URRI NS 2023 – December 2021 edition 2.4.5 Inquiries concerning operating accidents / disruptions
Inquiries by the Investigation Board set up by the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility In the event of serious accidents, the Investigation Board (IB) set up by the Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructures and Mobility shall carry out inquiries aimed at providing any recommendations for improving rail safety and accident prevention. The IB may also launch inquiries in respect of incidents or disruptions which – in different circumstances – could have determined serious accidents. The nature of the above investigations, and the competencies, obligations and responsibilities of the parties (ANSFISA, Infrastructure Managers, Railway Undertakings), with respect thereto, are laid down in Chapter V (Inquiries on incidents or disruptions) of D.lgs. 50/2019 to which reference should, therefore, be made.
Inquiries by the ANSFISA Without prejudice to the fact that the IB above is the only authority with jurisdiction, in respect of any accidents/disruptions, or specific chain thereof, the ANSFISA may, nevertheless, whenever it deems appropriate, conduct inquiries and investigations aimed at timeously collecting any useful elements for determining the causes of an incident, so that it may implement, as soon as possible, the necessary regulatory and technical measures for preventing the incidents from repeating themselves. The IM and RUs are required to cooperate, as far as is reasonably possible, with the ANSFISA personnel carrying out an inquiry, and must assure access to their yards, rolling stock, records, equipment and databases. For further details on the subject, reference should be made to article 5.4.3 of Schedule A to Decree No. 4/2012 issued by the ANSF.
Reporting and inquiry obligations by the IM and RUs The IM and RUs, besides reporting to the ANSFISA any incidents/disruptions affecting or capable of affecting rail traffic and services (within the meaning of article 5.4 of Schedule A to Decree No. 4/2012 by the ANSF, to which reference should be made), are also required to investigate any incident or disruption affecting their employees, vehicles and equipment, yards or operations. In the case an event concerns two or more operators, each one shall investigate the matter independently, albeit ensuring a certain liaison and exchange between the operators involved, with respect to any useful elements relating to the incident. The final inquiry reports shall be made available to the ANSFISA, and to the other operators involved, for consultation. Based on the respective analysis processes, each operator shall assess the possibility of re-opening an inquiry to better define any details. The ANSFISA may intervene, in this respect, for the purpose of requesting the operators to reach a uniform conclusion, as regards the outcome of the inquiries, for the re-opening thereof, if necessary. For further details on the subject, reference should be made to article 5.4.2 of Schedule A to Decree No. 4/2012 issued by the ANSF. Awaiting the overhauling of the regulations governing the conducting of inquiries by the ANSFISA, in respect of incidents/disruptions affecting or capable of affecting rail traffic and services, and the subsequent formalisation by the IM of the relevant implementation procedure, in accordance with paragraph 5.4.2 of Schedule A to the ANSF Decree No. 4/2012 – in accordance with the IM’s Resolution No.18/2014 “Procedure d’interfaccia. Norme concernenti ‘Accertamenti e indagini di RFI in caso d’incidenti e inconvenienti ferroviari” the IM shall be required to make the necessary inquiries, based on the type of incident or event. The IM’s inquiry shall include the collection and examination of any information, an investigation into how events unfolded, the quantification of the ensuing damage and the formulation of conclusions, the determination of the causes and responsibilities. The IM, based on the assessment of the results of the inquiry, then makes the inquiry documents available to the ANSFISA and forwards a copy to the RUs involved in the event.
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