101 UK Brexit Notes

Connemara Programme October 16 2018 pg. 154 Meeting rail safety and standards if there’s no Brexit deal Purpose This guidance explains how leaving the EU without a deal would affect: rail safety rules, technical standards, authorisations and certificates, train driver licences For rail specifically, as set out in the government’s recent White paper on the future economic partnership, we are seeking bilateral arrangements with France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as Ireland, to facilitate the continued smooth functioning of cross-border rail services. Beyond those cross-border services, we will have the flexibility to shape our own domestic railway legislation to meet the needs of our passengers and freight shippers, and reflect the unique characteristics of the rail network within the UK. In any scenario, most of our services are domestic, so much will continue as it always has in practice. Above all, the UK’s exit from the EU will not affect rail safety, which will remain the number one priority. As with all of our EU exit work so far, we remain committed to working closely with the industry and other stakeholders. This is an essential part of planning for all eventualities. There are a number of cross-cutting issues, such as goods in the supply chain, and we know from our engagement with industry that these issues are of particular importance to them. This notice should be read in conjunction with: Rail transport if there’s no Brexit deal, Trading goods regulated under the ‘New Approach’ if there’s no Brexit deal, Trading with the EU if there’s no Brexit deal, This notice is not designed to cover border infrastructure or checks. Before 29 March 2019 Most of the rules on technical standards, interoperability and safety are contained in EU law. No matter the scenario we remain committed to sharing best practice with our European partners to ensure that safety continues to improve across the EU rail network, particularly given our proud record as one of the safest railways in Europe. In order to run either a domestic or cross-border service legally, rail undertakings (i.e. the train operators) must obtain the correct licences, certificates and authorisations from an EU rail regulator and in certain cases from the safety authority in an EU country. In the UK the safety authority is the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), or the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, or the Intergovernmental Commission for the Channel Tunnel. For safety purposes the railway operator must obtain a safety certificate and train drivers must be licensed. Applicants seeking to use vehicles for the first time must also obtain an authorisation from the safety authority. Certification of conformity by assessment bodies is required under the EU’s Interoperability Regime. This includes certificates of verification for subsystems and certificates of conformity for interoperability constituents that are defined in the Technical Specifications for Interoperability. After March 2019 if there’s no deal If there’s no deal, we would still be able to pursue bilateral agreements with EU countries to maintain cross-border services. We are also seeking mutual recognition of all necessary documentation so that operators from the UK and the EU can continue to operate cross-border services without disruption after exit. Given the large amount of trade and citizens travelling on these services it is everyone’s interests to continue such arrangements. Passengers using cross-border services are responsible for ensuring that their insurance and ticket terms and conditions are sufficient to cover possible disruption. Through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 we will bring EU law onto the UK statute book on exit day. The act, and some minor amendments we are making to the retained legislation, will ensure that the statute book works effectively after exit day. We would also continue to meet our obligations as a member of the Convention concerning international carriage by rail (COTIF) in all scenarios. COTIF establishes uniform rules that govern international rail transport. The EU and the UK are parties to COTIF and these uniform rules. For the vast majority of domestic passenger and freight services currently operating in either the UK or the EU, operators tend to establish subsidiaries in the relevant country. They rely on documentation issued there under EU law. It is possible to rely on documentation issued in one EU country when operating in another. However, a technical notice issued by the European Commission indicates that if there is no deal - certificates and licences issued by ORR (Britain’s national safety authority) to operators currently running train services in the EU would not be valid there after exit. We want to provide businesses with greater clarity and certainty and are therefore proposing to recognise certain documentation, such as safety certificates, and train driver licences, issued by another EU country for a limited period after exit day if there’s no deal. The sections of this notice relating to interoperability constituents and vehicle authorisations should be read in conjunction with the technical notice on Trading goods regulated under the ‘New Approach’ if there’s no Brexit deal. This sets out general principles for the recognition of EU goods documentation for a time-limited period. The implications will be covered later in this notice. The technical specifications for interoperability and the safety regime have been developed by the EU Agency for Railways (EUAR) in conjunction with EU countries and stakeholders. As new rules and standards are developed by the EU after exit, as a third country, the UK will have the flexibility to align with or diverge from these as it wishes. We will only diverge where there are clear arguments for doing so and after fully engaging with industry to assess the impact - particularly the commercial and cost impact to industry. To enable this flexibility, we do not intend to seek formal participation in the European Union Agency for Railways (EUAR) if there’s no deal. However, we encourage UK industry to participate with EUAR at technical and working level. Arrangements for cross-border services will be subject to any bilateral arrangements that the UK negotiates with individual EU countries. In the absence of any bilateral or multilateral arrangements between the UK and relevant EU countries before March 2019, cross-border operators would be subject to the same recognition principles in relation to certificates and licences covered in this notice.