The Railway Institute (formerly Railway Scientific and Technical Centre (CNTK)) is operating under the Polish Ministry of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy (former Polish Ministry of Infrastructure), and is notified under EU Railway Directive 2008/57/CE concerning railway interoperability.
The Railway Institute, operating for 60 years in the transport sector, mainly in the rail sector, conducts scientific and research works, as well as services (including calibration of universal masters and measuring instruments) and performs certification works in the fields of railways and urban rail transport.
The Railway Institute owns a test track for conducting various experiments and also possesses the necessary infrastructure for R&D studies in the field of railway transport.
The Railway Institute is a Notified Body under the Interoperability of the Railway System Directive NB 1467.
The Railway Institute is a member of many significant railway organisations in Europe, such as:
Transport in Europe provides for the movement needs of over 700 million people and associated freight.
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunications network (eTEN) and a proposed energy network. The European Commission adopted the first action plans on trans-European networks in 1990.
The Polish State Railways is a Polish state-owned holding company comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway operator. The company was reformed in 2001 when the former Polish State Railways state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations. Polish State Railways is the dominant company in the PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, and maintains 100% share control, being fully responsible for the assets of all of the other PKP Group component companies.
The first railway in the Kingdom of Romania opened in 1869 and linked Bucharest and Giurgiu. The first railway on electric current in the current Romanian territory opened in 1854, between Oravița and Baziaș in Banat, right next to the border with Serbia; however, that region was under the administration of the Austrian Empire at the time, and became part of Romania after World War I.
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is a train protection system designed to replace the many incompatible systems used by European railways, and railways outside of Europe. ETCS is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A. is the Polish railway infrastructure manager, responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting trains across the country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway land.
Croatian Railways was the national railway company of Croatia. It was a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Croatia is 78. The Croatian rail network carried 24.230 million passengers in 2023.
The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the organisational umbrella for the separately managed parts of
Rail transport in Europe has diverse technological standards, operating concepts, and infrastructures. Common features are the widespread use of standard-gauge rail, high operational safety and a high share of electrification. Electrified railway networks operate at many different voltages, both AC and DC, varying from 750 to 25,000 volts, and signaling systems vary from country to country, complicating cross-border traffic.
The Trans-European high-speed rail network (TEN-R), together with the Trans-European conventional rail network, make up the Trans-European Rail network, which in turn is one of a number of the European Union's Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T). It was defined by the Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996.
Transport in the European Union is a shared competence of the Union and its member states. The European Commission includes a Commissioner for Transport, currently Adina Ioana Vălean. Since 2012, the commission also includes a Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport which develops EU policies in the transport sector and manages funding for Trans-European Networks and technological development and innovation, worth €850 million yearly for the period 2000–2006.
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe, specifically the area southeast of the Baltic Sea. It is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), consisting of links via Riga (Latvia), Kaunas, and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic States is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).
A Technical Specification for Interoperability is a text provided for in European Directive 2016/797 adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the interoperability of the European rail system in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure.
The Trans-European conventional rail network, together with the Trans-European high-speed rail network, make up the Trans-European Rail network, which in turn is one of a number of the European Union's Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T). It was defined by the Council Directive 2001/16/EC of 19 March 2001.
The Single European Railway Directive 2012 is an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in European Union law. This recast the First Railway Directive" and consolidates legislation from each of the first to the fourth "Package" from 1991 to 2016, and allows open access operations on railway lines by companies other than those that own the rail infrastructure. The legislation was extended by further directives to include cross border transit of freight.
The Second Railway Package is a group of European Union legislation which promote common standards and open access, working towards an integrated European railway area.
The fourth railway package is a set of changes to rail transport regulation in the European Union law. It covers standards and authorisation for rolling stock; workforce skills; independent management of infrastructure; and the liberalisation of domestic passenger services in an attempt to reduce European rail subsidies.
The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that sets mandatory requirements for European railways and manufacturers in the form of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI), which apply to the Trans-European Rail system. The ERA publishes a document summarising the status of the TSIs. The ERA sets common safety targets, common safety methods and common safety indicators, following Directive 2004/49/EC and amendments. The ERA also hosts a number of databases, among which a register of remaining, applicable national rules. One of its primary duties is the development and implementation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
EuroSpec, abbreviation for European Specification for Railway Vehicles, is an initiative of several European railway companies with the aim to develop common, explicit technical specifications for train systems and components. The work program includes doors, parking noise, TCMS, seating comfort and the revision of published specifications. The jointly developed specifications support and facilitate the process of purchasing trains. These specifications are not in the competitive domain. The continued application of the EuroSpec methodology and the developed specifications support the standardisation of trains and lead to higher quality, support the development of vehicle platforms and provide significant cost savings. As a basis for developing their specifications, EuroSpec partners have developed a "Requirement Management" manual to ensure the necessary consistency between the specifications and their quality. The work started in 2011. The functional requirements for rail vehicles of the EuroSpec specifications are used in procurement in addition to the technical specifications for interoperability, the EN standards and the national notified technical rules (NNTR). The EuroSpec consortium does not prepare "European Standards" or "International Standards" within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012. EuroSpec specifications should therefore be classified as a "technical specification". They are increasingly used as input for European Standards and Regulations.
Forum Train Europe (FTE) is an international organization based in Bern, Switzerland. FTE serves as the primary coordination and exchange platform for Europe's railway undertakings in the area of timetabling and capacity management. The work of FTE and its members is ultimately aimed at promoting increased and improved freight and passenger rail connections in Europe.
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