Safety insured for the rail employees accessing the public infrastructure

    The reform of the railway transport in Romania, after the reorganisation of the SNCFR, made possible for several merchandise or travellers transport operators to interact at the same time on the public infrastructure, within a challenging system.
    Thus, checking the access on the public infrastructure of those operators becomes one of the most important activities, insuring the maximum safety conditions for the railway traffic.
    One of the main conditions is that all railway transport operators have to be authorised by Romanian Railway Authority (RRA), according to the present laws.
    Authorising the railway operators to develop transport activities on the public infrastructure, presuppose having in their administration a rolling stock park in perfect technical conditions and also authorised and qualified personnel capable of performing in any activity conditions.
    A representative of the CFR-SA will participate in the professional and authorising periodic verification process for the railway operators directly involved in the railway activity.
    Railway operators will use the public infrastructure submitting to the laws, instructions and supplementary conditions imposed by the authorised organisations within the railway access contract.
    By the contract concluded between CFR-SA and the railway operators, are established the price for using the infrastructure as well as the minimum obligatory services offered by the main infrastructure administrator- CFR-SA.
    Public infrastructure access can be performed on transport licence base only. There are also necessary the safety certificate, the hour indicating papers and the contract signed between the two parties.
    CFR-SA will elaborate a general description of the infrastructure railway tracks assembly for all transport operators. This information will be systematically actualised by the infrastructure administrator care.
    CFR-SA insures also, as signing party of the access contract, the railway infrastructure functioning and administrates all the systems and security devices of traffic regulations established by the Transport Department.
    Whether some railway operators demand infrastructure quality standards superior to those already established by the Transport Department, it is possible to conclude additional acts stipulating the new working conditions.
    For a maximum railway traffic security, CFR-SA permanently informs the railway operators about the infrastructure condition, about the latest changes in the traffic areas as the speed limitation, trains weight limitation, light systems, etc.
    Transport railway operators are obliged according to the access contract to inform CFR-SA about the train’s components (engine, train length, number of carriages and their characteristics, train weight, etc.), about the carriages’ particularities ( if they are RIV?RIC, if they contain dangerous merchandise according to RID, etc), the speed limits concerning the rolling stock and other information necessary in order to insure a safe railway traffic.
    Obligations are consented according to the access contract for the railway operators concerning the public infrastructure access for the both parties involved in the process: the railway operators and the infrastructure administrator.
    CFR-SA is free to check at any time or place on the railway traffic, if this activity is performed according to the agreement between the two parties, concerning public infrastructure utilisation.
    CFR-SA can also supervise the way the railway operators consent to respect the security and the technical norms, regarding the public infrastructure access.
    The rail infrastructure (whether the materials are conform to the technical norms, the personnel is well trained, checked and approved, whether the lines and installations meet with the minimal technical conditions imposed by the instructions, etc.). The access contract for the public railways infrastructure is represented by the act that both the manager and the railway transport operators for both merchandise and passengers will insure the transport in safety conditions.

Eng. Orlando Craciun