Certification process for the entities in charge of maintenance in rail systems and an application

Entities in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) is a certification of conformity that ensures that the railway vehicles for which it is responsible can operate and be operated safely and securely through a maintenance system. This certification consists of four functions called Management Function, Maintenance Development Function, Fleet Maintenance Management Function and Maintenance Delivery Function. In this study, the duties and responsibilities of the four functions that make up the ECM Certification in the maintenance system are given. The application process, requirements, evaluation, acceptance and the certification bodies that will carry out the inspection process as a result of the application are explained. Furthermore, examples of procedures, instructions and forms developed for certification requirements are presented. Finally, for the certification of Entities in Charge of Maintenance, the requirements specified in the ECM Regulation 779/2019 and ATMF Annex A notification published by COTIF were given. The prepared procedure, instruction and form samples were also approved by a certification body authorized by OTIF, and the result table was shared about the requirement for which these document samples would be used. Within this study, an ECM application and evaluation procedure for Eanoss type rolling stock has been carried out successfully on behalf of a private enterprise (İÇDAŞ Çelik Enerji Tersane ve Ulaşım A. Ş.).