Guide · fleet management
Compliance documents for a road-rail vehicle
The file for a road-rail vehicle is organised into four independent layers: the product (manufacturer, model, serial number, declaration, instructions), the condition tracked by the employer (maintenance, VGP, reports, anomalies), people (training, CACES, operating authorisation), and the railway rules of the network and worksite. Each document is attached to the right version of the machine.
Distinguish CE marking, VGP inspections, maintenance, railway authorisations, competences and mission documents in the file of a road-rail vehicle.
Architecture
Organise the file into four independent layers
The first layer describes the product: manufacturer, model, serial number, year, configuration, the relevant declaration, instructions, and the specifications of any accessories. The second traces the condition tracked by the employer: maintenance, applicable inspections, reports, anomalies and decisions. The third concerns people: training, assessment, authorisation and required competences. The fourth gathers the rules of engagement on a given network, site or worksite.
This separation makes gaps visible. A declaration or CE marking under the product framework does not tell you whether an applicable VGP inspection is up to date. An inspection report gives an employee no authorisation to operate. An employer's authorisation does not mean the machine is admitted onto the network. No universal documentary regime can be inferred from the term “road-rail” alone.
Machine file
Link each document to the right version of the machine
The commercial name is not enough. The file must allow the specific unit and its sub-assemblies to be identified: serial number, plate, base machine, rail equipment, accessories, and software or settings where their version matters. A declaration or set of instructions must be attached to the product it actually covers, in the relevant language and version.
Working checklist
- ✓ Plate, manufacturer, model, serial number, year and fleet number are consistent.
- ✓ Instructions and declarations are attached to the configuration actually in use.
- ✓ Accessories, tools and rail equipment are identified separately where needed.
- ✓ Modifications are dated with the decision, justification and corresponding document version.
CE marking is only one layer of the file
Its applicability and the relevant procedure depend in particular on the product, its date, its placing on the market or into service, and any modifications. It does not replace obligations at work, inspections, or railway rules.
Use
Add inspections, maintenance and network/worksite conditions
SNCF Réseau describes a verification process for works vehicles that can lead to the documents required for their use within its scope. Other infrastructure managers, sites or clients may have their own rules. You need to identify the operational territory, the task, the period and the competent contact: an authorisation or admission obtained in one context is not automatically transferable elsewhere.
| Document | Qualifying question | Mistake to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection report | Which regulation, equipment, scope and result does it cover? | Recording only the next due date |
| Maintenance order | What actually happened, and who decided to close it? | Confusing scheduling with completion |
| Network or site authorisation | For which machine, configuration, mission, zone and period? | Treating it as permanent and universal |
| Operating authorisation | Which employer issued it, based on what assessments, and for what scope? | Replacing it with a copy of the CACES certificate |
Rail reform
Update competence files from 1 April 2026
The French ministerial order of 24 March 2026 came into force on 1 April 2026 and repealed the order of 7 May 2015, which had structured the former “essential safety tasks” (TES) regime. The new framework covers railway safety-critical tasks other than driving trains. Its scope must be assessed against the activities and safety management system concerned; it does not automatically apply to anyone who comes near a road-rail vehicle.
For staff falling within the relevant scope, the documentary logic rests notably on appropriate training evidenced by a training certificate, assessment of competences, and their recording in an individual competence file. Articles 119 to 122 of the decree of 27 May 2019, as applicable since April 2026, set out this organisation. The individual file must remain assigned to the right person and reflect the tasks, assessments, training and required updates.
- Stop presenting the 2015 TES order as the framework in force after 1 April 2026.
- Map the safety-critical tasks actually carried out within the organisation's scope.
- Link the training certificate, assessments and individual competence file.
- Do not infer a railway qualification from a CACES certificate or an operating authorisation.
A documentary migration to validate
Carrying over old files must be done in line with the safety management system and with the competent people involved. Simply renaming “TES” files to “safety-critical tasks” does not demonstrate that the training or assessment is adequate.
Preparation
Produce a verifiable mission file rather than a massive archive
Trackary can link these documents, their validity period and their history to the relevant records. It helps spot a gap and export a readable audit trail. It does not verify that the list is legally exhaustive, does not turn a file into an authorisation, and does not guarantee the compliance of the machine or the mission.
- 1. Qualify Name the type of evidence, its scope, its issuer and the basis used.
- 2. Link Attach the document to the right machine, equipment, employee, site or worksite.
- 3. Version Keep track of issue, revision, expiry, replacement and the reason for change.
- 4. Check Have gaps, restrictions and decisions validated by the competent people.
Frequently asked questions
Sources and limits of this guide
- SNCF Réseau — Checking the compliance of works vehicles ↗ Process and documents related to works vehicles within the scope presented by SNCF Réseau.
- Légifrance — Order of 24 March 2026 ↗ Text in force since 1 April 2026 on railway safety-critical tasks.
- Légifrance — Consolidated decree No. 2019-525 ↗ Articles 109 and 119 to 122 as applicable after the 2026 reform.
- Légifrance — Order of 1 March 2004 ↗ Framework for inspections of lifting equipment and accessories where applicable.
- EPSF — Works trains and construction equipment ↗ Railway reference published by the French railway safety authority (Établissement public de sécurité ferroviaire).
- The checklist must be adapted to the machine, its date, its configuration, its functions and the actual operational context.
- The sources are provided to guide verification; their versions in force and local rules must be checked.
- Trackary organises documents, dates and audit trails, without issuing certification or guaranteeing acceptance of the file.