Maintenance of railway vehicles and track is an important part of ensuring that they continue to deliver a safe performance. The work that the Agency is developing will help to deliver that objective.

The certification of Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) will provide evidence of responsibility and traceability of the maintenance undertaken on freight wagons. The ECM could be the railway undertaking or the keeper. If it is the railway undertaking the certification process will be included in their assessment of their safety management system.

The certification of maintenance workshops sets out a self-certified process that ensures a transparent and structured management system for all workshops and will help to reduce the burden and duplication of controls and/or audits across the rail sector.Until the ECM certification scheme comes into effect, there will be a transitional period where certificates issued in accordance with the MOU on the certification of entities in charge of maintenance (signed by National Safety Authorities on 14th May 2009 – see below), will be recognised as being equivalent. These certificates, sent to the Agency by those issuing the certificates, as well as the certificates sent to the Agency by self declared ECMs, respecting the principles of the MoU, are listed in the certificates box below. At a later stage, ECM certificates will be made available on ERADIS.

The Agency has set up a Task Force made up of experts in the field of freight wagon maintenance and railway axles and including all stakeholders (RUs, keepers, ECMs, suppliers, NSAs, etc.), with the aim of developing (1) Urgent measures as a follow-up to information on problems with broken axles and (2) a review the different maintenance regimes existing across Europe and draw up a programme for further harmonisation.Milestones