Royal Decree 1072/2014, State Railway Safety Agency

Royal Decree 1072/2014, of December 19, creating the State Railway Safety Agency and approving its Statute.

Article 9. Competences.

  1. The State Railway Safety Agency shall exercise, as the authority responsible for railway safety, the following competences:

a) Ensuring the overall maintenance of safety in the operation on the General Railway Network through the supervision of compliance with the obligations of the different actors in this area.

b) Authorizing the entry into service of the structural subsystems that constitute the railway system and verifying that they maintain their requirements.

c) Supervising compliance with the essential requirements by the interoperability constituents.

d) Authorizing the commissioning of vehicles.

e) Issuing, renewing, modifying, or revoking safety certificates for railway companies, as well as supervising them thereafter.

f) Issuing, renewing, modifying, or revoking safety authorizations for infrastructure managers, as well as supervising them thereafter.

g) Proposing, developing, and implementing the safety regulatory framework and supervising its compliance by the agents of the railway system, as well as formulating proposals, guidelines, and regulatory recommendations, including technical specifications of railway subsystems.

h) Monitoring safety objectives and levels through accident indicators and statistics, as well as preparing reports on railway transport safety.

i) Organizing and managing the Railway Special Register, as well as supervising the proper registration of railway personnel and the registration of rolling stock and inventories, statistics, and databases related to railway transport safety, including infrastructure inventories.

j) Granting approval and, if applicable, suspending and revoking, the training centers and psychophysical assessment centers for railway personnel.

k) Granting approval and, if applicable, suspending and revoking, maintenance centers, as well as certifying maintenance entities.

l) Exercising the competences of the Ministry of Public Works in matters of railway personnel, and in particular, granting, renewing, suspending, and revoking driving licenses and titles for railway personnel, as well as proposing the content of the tests for obtaining titles enabling railway personnel, approving the minimum contents of training programs for obtaining qualifications, and the psychophysical capacity conditions for personal assessment certification.

m) Assisting and participating in working groups

of the European Railway Agency and other national and international organizations related to railway transport safety or interoperability.

n) Exercising the competences of the Ministry of Public Works regarding the transport of dangerous goods by rail.

o) Exercising the competences that correspond to the Ministry of Public Works in relation to the defense of the railway public domain and the modification of the building limit line, without prejudice to the competences of the railway infrastructure manager.

p) Exercising sanctioning powers in railway safety matters.

q) Any other functions assigned to it, especially in railway safety matters.

  1. The State Railway Safety Agency is also responsible for granting, suspending, and revoking licenses to railway companies, as well as authorizations for other candidates different from these, including the elaboration and initiation of regulatory projects related to the application and justification documentation of licenses.
  2. The Agency shall provide technical assistance and collaborate with the Ministry of Public Works in the exercise of its railway competences.
  3. The competences referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 may not be transferred or subcontracted to any infrastructure manager, railway company, or contracting entity.

Article 26. Operating Bodies.

  1. The operational bodies of the Agency shall be as follows:

a) Subdirectorate-General of Infrastructures, responsible for exercising functions related to the issuance of safety authorizations for infrastructure managers and their subsequent supervision, as well as everything related to infrastructure and fixed equipment. Specifically, it will perform the functions related to sections a), b), c), f), g), h), and p) of Article 9.1, within the scope of its functions.

b) Subdirectorate-General of Railway Safety Coordination, responsible for exercising functions related to the issuance of licenses and safety certificates for railway companies and their subsequent supervision, authorizations for candidates other than railway companies, as well as everything related to rolling stock, its maintenance, railway personnel, and associated centers.

Additionally, it will be responsible for the overall monitoring of railway safety through safety reports and the evaluation of safety indicators. It will also perform the functions of the Agency related to railway operation and safety systems. It will make proposals for regulation in railway safety matters and coordinate the development of technical operating procedures, as well as the external representation of the Agency. It will also be responsible for managing the Railway Special Register and processing procedures related to dangerous goods. Specifically, it will perform the functions provided for in sections a), c), d), e), g), h), i), j), k), l), m), n), and p) of Article 9.1, within the scope of its competences and, where appropriate, in cooperation with the Infrastructure Subdirectorate, and of Article 9.2.

  1. In addition, the Agency shall have an Administration Division, directly dependent on the Director thereof, which shall carry out support tasks for the Directorate and the Governing Council, as well as the management functions entrusted to it.

Article 27. Structure Development.