http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/eudn/2012/463

Commission Decision

of 23 July 2012

amending Decisions 2006/679/EC and 2006/860/EC concerning technical specifications for interoperability

(notified under document C(2012) 4984)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2012/463/EU)

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 Community1, and in particular Article 6(1) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 establishing a European railway agency (Agency Regulation)2 requires the European Railway Agency (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agency’) to ensure that the technical specifications for interoperability (hereinafter referred to as ‘TSIs’) are adapted to technical progress and market trends and to the social requirements and to propose to the Commission the amendments to the TSIs which it considers necessary.

(2)

By Decision C(2007) 3371 of 13 July 2007, the Commission gave a framework mandate to the Agency to perform certain activities under Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system3 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 system4. Under the terms of that framework mandate, the Agency was requested to revise the TSIs on high-speed rolling stock, freight wagons, locomotives and passenger rolling stock, noise, infrastructure, energy, control-command and signalling, operation and traffic management, telematic applications for freight and passenger services, safety on railway tunnels and accessibility to persons with reduced mobility.

(3)

On 31 March 2011, the Agency issued a recommendation on the specification of the register of infrastructure, the procedure of demonstrating the level of compliance with the basic parameters of the TSIs for existing lines, and subsequent amendments to TSIs (ERA/REC/04-2011/INT).

(4)

On 9 June 2011, the Committee established in accordance with Article 29(1) of Directive 2008/57/EC gave a positive opinion on the draft Commission Implementing Decision on the European register of authorised types of railway vehicles and on the draft Commission Implementing Decision on the common specifications of the register of railway infrastructure. Following the adoption of these two Commission acts based on these drafts, namely Commission Implementing Decision 2011/633/EU of 15 September 2011 on the common specifications of the register of railway infrastructure5 and Commission Implementing Decision 2011/665/EU of 4 October 2011 on the European register of authorised types of railway vehicles6, the relevant TSIs need to be updated to ensure global consistency.

(5)

For practical reasons, it is preferable to amend a series of TSIs by a single Commission Decision to implement particular corrections and updates in the legal texts. These corrections and updates are not arising from a global revision of the TSIs or from the extension of their geographical scope.

(6)It is therefore necessary to amend the following Decisions:

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 system7, and
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 and modifying Annex A to Decision 2006/679/EC concerning the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European conventional rail system8.

(7)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: