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requirements; this could be counterproductive for operations in the Single European
Railway Area and for the mobility of train drivers from one Member State to another.
Moreover, the skills and competences to be covered by the licence and the certificate,
and the delineation in terms of content between the two documents could be revisited to
better facilitate the mobility of train drivers. This would provide more flexibility.
In terms of the skills and competences, in particular the level of language requirements
seems not to be adequate and cause a high financial burden. In this respect, it is expected
that the pilot projects carried out based on Regulation (EU) 2019/554 and exploring
alternative options to the current language requirements will provide findings to be taken
into account in a possible revision of the requirements, and the use of IT tools supporting
the train driver in communicating with the infrastructure manager.
Further, the impact of the technological progress (e.g. of ERTMS) on the certification
scheme as such could be assessed, as it could contribute to more flexibility and
simplification of the certification scheme, as well as to efficiency gains (for example by
reducing the costs for updating the certification documents). This assessment should be
embedded in a broader analysis of how technological developments shape the job profile
of train drivers as well as the skills required. In addition, relevant findings from social
research on the transition to automation should be considered, for example done by the
Social Partners as well as other relevant activities such as in the context of the Blueprint
for sectoral cooperation for skills
. The rail supply and transport industries is one of the
next six sectors eligible for funding under Erasmus+. The evaluation showed that there is
significant margin for further improving the effectiveness of the Directive, owing to the
fact that some of its provisions are outdated, its language is sometimes ambiguous, and
its scope might need adjustment.
As regards the efficiency of the Directive, there is no data available on the costs and
benefits linked to the implementation of the Directive, which would allow a comparison
with the costs and benefits estimated in the impact assessment accompanying the
proposal for the Directive. This indicates the need for better data collection in the future.
However, even though no robust evidence with regard to the costs and benefits of the
Directive is available, inconsistent implementation by Member States could have led to
efficiency losses. The stakeholders reported that in some cases, the tasks imposed by the
Directive increased the costs and the need for human resources. However, national
certification schemes were already in place before the Directive entered into force; hence,
some of the costs incurred were due to adapting the old system to the new certification
scheme. Moreover, some of the costs due to complying with the provisions of the
Directive were one-off costs caused by putting in place the new certification scheme.
More extensive use of digital technologies could lead to efficiency gains.
While the Directive is in very general terms still coherent with the overarching priorities
of EU transport policy, updates are required to increase relevance and efficiency through
immediate and undistorted implementation of its requirements underpinning a European
transport system that remains safe, reliable and affordable while becoming more
sustainable and efficient, including less costly. As regards the coherence with other
This is one of the key initiatives of the new skills agenda for Europe, under which stakeholders work
together in sector-specific partnerships, also called sectoral skills alliances, to develop and implement
strategies to address skills gaps in these sectors.
https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1415&langId=en