📋 Tender Overview
Accredited train driver training centers will follow the new methodology issued by the Railway Authority. The aim of the methodology is to unify the procedures of accredited training centers in providing professional training for train drivers members of the train escort and other employees who have a decisive influence on the safety of the operation of the railway or rail transport. The development of the methodology follows on from the inspections of accredited centers that the Railway Authority carried out this year. It is a way to fulfill the goal of the Ministry of Transport to ensure a uniform and high level of professional training.
The safety of railway transport begins with high-quality training of train drivers. We want every future train driver to receive the same quality training regardless of which accredited center he trains in. The new methodology therefore unifies the requirements for professional training and represents another important step towards increasing safety on the Czech railways. I drew attention to the need for changes in this area already in November after the extraordinary event in Zlivi. I am glad that we managed to move the matter forward says Transport Minister Ivan Bednarik.
The methodology specifies what a training center that wants to train new and existing train drivers must meet. The appendices specify in detail what knowledge a train driver should acquire through training at a training center describes Jiri Kolar director of the Railway Office adding: Our goal is not only to check whether the centers meet formal requirements but also to ensure that the training really corresponds to what train drivers need to safely manage daily operations and extraordinary situation.
The new methodology unifies training requirements across centers and at the same time gives more room for practical training including the use of simulators. On them future and current train drivers can safely practice crisis and emergency situations which they rarely or never encounter in normal operation. In the methodology the circuits for the general professional competence test for obtaining a train drivers license which is taken at the Railway Office and the circuits for the special professional competence test which takes place at carriers are separately defined in the methodology. After successfully passing the test of special professional competence the train driver obtains a drivers certificate from the carrier for a specific type of railway vehicle and specific infrastructure. This test must be repeated every three years.
This year as part of state inspections the Railway Authority checked all accredited training centers and also focused on the level of their training. Among other things he responded to the issue of passing signals and to the results of a survey among train drivers which drew attention to the need for a greater proportion of practical training in preparation for the profession. State supervision of the Railway Office focused primarily on the professional level of trainers and on how individual centers determine the quality of their work. At the same time the Railway Authority monitored whether the centers continuously update their teaching plans and respond to changes brought about by the development of the railway sector.
These findings clearly showed the need to unify the rules of train driver training and strengthen supervision over its quality. However stricter supervision of vocational training does not only apply to train drivers. Newly the Railway Authority will also require accreditation of all railway operators and carriers operating on regional and national railways who train their employees whose activities have an impact on traffic safety in accordance with Section 46s of the Act on Railways. Those who do not have it must apply for accreditation at the Railway Authority by the end of February 2027.
