Decision 2008/164 - 2008/164/EC: Commission Decision of 21 December 2007 concerning the technical specification of interoperability relating to persons with reduced mobility in the trans-European conventional and high-speed rail system (notified under document C(2007) 6633) - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 64/72

In accordance with Article 5(1) of Directive 2001/16/EC, and Article 5(1) of Directive 96/48/EC, each of the subsystems shall be covered by one TSI. Where necessary, a subsystem may be covered by several TSIs and one TSI may cover several subsystems. The decision to develop and/or to review a TSI and the choice of its technical and geographical scope requires a mandate in accordance with Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/16/EC and Article 6(1) of 96/48/EC;

Annex II of Directive 2001/16/EC provides that the needs of persons with reduced mobility shall be taken into account in the elaboration of a TSI for subsystem Infrastructure (section 2.1 of the Directive) and for subsystem Rolling Stock (section 2.6 of Annex II of the Directive 2001/16/EC). In this respect a mandate was granted to the European Association for Railway Interoperability (AEIF), which was appointed as the joint representative body, to draw up a draft TSI for ‘accessibility for persons with reduced mobility’ containing provisions to be applied to both the infrastructure and rolling stock;

In 2001 the AEIF were granted a mandate to revise the first set of high speed TSIs which had been adopted in 2002, related to the rolling stock, infrastructure, control-command and signalling, energy, maintenance, and operation sub-systems. As part of this part the AEIF were asked to consider, amongst other issues, the harmonisation of the TSIs with those on conventional rail interoperability and the accessibility for mobility-impaired persons. For this reason the draft TSI on persons with reduced mobility prepared by the AEIF covered both conventional and high speed rail.

The first high speed TSI of the rolling stock sub-system, adopted as Annex to Decision 2002/735/EC, came into force in 2002. Due to existing contractual commitments, new rolling stock sub-systems or interoperability constituents, or their renewal and upgrade may today fall under conformity assessment against this first TSI. As this TSI in Annex to this Decision is applicable to all new, renewed and upgraded high speed and conventional rail rolling stock, it is important to determine the scope of applicability of the first high speed rolling stock TSI which was adopted as Annex to Decision 2002/735/EC. Member States shall notify an exhaustive list of subsystems and interoperability constituents which are at an advanced stage of development, and fall under Article 7(a) of Directive 96/48/EC. These shall be notified to the Commission not later than six months after the date on which the present Decision becomes applicable.

The draft TSI has been examined by the Committee set up by Concil Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system (3) and referred to in Article 21 of Directive 2001/16/EC.

The main stakeholders have been consulted during the elaboration of the draft TSI. Their observations and...