Monitoring and Reporting on the Railway System
The Agency monitors progress in the safety and interoperability of the EU rail system, as mandated by Regulation (EU) 2016/796 (Article 35(4)).
The Agency monitors progress in the safety and interoperability of the EU rail system, as mandated by Regulation (EU) 2016/796 (Article 35(4)). Every two years, the Agency publishes a report on progress in safety and interoperability in the Single European Railway Area (SERA). In the years when a biennial report is not produced, Annual Overviews on Safety and Interoperability are published. Moreover, the ERA Railway Factsheets are also a tool providing useful insights on progress of the SERA.
Safety in the SERA is primarily monitored using Common Safety Indicators (CSIs), which are applied in the annual assessment of achievements against the Common Safety Targets (CSTs). Information contained in reports from National Investigation Bodies is also analysed.
Interoperability in the SERA is monitored through a set of indicators derived from registers hosted by the Agency, annual reports from National Safety Authorities (NSAs), and databases of external partners.
The Agency also draws on data collected by Eurostat and cooperates closely with Eurostat to avoid duplication of work and to ensure methodological consistency between the CSIs and indicators used in other transport modes. An Administrative Arrangement on Cooperation in Rail Transport Statistics has been in place since 2016 to provide a structured framework for this cooperation. The Agency is the data provider for Rail transport safety (tran_sf_rail) for Eurostat.
The Agency seeks synergies and alignment with several EU-level monitoring and performance benchmarking initiatives, including the KPI work of the Platform of Rail Infrastructure Managers (PRIME), the Rail Market Monitoring Scheme of the European Commission (RMMS), Rail Freight Corridors, and Europe’s Rail JU. Finally, the Agency conducts ad-hoc surveys to collect relevant evidence from stakeholders.