ECM
ECM - Accreditation of organizations in charge of transportation
The regulations of operation for maintenance entities (ECM) are regulated by Commission Regulation (EU) 779/2019, which came into effect on June 16, 2020. The regulations are an essential part of the fourth rail package. The maintenance of all rail vehicles will be subject to the new regulations, as opposed to merely freight as they have previously applied. Any organization in charge of upkeep must abide by the specifications listed in Annex II of Regulation 779/2019. This essentially refers to the duty to set up and keep up a rail vehicle maintenance management system (MMS).
There are two ways of ECM certification:
- acquiring a certificate from the organization in charge of upkeep;
- provide proof of compliance in order to get a safety authorization or certificate.
However, the selection of the certification path is based on three criteria and is not random:
- vehicle kinds that are within the operator's maintenance responsibility: Operators who maintain other kinds of vehicles are subject to different regulations than those who maintain freight wagons.
- kind of entity: it matters if ECM is also a safety-authorized management or a carrier with safety certifications;
- vehicle use: It's essential for managers or carriers to identify if they maintain vehicles only for their own company use.
