Training

Driver training can be divided into three parts:

-Licence
-Supplementary certificate (rolling stock)
-Supplementary certificate (infrastructure)

Educational institution may offer all or some of these courses. The institution may also specialize in a specific area (e.g. ETCS, shunting, communication etc.) Traficom maintains a list of the educational institutions it has approved and the scope of their approval.

The requirements for the different elements of driver training are based on Annexes IV, V and VI of the Train Drivers Directive (2007/59/EC) (External link). It is the responsibility of the educational institutions to ensure that the training meets the legal requirements. Railway undertakings may further agree with educational institutions on the quality and scope of the training provided, so that the training provided also meets the requirements of the railway undertaking's safety management system.

Training for a licence or a supplementary certificate or an extension of a certificate shall always be obtained from an approved educational institution. However, the train operator may provide training to maintain the knowledge of the licence or supplementary certificate in the manner described in their safety management system.

Ensuring competence

Only a competence demonstration examiner approved by Traficom may receive competence demonstrations for licence or supplementary certificate. Requirements for competence demonstration examiners are based on the Act on Transport Services (External link) and the Traficom regulation (External link) detailing this. 

As with training, the competence demonstration examination is divided into three parts: licence, supplementary certificate (rolling stock) and supplementary certificate (infrastructure). Depending on the scope of the competence demonstration examiner, the examiner may receive demonstrations for all or some of these parts. The competence demonstration examiner may also specialize in a specific area (e.g. ETCS, shunting, communication, etc.). Traficom maintains a list of the approved competence demonstration examiners and their scope of approval. (External link)

The demonstration requirements are based on Annexes IV, V and VI of the Train Drivers Directive (2007/59/EC) (External link). It is the responsibility of the competence demonstration examiner to ensure the demonstrations he arranges meet the requirements of the regulations and that the demonstrations provide reasonable assurance of the driver’s level of competence. Railway undertakings may further agree with the examiners on the quality and extent of the display, so that the level of competence of the driver also meets the requirements set in the safety management system of the railway undertaking.

Licence or supplementary certificate or an extension of a supplementary certificate shall always be provided by the approved competence demonstration examiner. The maintenance of a licence or supplementary certificate does not require the use of an approved competence demonstration examiner. Regarding the supplementary certificate, the railway undertaking shall, at least every three years or immediately if the driver has been absent from duty for over a year, verify the level of competence of his drivers. The maintenance of competence shall be performed as described in the railway undertaking’s safety management system.