Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways, was the guest of the President of the Office of Rail Transport on Wednesday and Thursday, 13-14 July 2022.
"I am very pleased that once again we have the pleasure of greeting Josef Doppelbauer and experts from the European Union Agency for Railways. We have been working closely with the Agency for many years in solving the problems of the railway market. Thanks to our joint work, railways are becoming safer and this is the result of our joint initiatives" – said Ignacy Góra, President of the Office of Rail Transport, welcoming the guest.
Josef Doppelbauer visited the Examination and Monitoring Centre for Train Drivers. From 2023 onwards the Centre will conduct examinations for train driver candidates with simulators. The Centre is equipped with three simulators - an electric locomotive, a shunting locomotive and an electric multiple unit.
"The simulators at the Examination and Monitoring Centre for Train Drivers are the most realistic train driving experience in the simulators I have had so far. I see great potential for not only testing in simulators in Europe, but also making greater use of them for training drivers, preparing them in advance to react in emergency situations" - said Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways.
On the first day of the visit, during a meeting at the Office of Rail Transport headquarters, several topics were discussed. One of them facilitation of freight traffic with Ukraine, i.e. allowing Ukrainian trains to operate to the terminus stations of the 1520 mm line (Żurawica and Zawadówka).
The results of the new study on the installation of on-board ETCS equipment prepared by the Office were also presented. The scope of the analysis covers status and demand for the installation of on-board ETCS equipment in Poland, including costs, benefits, barriers, possible scenarios and actions to equip the rolling stock operating in Poland with them.
The issue of how the ESC/RSC tests meet the objectives set for them was discussed. The Office of Rail Transport presented Polish experiences with ESC/RSC testing. J. Doppelbauer agreed with the conclusions that the main role in ensuring ETCS compatibility is played by infrastructure managers. The test definitions which have been developed must be limited to compatibility issues only and must not lead to a duplication of previously performed system checks.
During the meeting the progress of the notification process of Polish national technical rules for fixed installation subsystems was also discussed. The Office of Rail Transport notified the Commission and the Agency on the national requirements for the conventional layer of signalling and for railroad switches. J. Doppelbauer took note of the Polish position on the need to maintain national technical regulations in this area.
One of the topics was also the issue of the Office’s supervision of ECM (Entities in Charge of Maintenance) operating in Poland, which were certified in another EU Member State. Due to the lack of knowledge of Polish legislation by NSAs of other Member States, it may be difficult to control ECMs in Poland. The lack of control of such entities in situations of threats to railway safety may affect the desired level of safety. The President of the Office of Rail Transport proposed to introduce guidelines or even EU-wide regulations, which would regulate the issue of the possibility for the NSA in one country to supervise ECMs certified in other Member States.