Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II CERTIFICATION OF DRIVERS

Article 4 Community certification model

1. All train drivers shall have the necessary fitness and qualifications to drive trains and shall hold the following documents:

(a)

a licence demonstrating that the driver satisfies minimum conditions as regards medical requirements, basic education and general professional skills. The licence shall identify the driver and the issuing authority and shall state the duration of its validity. The licence shall comply with the requirements of Annex I, until the Community certification model is adopted, as provided for in paragraph 4;

(b)

one or more certificates indicating the infrastructures on which the holder is authorised to drive and indicating the rolling stock which the holder is authorised to drive. Each certificate shall comply with the requirements of Annex I.

2. However, the requirement to hold a certificate for a specific part of infrastructure shall not apply in the exceptional cases listed hereafter, provided that another train driver who possesses a valid certificate for the infrastructure concerned sits next to the driver during driving:

(a)

when a disturbance of the railway service necessitates the deviation of trains or maintenance of tracks, as specified by the infrastructure manager;

(b)

for exceptional, one-off services which use historical trains;

(c)

for exceptional, one-off freight services, provided that the infrastructure manager agrees;

(d)

for the delivery or demonstration of a new train or locomotive;

(e)

for the purposes of training and examining drivers.

The use of this possibility shall be a decision of the railway undertaking and may not be imposed by the relevant infrastructure manager or by the competent authority.

Whenever an additional driver is used as provided for above, the infrastructure manager shall be informed beforehand.

3. The certificate shall authorise driving in one or more of the following categories:

(a)

category A: shunting locomotives, work trains, maintenance railway vehicles and all other locomotives when they are used for shunting;

(b)

category B: carriage of passengers and/or of goods.

A certificate may contain an authorisation for all categories, covering all codes as referred to in paragraph 4.

4. By 4 December 2008 the Commission shall adopt, on the basis of a draft prepared by the Agency, a Community model for the licence, the certificate and the certified copy of the certificate, and also determine their physical characteristics, taking into account therein anti-forgery measures. These measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 32(3).

By 4 December 2008, the Commission shall adopt the measures designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, and concerning the Community Codes for the different types in categories A and B as referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 32(3) and on the basis of a recommendation from the Agency.

Article 5 Anti-fraud measures

Competent authorities and issuing bodies shall take all necessary steps to avoid the risks of falsification of licences and certificates and tampering with the registers provided for in Article 22.

Article 6 Ownership, language and issuing bodies

1. A licence shall be owned by its holder and shall be issued by the competent authority as defined in Article 3(a). Where a competent authority or its agent issues a licence in a national language which is not a Community language, it shall draw up a bilingual version of the licence using one of the Community languages.

2. A certificate shall be issued by the railway undertaking or the infrastructure manager who employs or contracts the driver. The certificate shall be owned by the undertaking or manager issuing it. However, in accordance with Article 13(3) of Directive 2004/49/EC, drivers shall be entitled to obtain a certified copy. Where a railway undertaking or an infrastructure manager issues a certificate in a national language which is not a Community language, it shall draw up a bilingual version of the certificate using one of the Community languages.

Article 7 Geographical validity

1. A licence shall be valid throughout the whole territory of the Community.

2. A certificate shall be valid only on those infrastructures and rolling stock identified on it.

Article 8 Recognition of certification documents of train drivers of third countries

The certification documents of train drivers of a third country operating exclusively on border-crossing sections of a Member State’s railway system may be recognised by that Member State in accordance with any bilateral agreements with the third country in question.