Notification

Standardisation of technical specifications is especially important for the further development of interoperability. Pursuant to the interoperability directives and decisions on technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), Member States are thus required to inform the European Commission of their national technical rules and standards (notification). During a transitional phase – whilst the TSIs continue to make reference to national rules or early generations of the TSIs do not yet fully cover the whole range of railway interests – national rules may continue to be applied, so notification of these national technical rules is necessary. Austria has made these notifications, with its latest update provided on 13 June 2005.

Another essential factor is the notification of implementation plans for the application of TSIs, which must, in conjunction with a set timetable, indicate the date by which full interoperability will be achieved.

Under the European Commission's decisions of 28 November 2006 concerning the technical specification for interoperability (TSI) relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European conventional rail system, and of 7 November 2006 concerning the technical specification for interoperability relating to the control-command and signalling subsystem of the trans-European high-speed rail system, Member States must notify implementation plans for TSIs in accordance with the criteria set out in Chapter 7 of the TSI. Austria submitted its updated notifications for ETCS (European Train Control System) on 20 October 2006 and for GSM-R (PDF, 37 KB) (Global System of Mobile Communication-Rail) on 6 February 2007.