IF articles

Summary - The European legislator has exclusively entrusted Railway Undertakings (RUs) and Infrastructure Managers (IMs) with the task of identifying the essential safety tasks as well as the procedures, requirements for the training, evaluation and monitoring of the skills of personnel who carry out those tasks. In line with the aforementioned European legislative framework, the National Agency for the Safety of Railways and Road and Motorway Infrastructures (ANSFISA) repealed several long-standing national regulations underpinning the operations of railway undertakings. As a result, the need for shared guidelines among the different operators became evident. Fermerci, the association that brings together the main companies in the rail freight transport sector, believed it could solve the mentioned critical issues by collecting the best practices of the sector in an ISB Reference Practice (RP) system. This article briefly describes the main elements of the first reference practice developed to define the qualification process for professional roles involved in safety-related activities. 

List of names and acronyms
AoT Accompaniment of trains
ANSFISA National Agency for the Safety of Railways
and Road and Motorway Infrastructures
TCC Training completion certificate
EQC Examiner qualification certificate
IQC Instructor qualification certificate
PQC Professional qualification certificate
TC Training Centre
ECM Entity in Charge of Maintenance
TM Traffic management
IM Infrastructure Manager
RU Railway Undertaking
IM Infrastructure Maintenance
MMS Maintenance Management System
VM Vehicle Maintenance
RP Reference Practices
TP Train Preparation
RISQS Rail Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme -
Qualification system used in the UK
RSSB Rail Safety and Standards Board - A non-profit
company consisting of companies operating in the British
railway industry
TMS Training Management System
SMS Safety Management System
SMS Safety Management System
TSI Technical specification for interoperability
STI OPE Technical Specification for Interoperability
(TSI) relating to the Traffic Operation and Management
(TOM) subsystem
IMU Infrastructure Maintenance Unit
UNI, Italian Standard Body (ISB)
VPI Verband der Güterwagenhalter in Deutschland -
Trade association of private owners of wagons and railway
workshops in Germany

https://www.medra.org/servlet/view?lang=it&doi=10.57597/IF.05.2026.ART.2