Italcertifer with SA Transurb NV in the European Coordination of Notified Bodies for the Implementation of Railway Interoperability
The European Union represented by the European Commission (The Contracting Authority) through the General Directorate for Mobility and Transport, awarded to the Joint Venture Italcertifer S.p.A. and SA Transurb NV a contract with subject of Supporting implementation of Interoperability through better coordination of Notified Bodies.
Bodies Notified under Directive (EU) 2016/797 (NoBos) constitute an essential element to guarantee the rail interoperability and to achieve the target of a single European rail area, by carrying out conformity assessments in accordance with the relevant regulation in a competent, non-discriminatory, transparent, neutral, independent, and impartial manner.
To ensure a coherent application of the conformity assessment procedures, a close cooperation between the Notified Bodies is required. For this reason, the European Commission has set up a sectoral coordination group of Notified Bodies according to Article 44 of Directive (EU) 2016/797, also called NB-Rail Coordination Group. Its aim is to discuss any matter relating to the application of the procedures for assessing the conformity or suitability for the use of the interoperability constituents referred to in Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2016/797, as well as the procedure of verification of the subsystems referred to in Article 15 of Directive (EU) 2016/797. This scope includes the applications of the relevant TSIs and the Decision 2010/713/EU on the Assessment Modules.
The main goal of NB-Rail Coordination Group is to avoid unnecessary technical or economic burden during the conformity assessment or unacceptable divergence of approach by different Notified Bodies,
The next 1st March will be the first Plenary Meeting of 2023 of the NB-Rail Coordination Group, whose technical secretariat will be entirely managed by Italcertifer.
The over 40 No.Bo associates, together with representatives of ERA - European Union Agency for Railways and DG Move of the EC - will meet, in order to use their experience, to contribute to the realization, for the railway sector, of a harmonised European legislative framework, easy and unambiguous to apply, which guarantees:
• a single European railway area designed and built according to a set of European requirements without technical barriers
• a safe, fast and environmentally friendly rail system that is competitive with other odes of transport such as road, air and water
• an interoperable, European and interconnected rail system ensuring the free movement of rolling stock, goods and persons, including persons with reduced mobility.
With the upcoming digitalisation of the railway, aiming to achieve the goals of the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy, common standards and interoperability are needed more than ever. The TSIs are therefore being revised to integrate new digital technologies (e.g. ATO over ERTMS, Digital Automatic Coupling, FRMCS…). The NoBos are encouraged to prepare these innovations by coordinating their contributions in the establishment of harmonised and consistent assessment requirements.
The 4 years mission given to the Joint Venture Italcertifer S.p.A. and SA Transurb NV as technical secretary for the coordination group of Notified Bodies confirms the leadership of the Italcertifer being a railway safety ambassador in the European panorama guaranteeing the competencies, the impartiality, the safe implementation of new technologies, the focus on environment and, the railway safety for passengers.