Railway undertaking’s licence | Traficom
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Transport and Communications Agency

Railway undertaking’s licence

Railway undertakings need a licence to operate rail transport as their main business in Finland. The licence ensures that the railway undertaking and its management meet the requirements for good repute, financial fitness and professional competence.

One of the conditions for obtaining a licence is that the railway undertaking has adequate liability insurance cover or some other arrangement to cover its liabilities for damage caused to third parties. The following minimum levels of liability cover apply in Finland:

Passenger transportEUR 40,000,000
Freight transportEUR 25,000,000
Freight transport including transport of dangerous goodsEUR 30,000,000

Traficom is the licensing authority in Finland. Railway undertakings established in Finland can apply to Traficom for a licence via Traficom’s service channel My e-Services. 

A licence granted to a railway undertaking is valid throughout the EU. More information on licences issued to railway undertakings and on the undertakings’ liability insurances is available in the ERADIS database maintained by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA).

Licence applications must be submitted via Traficom’s My e-Services. 

The service includes more detailed instructions on how to submit the application and what supporting documents are required. 

If you need more information about using My e-Services, please contact us at raideliikenne@traficom.fi.

A fee of EUR 250/h is charge for the processing of licence applications.

On average, processing an application takes 8 hours, which means a total amount of EUR 2,000. However, the total amount of the fee is determined case by case. 

Traficom is the supervisory authority for the licences in Finland. 

Railway undertakings are responsible for ensuring that they are able to meet the conditions for obtaining a licence at any time. Railway undertakings are also required to inform Traficom of any changes relating to their licences.

Any changes concerning a licence must be notified to Traficom without delay. Most common changes concerning a licence include the following:

  • Undertaking’s management personnel changes
  • Undertaking’s financial standing changes
  • Undertaking’s name changes
  • Undertaking’s activities change in a way that affects civil liability

Licences are valid throughout the EU territory. Therefore, a railway undertaking does not have to apply to Traficom for a licence if it already holds a licence issued in another EU country. 

However, the undertaking must inform Traficom about its intention to commence operating services so that Traficom can check whether the undertaking’s liability insurance or other arrangement is sufficient in relation to the minimum level of civil liability cover applied in Finland. 

As proof of the sufficiency of the liability insurance cover, Traficom supplements the railway undertaking’s licence with a further liability annex or updates the existing annex to indicate that it also covers services operated in Finland. 

You can contact us by using our contact form or by email.

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