Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/decision/2026/2189@2026-09-24/en

Contents

1. Preamble
2. 1. Article 1
   2. Article 2
   3. Article 3
3. ANNEX
4. ANNEX

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union, and in particular Article 7(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) On 18 May 2026, Greece submitted to the Commission a request for non-application of paragraph (1) of point 7.4.2.4.1 of Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 (CCS TSI) to 111 vehicles operated by Hellenic Train until 31 December 2040 (the request). The request was submitted on the basis of Article 7(1), point (c), of Directive (EU) 2016/797.

(2) Paragraph (1) of point 7.4.2.4.1 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 sets out the requirement that vehicles to be authorised with a new on-board ETCS interoperability constituent need to implement the sets of specifications required by that Implementing Regulation.

(3) The project referred to in the request consists of authorising 111 vehicles of the following types to be operated by Hellenic Train with already installed ETCS on board: EMU-Siemens Desiro 460, RAIL-BUS STADLER DMU 560, MAN 2000 DMU621, Locomotive Adtranz Class 220, LOCOMOTIVE 120 SIEMENS, with their individual European Vehicle Registration numbers listed in the Annex to this Decision.

(4) According to the documents submitted by Greece, the upgrade of the ETCS equipment to meet latest requirements (ETCS Baseline 4) would delay the use of ETCS aboard those vehicles from late 2026 to 2030. Complying with paragraph (1) of point 7.4.2.4.1 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 would entail an additional cost of approximately EUR 59000000, due to the costs of the upgrade to the currently required version of specifications and due to the revenue lost if vehicles were to be immobilised until 2030. These additional costs would compromise the economic viability of the project. Additionally, the four years delay in the use of ETCS would delay the expected significant improvement of the current level of safety of the Greek rail network.

(5) As an alternative provision, Greece proposes to apply point 7.4.2.1(1) of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/919 as valid on 31 December 2018, which lays down that the ETCS can be implemented / also according to set of specification #1 that is Baseline 2, system version 1.1 and with system requirement specifications 2.3.0d. This ETCS on-board version is compatible with the currently deployed ETCS on the infrastructure in Greece. This allows the use of ETCS in Greece without delay and it would increase the safety on the Greek rail network.

(6) Based on the justification for the request provided by Greece and the alternative provision proposed, the conditions set out in Article 7(1), point (c), and Article 7(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/797 can be considered as fulfilled for the 111 vehicles operated by Hellenic Train. The request should therefore be accepted.

(7) The Greek infrastructure manager plans to migrate gradually to the radio-based ETCS, including a change in ETCS baseline and the system version required for on-board equipment in accordance with the Greek national implementation plan of CCS TSI. That change will be driven by future ETCS modernisation plans and by the obligation to introduce radio-based ETCS/ERTMS, which is to be introduced by 31 December 2050 at the latest pursuant to Article 18(6) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The migration would trigger an upgrade of the ETCS on board those vehicles, which requires the infrastructure manager to provide notice of a five years transition period to the railway undertakings or vehicle owners as mentioned in point 7.4.2.4.2 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695. The upgrade will be preceded by a study in 2030-2035, including a cost-benefit analysis of the migration. This Decision should therefore apply until 31 December 2040 or until an earlier date on which an upgrade of the on-board ETCS is required as specified in a notification based on point 7.4.2.4.2 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 from the Greek infrastructure manager, whichever occurs first.

(8) Safety, as set out by Directive (EU) 2016/797, is an essential requirement which is to be met by the Union rail system, the subsystems and the interoperability constituents, including interfaces. The Commission should therefore be provided with any information indicating that the non-application of paragraph (1) of point 7.4.2.4.1 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 could compromise the safety of the railway system. In particular, the Commission should be notified if the on-board ETCS equipment of the concerned vehicles needs to be error-corrected based on the procedure specified in point 7.2.10 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695

(9) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 51(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/797,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The request of Greece for non-application of paragraph (1) of point 7.4.2.4.1 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 to the 111 vehicles operated by Hellenic Train listed in the Annex to this Decision is accepted on condition that the alternative provision proposed by Greece is applied. Greece shall notify the Commission without delay of any changes to the identifiers of the vehicles listed in the Annex.

Article 2

Greece shall without undue delay inform the Commission in the following cases:

(a) once the Greek infrastructure manager has notified the requirement to upgrade the on-board ETCS based on point 7.4.2.4.2 of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695;

(b) once the 2030-2035 study on the migration of ETCS to newer versions is available;

(c) once it has information that the non-application referred to in Article 1 may reasonably compromise the safety of the railway system, especially if the on-board ETCS equipment of the concerned vehicles needs to be corrected for errors.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Hellenic Republic. It shall apply until 31 December 2040 or until the end of the transition period following the notification referred to in Article 2, point (a), whichever occurs first.

Done at Brussels, 24 September 2026. For the Commission Apostolos Tzitzikostas Member of the Commission

ANNEX

ANNEX

List of 111 vehicles subject to this Decision.

1. ERATV typeID: 13-286-0001-8-001-001 ERATV type name: EMU-Siemens Desiro 460 Registered vehicle number – EVN 947324601014 947324602012 947324601022 947324602020 947324601030 947324602038 947324601048 947324602046 947324601055 947324602053 947324601063 947324602061 947324601089 947324602087 947324601097 947324602095 947324601121 947324602129 947324601113 947324602111

2. ERATV typeID: 13-289-0001-2-001-001 ERATV type name: RAIL-BUS STADLER DMU 560 Registered vehicle number – EVN 957325601020 957325602028 957325601046 957325602044 957325601053 957325602051 957325601061 957325602069 957325601087 957325602085 957325601103 957325602101 957325601137 957325602135 957325601145 957325602143 957325601152 957325602150 957325601160 957325602168 957325601079 957325601129 957325602077 957325602127

3. ERATV typeID: 13-287-0001-6-001-001 ERATV type name: MAN 2000 DMU621 Registered vehicle number – EVN 957326211019 957326212017 957326211027 957326212025 957326211035 957326212033 957326211043 957326212041 957326211050 957326212058 957326212074 957326211084 957326212082 957326211092 957326211100 957326212108 957326211118 957326212116 957326211134 957326212132 957326211142 957326212140 957326211126 957326211159 957326212124 957326212157

4. ERATV typeID: 11-229-0001-0-001-001 and 11-229-0002-8-001-001 ERATV type name: Locomotive Adtranz Class 220 Registered vehicle number – EVN 927322200027 927322200035 927322200043 927322200050 927322200068 927322200076 927322200118 927322200134 927322200142 927322200167 927322200175 927322200183 927322200191 927322200225 927322200233 927322200241 927322200258 927322200274 927322200290 927322200316 927322200324 927322200332 927322200340 927322200357

5. ERATV typeID: 11-231-0001-6-001-001, 11-231-0002-4-001-001 ERATV type name: LOCOMOTIVE 120 SIEMENS Registered vehicle number – EVN 917321200078 917321200086 917321200102 917321200144 917321200151 917321200169 917321200177 917321200185 917321200193 917321200201 917321200219 917321200243 917321200268 917321200284 917321200292 917321200300 917321200029

Versions

1. 2026-09-24