to in Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798. This framework also facilitates the understanding and application of a process approach by the railway undertakings and infrastructure managers when developing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving their safety management system.

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.

The safety management system should take into account the fact that Council Directive 89/391/EEC7 and its relevant individual directives are fully applicable to the protection of the health and safety of workers engaged in railway construction, operation and maintenance. It does not create any additional responsibilities or tasks for the issuing authority other than to check if health and safety risks have been taken into account by the applicant for a single safety certificate or for a safety authorisation. Responsibility for checking the compliance with Directive 89/391/EEC may still be allocated on other competent authorities appointed by the Member States.

The safety management system should where relevant take into consideration the potential additional risks generated by transporting dangerous goods by rail and thereby, should also take account of Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council8.

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

As regards safety certificates, it follows from Article 10(15) of Directive (EU) 2016/798 that the national safety authority may require that the safety certificates be revised following substantial changes to the safety regulatory framework. The changes brought about by Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2016/798 and by this Regulation, even though relevant and important, are not substantial. Therefore, Regulation (EU) No 1158/2010 should apply to safety certificates issued in accordance with Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council9, until their expiry date. For the same reason, it is also necessary to postpone the repeal of Regulation (EU) No 1158/2010 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. Moreover, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/798, existing safety certificates continue to be subject to Directive 2004/49/EC, on which Regulation (EU) No 1158/2010 was based.

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,