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 privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industry was initiated by EU Directive 91/440 in 1991, which aimed to create a more efficient rail network by creating greater competition.
Polskie Koleje Państwowe S.A. is the dominant railway operator in Poland. The company was founded when the former Polskie Koleje Państwowe state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations. PKP S.A. is the dominant company in PKP Group collective that resulted from the split, and maintains in 100% share control, being fully responsible for the assets of all of the other PKP Group component companies. The group's organisations are dependent upon PKP S.A., but proposals for privatisation have been made.
The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible safety systems currently used by European railways. The standard was also adopted outside Europe and is an option for worldwide application. In technical terms it is a kind of positive train control (PTC).
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 is characterised by its diversity, both technical and infrastructural.
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 ongoing greenfield railway infrastructure project to link Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania with Poland and through this with the European standard gauge rail line network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe. Furthermore, it is intended to be a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland). It consists of links via Riga (Latvia), Kaunas and Vilnius (Lithuania). Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union: 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.
INSPIRE is "an EU initiative to establish an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe that is geared to help to make spatial or geographical information more accessible and interoperable for a wide range of purposes supporting sustainable development".
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.
MATRAI is the sum of abbreviations of RAI and MAT and means Iran Railway Research Center
The Single European Railway Directive 20122012/34/EU is an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in EU law. This recast the "First Railway Directive" or "Package" from 1991, 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 third railway package is a collection of European Union legislation, intended to revitalise railways across Europe and open up passenger services to competition.
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.
Many countries offer subsidies to their railways because of the social and economic benefits that it brings. The economic benefits can greatly assist in funding the rail network. Those countries usually also fund or subsidize road construction, and therefore effectively also subsidize road transport. Rail subsidies vary in both size and how they are distributed, with some countries funding the infrastructure and others funding trains and their operators, while others have a mixture of both. Subsidies can be used for either investment in upgrades and new lines, or to keep lines running that create economic growth.
The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that sets mandatory requirements for European railways and manufacturers in the form of Technical Specifications for Interoperability, 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.
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