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Railway safety

Railway System Safety

The safety of rail traffic depends on a number of factors, in particular on the technical condition of the railway infrastructure, the rolling stock, the organisation of traffic and rail transport, professional qualifications and the proper performance of duties by employees.

The major duties of the Office in this respect include:

  • inspections of the observance of the rules of operation and maintenance of railway lines and vehicles; among others:
    • the technical conditions which should be met by railway lines and side-tracks, together with traffic management and their maintenance,
    • the conditions of traffic operation on railway lines and side-tracks,
    • the technical conditions of railway vehicle operation,
  • running the National Vehicle Register,
  • issuing safety authorisations, attestations and certificates, including inspections in this field,
  • dealing with matters associated with authorising the documentation of the railway vehicles maintenance system prepared by their owners,
  • dealing with  matters related to the ratification of internal regulations submitted by railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and side-track users,
  • dealing with  matters associated with the supervision of the transportation of dangerous goods by rail,
  • supervising the obtaining of the required qualifications and the performance of duties by staff directly dealing with the management and safety of rail traffic and of people employed as railway vehicle drivers,
  • undertaking measures for increasing the safety of rail transport,
  • approving and monitoring safety management systems by rail managers and railway undertakings, and implementing and extending the range of safety regulations,
  • supervising the implementation of post-accident recommendations issued by the National Railway Accident Investigation Committee,
  • preparing assessments of rail transport safety and annual reports on rail safety,
  • coordinating, supervising and participating in the settling of matters related to issuing, renewing, suspending, and withdrawing train driving licences, and also updating data included in train driving licences and issuing duplicates of train driving licences,
  • directly supervising and coordinating activities in the field of running the register of train driving licences and the list of entities authorised to perform medical examinations, and authorised to verify compliance with the health-related, physical and psychological requirements necessary for a train driver to obtain and maintain a licence or certificate.
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