Safety authorisation for operating the public railway infrastructure

The provider must acquire a safety authorisation from the competent authority to operate the public railway infrastructure.

A safety authorisation entails:

• certificate confirming that the operator implements safe operations of the public railway infrastructure;
• certificate confirming that the operator fulfils the special requirements needed for safe planning, maintenance and operations of railway infrastructure, including the maintenance of signal and safety devices and traffic management.

A safety authorisation is acquired based on the submission of application to the competent authority. After an administrative and content review the competent authority issues a safety certificate.

The safety certificate is valid for maximum five years and can be extended based on the application of the operator. A safety authorisation is partially or entirely supplemented every time when changes occur with regard to railway infrastructure. The owner of the safety authorisation must notify the competent authority on all changes.