Technical Assistance to Railway Authorities in Harmonizing Regulations for the Maintenance of Railway Infrastructure and Rolling Stock with the EU Directives

The railway sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a direct loss of nearly 1 Billion Euro during the war in 1992-1995, which affected in particular railway infrastructure and rolling stock.

Besides, lack of adequate maintenance and widespread devastation, primarily the rolling stock, electric traction powering facilities and overhead contact lines, further increased the total rate of damage in the immediate post-war period.

In order to accelerate the process of separating infrastructure managers from railway undertakings, the establishment of the Regulatory Board and the preparations for the forthcoming opening of the railway market, the Ministry of Communications and Transport of requested assistance from the European Union in identifying and rectifying the gaps in compliance between the railway construction/reconstruction/maintenance regulations and those of the EU, in particular with Directives for railway interoperability and safety.

The purpose of this assignment was to facilitate the implementation of the BiH Law on Railways through the transposition of the EU Directives on interoperability and safety. This was achieved by drafting railway regulations concerning maintenance, reconstruction and construction of the railway infrastructure, as well as maintenance of the rolling stock, in accordance with the contemporary technical standards and specifications, and in particular with the relevant EU directives concerning safety and interoperability.