Cableways Impact Assessment Study - Final Report - saferail.nl

Risk & Policy Analysts
noted that up until 2000, the Italian market was closed to external competitors that
only constructed one or two installations but this changed and is continuing to change
(even though Italian companies still dominate the Italian market). This increased
openness of national markets appears to be linked to the Directive removing trade
barriers in the form of different national requirements and standards.
For certain cableway products, the markets are dominated by companies which have
larger market shares in their home countries. For example, the rope sector remains
largely national which may be linked to the fact that the vast majority of ropes are
highly customised products that are designed for specific cableways and there are still
national variations in traditions and habits between the main markets (Austria, France
and Italy).
It also seems to the case that there are still occasional misunderstandings between
national authorities and non-local manufacturers since approval of installations
remains within the competence of national governments. For example, consultation
shows that the Czech Republic requires that, in case of emergency, all passengers
have to be evacuated within 2 hours rather than within the 3.5 hours which is a
common requirement elsewhere in the EU. This resulted in a delay in approving a
gondola installation in the Czech Republic which was supplied by a manufacturer
from another country. Approval was withheld until the project was changed to
include a rescue car with a capacity of fifteen, rather than the initially planned nine
persons.
A perceived shortcoming in the current framework is linked to the fact that the
Directive is applicable to the installations built and put into service as from 3 May
2004, and to subsystems and safety components placed on the market as from that
date. In Hungary, in recent years, no new ski lifts were installed and the market was
fully served by second hand cableways which may predate the Directive but only
required an automatic approval without new conformity assessments. 7 In the Czech
Republic, in recent years, two-thirds of installations were second hand ski-lifts 8 and
the authorities expressed concerns about automatic approval of 20-30 year old second
hand installations. 9 Considering the long lifespan of cableway installations and the
increasing trade of second hand ski lifts in particular from the Alpine countries to the
New Member States, cableway markets in Member States which purchase large
numbers of second-hand cableways appear to be predominantly outside the scope of
the Directive. In this regard, it is also noted that EC (2011) highlights that there have
been difficulties in the application of the Directive in respect of changes to existing
installations, as it is sometimes difficult to identify the changes for which a new
authorisation for putting into service is required under the different legislations of
Member States.
7
8
9
Interview with the Hungarian Ministry of National Development, Department of Transport, 1 st March
2012.
Interview with a Notified Body in the Czech Republic, 15 th March 2012.
Joint interview with the Czech Ministry of Transport and with the Czech Association of Cableway
Operators, 6 th March 2012.
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