Engine drivers benefit from European certification

01-29-2010 11:11

Directive 59/2007, part of the Third Railway Package, stipulates the certification of engine drivers that work in the communitarian railway system. The goal of these joint provisions should be, first of all, to facilitate engine driver mobility from one EU member state to another, as well as from one railway company to another. The general goal is to recognise the additional authorizations and certifications harmonised by all the parties involved in the railway sector. To that effect, it is essential to stipulate the minimal requirements which the applicants have to meet in order to obtain a harmonized authorization or certification. The provisions also specify the tasks which the competent authorities, engine drivers and other parties involved are responsible for, especially the railway transport operators, infrastructure managers and training centres.
The engine drivers who operate exclusively on metro cars, trams and other light-rail systems, on networks which are separated from the railway systems and which serve exclusively the local, urban or suburban freight and passenger transport services, as well as the engine drivers who operate on a private railway infrastructure do not fall in the categories stipulated by the regulations mentioned above.
In order to guarantee transparency and fairness, the European Community should establish a single certification model recognised by all member states, which stipulates the minimal conditions, as well as the professional qualification and competences of engine drivers. Based on this model, the competent authorities in the member states can issue authorizations and the railway companies and infrastructure managers can issue the additional harmonised certifications.

Transposition in the communitarian legislation, simplified procedures

In Romania, on January 8, 2010, the Official Gazette published the Government Decision for the approval of the Regulations concerning the certification of Romanian engine drivers. This Decision transposes entirely the provisions of Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and Council of October 23, 2007, concerning the certification of engine drivers in the communitarian railway system. The present regulations specify the tasks which the competent authorities, engine drivers and other parties involved are responsible for, especially the railway transport operators, infrastructure managers and professional training centres. According to the new regulations, engine drivers must have the physical capacity and the necessary qualifications to drive trains and locomotives; they must also have an authorization which shows that the respective engine driver meets the general professional abilities required. The authorization identifies the engine driver, the issuing authority and the validity period. Engine drivers must also have one or several certifications which indicate the infrastructure which they are authorized to operate on and the rolling stock which the owner of the certification is authorized to operate.
The authorization issued in accordance with the present regulations is valid in all EU member states. The certificate is valid only on the infrastructures and the rolling stock specified. The certification documents of engine drivers from third countries who operate exclusively on borderline sections on the Romanian railway system can be recognised in accordance with the bilateral agreements signed with the respective country. Romania will recognise the certificates issued in other EU members states, shows the Government Decision published on January 8. The European certification of engine drivers is valid for a period of ten years, if the provisions of article 16, paragraph (1) are observed – the owner of the certification has to be subjected to periodical examinations or tests in order to maintain the validity of the certificate.
Every railway transport operator and infrastructure manager establishes its own procedures for issuing and updating these certificates as an integrating part of its safety system, in accordance with the requirements related to certificate issue and update which will be approved through an order from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I, and in accordance with the present regulations.
As for the procedure for obtaining the authorization and certification for engine drivers in the European railway transport system, the competent authority elaborates the procedure that should be followed. This procedure will then be approved through an order from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure and published in the Romanian Official Gazette, Part I. The competent authority is represented by the Romanian Railway Safety Authority (ASFR), which operates within the Romanian Railway Authority (AFER). All the requests are submitted to the competent authority by the applicant or an entity which acts on his behalf. The competent authority issues the certificate as soon as possible, no later than one month since all the necessary documents were submitted. The competent authority also ensures the periodical examinations and/or tests.
In order to facilitate the procedures, the engine drivers will have full access to the information provided by the registries of the competent authorities and the railway transport operators. At request, they can also obtain a copy of this information. The registries will contain information concerning all the certifications issues, updated, renewed, modified, expired, suspended, withdrawn or declared lost, stolen or destroyed. Moreover, the European regulations of Directive 59/2007 stipulate that the competent authorities have the obligation to cooperate with the European Railway Agency (ERA) in order to ensure registry interoperability.
As for the auxiliary on-board personnel, the present Government Decision stipulates that, after identifying, at communitarian level, the profile and tasks of the other on-board members who perform essential safety tasks and whose professional qualification contributes to ensuring railway safety, proper national regulations will be adopted. The profile and tasks of the auxiliary on-board personnel will be regulated at communitarian level through a system of authorizations and/or certificates, similar to the system established by Directive 59/2007/EC.

Engine driver training method

The Government Decision published on January 8, 2010 stipulates that there has to be a balance between the theoretical training (courses and demonstrations) and the practical training (work place experience, train/locomotive operation with or without supervision on closed lines). Computer-aided training has to be accepted for the individual learning of the operational regulations and for signalling possible problems. The use of simulators, even though it's not mandatory, can be useful for an efficient training; all these methods are useful for training engine drivers under special work conditions and in case of regulations which are rarely applied. Simulators bring a special advantage: they provide practical learning in case of events that cannot be performed in real life. In this case, new generation simulators should be used. As for acquiring knowledge about the routes, the approach which should be encouraged in this case should be the one in which the candidate accompanies a more experienced engine driver for a number of journeys, during the day and during the night. Another method that could be used is video footage of the routes, as seen from the driver's cabin, as an alternative training method.

Photo Source: SBB Photo

Elena Ilie

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