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 (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance)

• Published date: 18 July 2008
• Subject Matter: Mercato interno - Principi,trasporti,Mercado interior - Principios,transportes,Marché intérieur - Principes,transports
• Official Gazette Publication: Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 191, 18 luglio 2008,Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 191, 18 de julio de 2008,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 191, 18 juillet 2008

2008L0057 — EN — 01.01.2015 — 005.001

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B 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 (Recast) (Text with EEA relevance) (OJ L 191, 18.7.2008, p.1)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2009/131/EC Text with EEA relevance of 16 October 2009	L 273	12	17.10.2009
►M2	COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2011/18/EU Text with EEA relevance of 1 March 2011	L 57	21	2.3.2011
►M3	COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2013/9/EU Text with EEA relevance of 11 March 2013	L 68	55	12.3.2013
►M4	COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2014/38/EU Text with EEA relevance of 10 March 2014	L 70	20	11.3.2014
►M5	COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2014/106/EU Text with EEA relevance of 5 December 2014	L 355	42	12.12.2014

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▼B

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

(Recast)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 71 and 156 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ( 1 ),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the Treaty ( 2 ),

Whereas:

(1) Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system ( 3 ) and Directive 2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system ( 4 ) were substantially amended by Directive 2004/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ). As new amendments are now being introduced, it is appropriate to recast the Directives for the sake of clarity and merge their provisions together into a single instrument with a view to simplification.

(2) In order to enable citizens of the Union, economic operators and regional and local authorities to benefit to the full from the advantages deriving from the establishing of an area without internal frontiers, it is appropriate, in particular, to improve the interlinking and interoperability of the national rail networks as well as access thereto, implementing any measures that may prove necessary in the field of technical standardisation, as provided for in Article 155 of the Treaty.

(3) By signing the Protocol adopted in Kyoto on 12 December 1997 the European Union has undertaken to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. These objectives require an adjustment to the balance between the various modes of transport, and consequently an increase in the competitiveness of rail transport.

(4) The Community strategy for the integration of environmental and sustainable development concerns into its transport policy highlights the need to act to reduce the environmental impact of transport.

(5) The commercial operation of trains throughout the rail network requires in particular excellent compatibility between the characteristics of the infrastructure and those of the vehicles, as well as efficient interconnection of the information and communication systems of the different infrastructure managers and railway undertakings. Performance levels, safety, quality of service and cost depend upon such compatibility and interconnection, as does, in particular, the interoperability of the rail system.

(6) Member States are responsible for ensuring compliance with the safety, health and consumer protection rules applying to the railway networks in general during the design, construction, putting into service and operation of those railways.

(7) There are major differences between the national regulations and between internal rules and technical specifications which the railways apply, since they incorporate techniques that are specific to the national industries and prescribe specific dimensions and devices and special characteristics. This situation prevents trains from being able to run without hindrance throughout the Community network.

(8) Over the years, this situation has created very close links between the national railway industries and the national railways, to the detriment of the genuine opening-up of markets. In order to enhance their competitiveness at world level, these industries require an open, competitive European market.

(9) It is therefore appropriate to define basic essential requirements for the whole of the Community which will apply to its rail system.

(10) To achieve these objectives an initial measure was taken by the Council on 23 July 1996 with the adoption of Directive 96/48/EC. The European Parliament and the Council subsequently adopted Directive 2001/16/EC.

(11) The entry into force of Directives 2001/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways ( 6 ), 2001/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 amending Council Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings ( 7 ) and 2001/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification ( 8 ) has had an impact on the implementation of interoperability. As in the case of other transport modes, the extension of access rights must be accompanied by the requisite harmonisation measures. It is therefore necessary to implement interoperability on the whole network by extending progressively the geographical scope of Directive 2001/16/EC. It is also necessary to extend the legal basis of Directive 2001/16/EC to Article 71 of the Treaty, on which Directive 2001/12/EC is founded.

(12) The development of technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) has shown the need to clarify the relationship between the essential requirements and the TSIs on the one hand, and the European standards and other documents of a normative nature on the other. In particular, a clear distinction should be drawn between the standards or parts of standards which must be made mandatory in order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, and the ‘harmonised’ standards that have been developed in the spirit of the new approach to technical harmonisation and standardisation.

(13) As a rule, European specifications are developed in the spirit of the new approach to technical harmonisation and standardisation. They enable a presumption to be made of conformity with certain essential requirements of this Directive, particularly in the case of interoperability constituents and interfaces. These European specifications, or the applicable parts thereof, are not mandatory and no explicit reference to these specifications may be made in the TSIs. References to these European specifications are published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and Member States publish the references to the national standards transposing the European standards.

(14) TSIs may in certain cases make an explicit reference to European standards or specifications where this is strictly necessary in order to achieve the objectives of this Directive. Such explicit reference has consequences which must be made clear; in particular, these European standards or specifications become mandatory from the moment the TSI is applicable.

(15) A TSI sets all the conditions with which an interoperability constituent must conform, and the procedure to be followed in assessing conformity. In addition, it is necessary to specify that every constituent must undergo the procedure for assessing conformity and suitability for the use indicated in the TSIs, and have the corresponding certificate.

(16) When developing new TSIs the aim should always be to ensure compatibility with the existing authorised system. This will help to promote the competitiveness of rail transport and prevent unnecessary additional costs through the requirement of upgrading or renewal of existing authorised subsystems to ensure backward compatibility. In those exceptional cases where it will not be possible to ensure compatibility, TSIs may establish the framework necessary to decide whether the existing subsystem may need to be re-authorised, and the corresponding deadlines.

(17) It is necessary for safety reasons to require Member States to assign an identification code to each vehicle placed in service. The vehicle should then be entered in a national vehicle register. The registers must be open to consultation by all Member States and by certain Community economic players. The registers should be consistent as regards the data format. They should therefore be covered by common operational and technical specifications.

(18) The procedure to be followed in the case of essential requirements applicable to a subsystem which have not yet been covered by detailed specifications in the corresponding TSI should be specified. In such case, the bodies responsible for the conformity assessment and verification procedures should be the notified bodies referred to in Article 20 of Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC.

(19) The distinction between a high-speed rail system and a conventional rail system

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