The Romanian Railway Authority Afer*
Available procedures
OLFR - Issuance of the railway transport license*
- 100,000 euros/period and event for insuring liability for the transported goods
- 500,000 euros/period and event for insuring liability towards third parties.
*
OLFR - Issuing the license for urban metro transport*
In order to obtain a license for urban subway transport, the economic operator must prove that the main activity stated in its articles of incorporation is urban, suburban and metropolitan passenger transport, according to CAEN rev. 2 - code 4931.
The license for urban subway transport can be obtained by economic operators who prove, before starting operations, that they cumulatively meet the requirements regarding:
- honorability;
- financial capacity;
- professional competence;
- coverage of civil liability risks.
The economic operator requesting the issuance of a license for urban subway transport must comply with the requirements set out in practice 3 of Government Decision no. 361/2018 and provide OLFR with the information and documents proving compliance with the requirements of honorability, financial capacity, professional competence, and coverage of civil liability risks.
The minimum level of financial coverage regarding civil liability towards scriptured passengers, combined with financial coverage for civil liability towards third parties, is 250,000 euro/period and event, with a sublimit of 50,000 euro/passenger.
To obtain the license for urban subway transport, it is necessary to submit an application to OLFR, accompanied by documents proving compliance with the mandatory requirements.
All documents comprising [the] license application file must be presented in Romanian. If some documents are issued in a foreign language, they must be submitted as a copy accompanied by a translation performed by an authorized translator.
Documents included in the license application file can be sent electronically, in “*.pdf” format. In this case, the application for obtaining the license, as well as all documents prepared by the applicant, must be sent with a qualified electronic signature.
Within 15 working days from the receipt of all documents from the license applicant, OLFR will carry out an assessment visit at the applicant’s headquarters.
If the applicant does not submit the complete documentation within 45 working days from the date of submitting the license application, OLFR shall notify it of the motivated decision to deny the license.
Handling calls and complaints*
The applicant may contest the decisions of the Certification Committee within the Romanian Railway Safety Authority-ASFR within 30 calendar days.
The appeal will be submitted to the AFER registry and will be settled by the Appeals Committee within the Romanian Railway Safety Authority-ASFR, according to the Operating Regulation of the Appeals Committee.
The decision of the Appeals Committee is final and irrevocable and will be communicated to the appellant within 30 calendar days from registration.
If the appellant does not agree with the decision of the Appeals Committee, he may act in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force.
Handling of appeals
The process of handling appeals by the certification body includes the following stages:
- receiving/registering and validating appeals;
- investigating the appeals;
- making decisions;
- initiating and monitoring appropriate corrections/corrective actions. The certification body is responsible for decisions at all levels of the appeal handling process. If this decision involves suspension/withdrawal of the certificate, this decision is made public via the web page. Withdrawal of the certificate involves deletion from the Certificate Registers.
Handling complaints
The following activities may be complained about:
- delays considered to be unjustified in the certification process;
- activities and actions of holders of certificates issued by ASFR, which contravene the rules/procedures against which certification was carried out;
- activities related to another holder of a certificate issued by ASFR. Upon receipt of a complaint, the conformity assessment body (ASFR) must confirm whether the complaint concerns certified activities or other activity for which ASFR is responsible. If the complaint concerns a certified client, examination of the complaint also takes into account the effectiveness of the certified system. The certification body is subject to confidentiality requirements, insofar as they relate to the complainant and the subject of the complaint. Complaint handling is a documented process of receiving, evaluating, and making decisions, subject to confidentiality requirements and accessible to the public.
The process of handling complaints includes:
- receipt, validation and investigation of the complaint;
- tracking and recording complaints, including actions (corrections and corrective actions) taken to resolve them.
OLFR - Release of the license for performing only railway shunting services*
In order to carry out only shunting services in the public and/or own interest on the railway lines in Romania, the economic operator must prove that, in the articles of incorporation, the activity provided under code 5221 of CAEN rev.2, namely supporting services for land transport activities, is listed.
The license for carrying out only shunting services in the public and/or own interest on the railway lines in Romania may be obtained by economic operators who prove, before starting the activity, that they cumulatively meet the requirements regarding:
The economic operator requesting the issuance of a license for carrying out only shunting services in the public and/or own interest on the railway lines in Romania must comply with all the requirements provided in art. 5 para. (1) of Annex 1 to GD no. 361/2018.
To obtain the license for carrying out only shunting services in the public and/or own interest on the railway lines in Romania, an application must be submitted to OLFR, accompanied by documents proving compliance with the mandatory requirements.
All documents included in the license granting file must be presented in Romanian. If some documents are issued in a foreign language, they must be submitted in a copy accompanied by the translation performed by an authorized translator.
The documents included in the license granting file can be sent electronically, in “*.pdf” format. In this case, the license application, as well as all documents prepared by the applicant, must be sent with a qualified electronic signature.
Within 15 working days from the receipt of all documents from the license applicant, OLFR conducts an evaluation visit at the applicant's headquarters.
If the applicant does not submit the complete documents within 45 working days from the date of the license application submission, OLFR notifies the applicant with the reasoned decision of non-granting the license.
OLFR - Issuance of the brokerage license for railway transport activity*
In order to obtain the license for intermediation of railway transport activity, the economic operator must prove that the activity included in CAEN rev. 2 – code 5229, namely other supporting transport activities, is specified in its constitutive act.
The license for the intermediation of railway transport activities can be obtained by economic operators who, prior to starting the activity, cumulatively meet the requirements regarding:
b) integrity;
c) professional competence;
d) financial capacity,
as provided in Art. 7 of Annex no. 2 to Government Decision no. 361/2018.
The license is valid for all the company’s work points where this activity is carried out. If the economic operator has several work points where they will carry out the intermediation of railway transport activities, each of them must meet the requirements regarding the material base, integrity, professional competence, and financial capacity.
To obtain the license for intermediation of railway transport activities, it is necessary to submit to OLFR an application accompanied by documents showing compliance with the mandatory requirements.
All documents included in the file for granting the license for intermediation of railway transport activities must be presented in Romanian. If some documents are issued in a foreign language, they must be submitted accompanied by a translation performed by an authorized translator.
The documents comprising the file for granting the license may be submitted electronically, in "*.pdf" format. In this case, the application for obtaining the license, as well as all documents prepared by the applicant, will be submitted with a qualified electronic signature.
Within 10 working days from receiving all the documents from a license applicant, OLFR conducts an evaluation visit at their headquarters.
A person who considers himself/herself harmed in a right or legitimate interest by a public authority, through an administrative act or through failure to resolve a request within the legal term, may address the administrative litigation court, in accordance with the provisions of Law no. 544/2004 on administrative litigation, with subsequent amendments and completions.
Useful links:
a) http://www.afer.ro/olfr/ghiduri/GHID%20LIT.pdf – LICENSE obtaining GUIDE
b) http://www.afer.ro/olfr/ghiduri/LISTA%20DOC%20LIT%20-%20HG%20361-1.pdf – DOCUMENT LIST