Alstom is Spain has earned the hig- hest certification level in railway maintenance from the European Railways Agency for Safety.
This level 1 certification authorizes Spanish Services teams to operate throughout Europe as an “Entity in Charge of Maintenance” (EEM). With this level 1 certification, Alstom can not only offer services as a supplier of maintenance activities, as it has up to now, it can also manage the complete maintenance of the fleets of any operator, therefore assuming overall responsibility in the entire process.
“Initially, the regulation certifies maintenance tasks for freight equipment, which is the only deregulated market in all Europe so far. But it is a very important step with in the scope of future liberalization: the European Railways Agency now endorses our processes and procedures, wherefore we are ready to earn the same certification for passengers and locomotives”, highlights Leopoldo Maestu, Services MD Alstom Spain.
Regulation 445-2011-EU, which regulates this certification, and the European Railway Agency Database of Interoperability and Safety (ERADIS) were recently created with the purpose of facilitating mobility and interoperability of the railway market in Europe.