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Draft:Public Railway Safety Establishment

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  • Comment: Sections such as "Exercising its missions" are nearly devoid of citations and need more sourcing. Additionally, the article generally needs more sources in order to establish notability. Beachweak (talk) 09:35, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
Public Railway Safety Establishment
Formation2006
TypeÉtablissement public à caractère administratif
HeadquartersAmiens, France
AffiliationsMinistère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires
Budget€13 million

The Établissement public de sécurité ferroviaire (Public Railway Safety Establishment), abbreviated EPSF, is a public administrative body under the supervision of the Direction générale des infrastructures, des transports et des mobilités, which acts as the national (railroad) safety authority in France, as provided for in EU Directive 2004/49/EC,[1] which was repealed on June 16, 2020, by Directive 2016/798.[2]

It is distinct from the Autorité de Régulation des Transports (ART). The ART acts as an economic regulator, while EPSF is responsible for rail safety.

SNCF Réseau, France's main railway infrastructure manager, also publishes operating documentation. This documentation is binding on railway undertakings (RUs).[3]

For its part, EPSF publishes operating texts on its website for information purposes. These texts include, for example, “procedures for organizing a rescue between rolling stock,” “provisions applicable by drivers in certain tunnels” or “compliance by drivers with the planned timetable.”[4]

General objective and administrative structure

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As the national safety authority, it is responsible for ensuring that the various players involved in the French rail system, in particular railway undertakings (RUs) and infrastructure managers (IMs), carry out their operating and management missions safely.

It was created by law no. 2006-10 of January 5, 2006, on transport safety and development. It is placed under the supervision of the Minister of Transport. However, the Minister in charge of transport can only ask the EPSF Managing Director to re-examine a decision concerning the safety or interoperability of rail transport in the event of a serious threat to public order or the continuity of public service.[5] EPSF is placed under the financial supervision of the Minister for the Budget.[6]

Exercising its missions

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The French Transport Code states that “EPSF ensures compliance with the rules governing the safety and interoperability of rail transport.”

EPSF's control is exercised at various levels: by issuing the authorizations required to carry out a railway activity, and by auditing and inspecting railway operators to ensure that they are carrying out their activities safely.

On the one hand, the EPSF issues operating authorizations in the strict sense of the term:

  • The single safety certificate, required by an RU to operate transport services on the network, and justify its ability to run trains in complete safety;
  • The safety approval, required by an IM to receive RUs on its tracks, and justify its ability to guarantee the announced characteristics of the railway infrastructure and to manage traffic safely;
  • Approval of training organizations for personnel assigned to safety-critical tasks (SCT), including train driving, required for organizations that RUs and IMs may choose to call on when they do not themselves organize training for the personnel they assign to these SCTs:
  • The European train driver's license is required by anyone wishing to drive trains on the Community rail network, who can demonstrate a minimum level of railway knowledge and physical and psychological fitness.
  • Marketing authorizations for rail vehicles: wagons, carriages, locomotives, self-propelled units, etc.
  • Infrastructure commissioning authorizations: lines, signal boxes.

It should be noted that, in the application of the provisions of the European texts making up the technical pillar of the 4th railway package (Directives (EU) 2016/797, known as “Interoperability,” and (EU) 2016/798, known as “Safety”) transposed by the publication of Decree no. 2019- 525 of May 27, 2019, on the safety and interoperability of the rail system, the issuing of single safety certificates to RUs and the issuing of marketing authorizations for rail vehicles are shared between EPSF and the European Union Agency for Railways.

EPSF is also responsible for registering rail vehicles held in France and maintains the National Rail Vehicle Register.

The EPSF may restrict, suspend, or withdraw the authorizations it issues, in particular when it finds, during inspections or audits, that the conditions under which the authorizations were issued have not been met.

The EPSF is responsible for monitoring the marketing of railway interoperability components in France.

In addition to its strict control missions, EPSF is called upon to prepare the regulatory framework and to draw up best practices, recommendations, and technical documents for the players in the railway system.[7]

Organization

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EPSF is based in Amiens, where all its employees are grouped. In addition to a general secretariat and an information systems department, the organization of the establishment is structured into three departments covering the three main business lines:

  • Authorizations;
  • Controls;
  • Regulatory, European and International Affairs.

EPSF has a twelve-member Board of Directors, including a government representative from the Conseil général de l'environnement et du développement durable, five ministerial representatives (Director of Transport Services, Director of Transport Infrastructures, Director of Enterprises, Director of Civil Security and Crisis Management, Director of the Budget), two members of parliament, two qualified personalities and two staff representatives.[8]

Financial resources

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EPSF's budget (around 13 million euros) comes mainly from a public service subsidy paid by the French government.

EPSF also receives:

  • Fees paid for the study of certain files submitted to it.[8]
  • Fees for issuing the European train driver's license.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Directive 2004/49/CE du Parlement Européen et du Conseil du 29 avril 2004 concernant la sécurité des chemins de fer communautaires [Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on safety on the Community's railways] (in French). Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. 2004.
  2. ^ Directive (UE) 2016/798 du Parlement Européen et du Conseil du 11 mai 2016 relative à la sécurité ferroviaire [Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety] (in French). Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. 2016.
  3. ^ "Positionnement de l'EPSF parmi les acteurs du système ferroviaire" [Positioning of EPSF among the players in the railway system]. securite-ferroviaire.fr (in French). 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  4. ^ "Présentation de l'espace" [Presentation of the space]. securite-ferroviaire.fr (in French). 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  5. ^ "Décret no 2006-369 du 28 mars 2006 relatif aux missions et aux statuts de l'Établissement public de sécurité ferroviaire" [Decree No. 2006-369 of March 28, 2006 relating to the missions and statutes of the Public Railway Safety Establishment]. securite-ferroviaire.fr (in French). 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "Décret no 2012-1246 du 7 novembre 2012 relatif à la gestion budgétaire et comptable publique" [Decree No. 2012-1246 of November 7, 2012 relating to public budgetary and accounting management]. legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "Arrêté du 19 mars 2012 fixant les objectifs, les méthodes, les indicateurs de sécurité et la réglementation technique de sécurité et d'interopérabilité applicables sur le réseau ferré national" [Order of March 19, 2012 establishing the objectives, methods, safety indicators and technical regulations for safety and interoperability applicable on the national rail network]. legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Statut, ressources et organisation" [Status, resources and organization]. securite-ferroviaire.fr (in French). Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "Guide à l'usage des candidats à l'obtention de la licence de conducteur de train" [Guide for candidates seeking a train driver's license]. securite-ferroviaire.fr (in French). Retrieved January 5, 2025.
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