The certification of rail vehicles and railway facilities is a process of conformity assessment of products and services used in the rail sector in Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The purpose of the procedure is to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Technical Regulations concerning the safety of passengers and freight.

For certification in the railway sector in Russia, the independent notified bodies accredited by the Federal Institute for Railways (Roszheldor) are responsible. The notified bodies, using laboratory tests and expert opinions, verify that the products comply with the required safety standards.

On the basis of this review, railway and rail traffic supervisors may issue a declaration of conformity or a certificate.

Legal situation

As of August 2, 2014, three new technical regulations of the EUEA came into force:

• TR CU 001/2011 On safety of rail vehicles
• TR CU 002/2011 On Safety of High-Speed Railway Transport
• TR CU 003/2011 On Safety of Railway Transport Infrastructure

With the introduction of the new Technical regulations, a unified system of technical regulations - EAC certification and EAC declaration - was introduced in the EUEA for rail vehicles and railway facilities.

Area of application

The new Technical Regulations set requirements for rail vehicles and railway infrastructure in order to protect life, health, the environment, property and cargo. This includes:

• radiation protection
• biological safety
• explosion protection
• mechanical safety
• fire protection
• thermal safety
• chemical safety
• electrical safety
• electromagnetic compatibility
• uniformity of measurements

These items include in each of the 3 Technical Regulations a list of products which are subject to confirmation of conformity in the form of certification or in the form of a declaration of conformity.

The use of products in the area of rail transport without appropriate certification or declaration on Russian Railways, the Belarusian Railways or the Kazakh Railway is not possible.

Required documents

Depending on the product characteristics, the applied Technical Regulation or the certification scheme: for the serial production, single-production or single-supply, different documents are necessary. As a rule, the following documents are required:

• product documentation: drawings, technical data sheet, etc.
• technical passport
• operating instructions
• test reports from an accredited testing laboratory
• protocols of the manufacturing process audit

Procedure of conformity assessment

A proof of conformity with Technical Regulations is compulsory in the field of rail transport. This can take the form of a declaration of conformity or a certificate.

EAC Certification

EAC Certification according to TR CU 001/2011 On the safety of rail vehicles

EAC Declaration

EAC Declaration according to TR CU 001/2011 On safety of rail vehicles

The accredited testing centers are responsible for checking the conformity of products with the Technical Regulations of the EAEU.

The accredited testing centers carry out the necessary tests and analyses of the product documentation. The test and analysis protocols are then forwarded to the certification body. Based on these reports, the certification body decides whether a certificate is granted or denied.

This decision is to be taken no later than 15 working days after receipt of the test reports.

Declaration of conformity

In the case of a declaration of conformity, the manufacturer shall submit his own evidence of compliance with the Technical Requirements, including the technical documentation and test records of a notified body.

Manufacturing Process Audit

In the case of certification or declaration of conformity with the Technical Regulations, a manufacturing process audit is also necessary, if there is an increased risk from the products.

The manufacturing audit is carried out in the form of regular and unscheduled inspections with the aim of checking the production conditions.

After the analysis of the necessary documentation and the results of the audit, the notified body shall either declare or reject a certificate or declaration.

The conformity certificate is then entered in the uniform register of the EAEU.

The proof of conformity is valid from the date of entry into the uniform register for a maximum of 5 years.

The certificates of conformity for rail vehicles and railway systems may only be applied for by a company established in the territory of the customs territory, and an authorized representative within the EAEU is therefore required. If you need an authorized representative, we will be pleased to offer you a suitable company.

EAC mark in the field of rail transport

The rail vehicles which components and railway systems are to be clearly marked with warnings, which must be repeated in the operating instructions.

The EAC Mark is to be attached to the product as well as to the enclosed operating instructions and to ensure easy readability throughout the life of the product.

In addition to the EAC mark, the operating instructions must include the registration number of the conformity certificate, the date of issue and the period of validity.

The product itself should be marked with the following information:

• EAC mark
• name of the manufacturer
• product name
• date of manufacture

Railway products without corresponding marks are not permitted for use within the EAEU.

Authorized representative

If the producer doesn't have a location in the EAEU, it does not have the right to apply for a required conformity assessment of its products. In order to still be able to be the subject of a conformity assessment, the foreign producer must give a representative in the EAEU power of attorney. They will defend the interests of the foreign producer when working with the certifying bodies with regard to safety and quality of products and in accordance with technical regulations.

As the law stands and in accordance with the technical regulation of the economic union only an operator based in the territory may be named power of attorney.

Period of validity of EAC conformity assessment certificates

The validity period of the EAC certificate or EAC declaration for rail vehicles and rail infrastucture differs depending on the applied technical regulations, the selected scheme, the type of production (serial production, individual delivery, etc.) and equipment and ranges on average from one to 5 years. Those parameters are determined in the respective technical regulation.

Duration and costs for EAC certification

The duration and costs associated with an EAC certificate application for rail vehicles and rail infrastucture depend on several different factors, such as the classification of the product, any required laboratory checks and the complexity of all examinations. As such the exact conditions of the EAC certification are always determined individually based on the required documentation.
Please note that an application for an EAC certificate can takeseveral weeks to process.

Delivery of the documentation

If you order the EAC Certificate on rail vehicles and rail infrastucture, you will receive a copy of it via email immediately after our successful certification procedure. The original document and two certified copies will be sent by post.