TEL TSI compliance for terminal operators
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253 makes operators of TEN-T rail freight terminals telematics stakeholders - with binding electronic data obligations from the eCN to train closure. Here is exactly what your terminal must implement, and by when.
No credit card required · Role-traced terminal obligations · PDF compliance report included
Your answers become an action plan
The readiness check is not a quiz that ends in a score. Every gap it finds becomes a task: the action to take, the article that requires it, and the deadline it must meet. Complete the tasks one by one and you are implementing TEL TSI - with progress you can show an auditor.
See your action plan - free →Organisation & location codes
Every deadline for terminal operators - counting down live
Every EU 2026/253 obligation for terminal operators, plus the ERA milestones, ticking down to the day.
See every TEL TSI obligation and deadline - dated, cited and in plain text →
Your terminal is a telematics stakeholder - here's what that means
TEL TSI treats a TEN-T rail freight terminal as a data node in the cross-border service chain. Your obligations fall into two groups: the operational messages you exchange around each train, and the reference-data and security foundations that make that exchange possible.
Around every train
As the destination or handling terminal, you receive planning data before the train arrives and confirm operational status back to the lead railway undertaking.
- ✓ Receive and process the electronic consignment note (eCN) before arrival
- ✓ Receive the train composition message (your crane-sequencing plan)
- ✓ Exchange train arrival planning and forecast data
- ! Confirm train closure to the lead RU once wagons are safe and ready for movement
- ✓ Exchange wagon status and wagon forecast information
The data backbone
Before any message can flow, your terminal and its trading partners must be identifiable and connected through the mandated TEL TSI infrastructure.
- ✓ Hold ERA-validated Organisation Codes for the terminal and all partners
- ✓ Register terminal location codes in the ERA Common Central Repository
- ✓ Maintain Intermodal Loading Unit (ILU) reference data
- ✓ Connect to and operate through the Common Interface (CI)
- ✓ Secure all message exchange with PKI and the ERA ontology
- ✓ Track ERA CCM schema changes and keep a historic data record
The six workflows terminal operators must implement
These are the primary implementation areas for rail freight terminal and facility operators under EU 2026/253. Each maps to specific Articles and Annexes of the regulation.
Organisation & location codes
Your terminal is a telematics stakeholder under Art. 3(8)/(9). Before any message exchange, the terminal and every trading partner must hold ERA-validated Organisation Codes, and your facility's location codes must be registered in the ERA Common Central Repository.
Electronic consignment note (eCN)
The lead RU issues and distributes the eCN; your terminal receives it to understand the cargo before the train arrives - ILU identifiers, dangerous-goods declarations and wagon-level loading and unloading instructions are all embedded in it.
Train composition data
Before the block train departs, the lead RU sends the train composition message - and terminals are receivers of this data. For your terminal it is the crane-sequencing plan: wagon order, ILU types, lengths and weights, and dangerous-goods positions.
Arrival planning & forecast
Terminals exchange train arrival planning and forecast messages so resources, slots and labour can be scheduled against an accurate estimated time of arrival, updated as the train progresses across the network.
Loading / unloading & train closure
After handling the intermodal loading units, your terminal must electronically confirm train closure to the lead RU - signalling that the loaded or unloaded wagons are safe and ready for movement. This closure message is a core terminal responsibility.
ILU data, CI & secure exchange
Terminals maintain Intermodal Loading Unit reference data and exchange wagon status and forecast messages. All flows run through the Common Interface, secured with PKI and expressed through the ERA ontology, with a historic data record and CCM change tracking.
Know your compliance gap in 30 minutes
The TEL TSI Compliance Companion walks your team through the full terminal-operator module set - with every question traced to the specific Article or Annex of EU 2026/253.
Confirm your terminal scope
The assessment loads the terminal-operator module set - reference data, eCN, composition, arrival, train closure and ILU data - filtered to your facility's operations.
Answer scenario questions
Work through scenario-based questions built around a real intermodal block-train handover. Each question cites its exact Article in EU 2026/253.
Get your action plan
Receive an instant score, module-by-module breakdown, and a prioritised action plan to close every gap before your applicable deadlines.
Download your PDF report
Export an audit-ready compliance report with every finding traced to regulation - shareable with your board, customers, or the Agency.
How the TEL TSI relates to the OPE TSI
The train-composition and running data you handle at the terminal connect to a second regulation for the trains passing through your facility: the OPE TSI (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/773). The connection is narrower here than for railway undertakings and infrastructure managers, but worth understanding.
The TEL TSI formally interfaces with the OPE TSI - Appendix A.2 is a dedicated interface table. The OPE TSI does not return the favour: its interface chapter (point 4.3) lists infrastructure, control-command, rolling stock, energy, safety and noise, but no telematics. More strikingly, OPE point 4.2.3.4.2.1(c) still directs infrastructure managers to provide train-position-reporting data "according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1305/2014 (TAF TSI) and Commission Regulation (EU) No 454/2011 (TAP TSI)" - the two TSIs the TEL TSI repealed and replaced. Read literally today, the OPE TSI's own cross-reference points at instruments that no longer describe the current telematics regime.
- Train composition - for the trains at your facility, this duty arises in OPE point 4.2.2.5.2; the TEL TSI TrainCompositionMessage (Annex pt. 2.5.1) carries it.
- Train running and interruption data - for the trains at your facility, this duty arises in OPE point 4.2.3.4; the TEL TSI train running and TrainRunningInterruptionMessage data (Annex pt. 2.6.3–2.6.6) carry it.
The TEL TSI governs the data exchange. The operational duty itself sits in the OPE TSI and is demonstrated through your Safety Management System when you apply for a safety certificate or safety authorisation - the OPE TSI has no interoperability constituents (OPE point 5.2) and none of its requirements is assessed by a Notified Body (OPE point 6.2.1). This tool does not assess OPE TSI compliance.
Full analysis: The OPE TSI still points to TAF and TAP. Here's what replaced them. →
Quick answer: Does this tool assess our OPE TSI compliance? →
TEL TSI questions from terminal operator teams
Is my rail freight terminal in scope of TEL TSI?
Yes, if it serves cross-border rail freight. EU 2026/253 defines operators of rail freight service facilities as telematics stakeholders under Article 3(8) and 3(9). A TEN-T multimodal rail-road terminal that receives, loads, unloads or hands over intermodal loading units for cross-border services is in scope and must be able to receive and process the required electronic messages and confirm train closure to the lead RU.
What messages does a terminal actually have to handle?
The core inbound messages are the electronic consignment note (eCN), the train composition message and train arrival forecasts. The core outbound obligation is confirming train closure to the lead RU once wagons are safe and ready to move. Terminals also maintain ILU reference data and exchange wagon status and forecast information - all through the Common Interface, secured with PKI.
When do the TEL TSI deadlines fall for a terminal operator?
The ERA CCM process applies from 2 September 2026; common reference data for organisations and locations from 13 December 2026; the implementation report to the Agency from 2 March 2028; ILU and rolling-stock reference data from 10 December 2028; and full deployment of train traffic, train closure, wagon data, eCN and composition messages from 9 December 2029.
How does a terminal's role connect to RUs and IMs?
Terminals sit downstream of the lead RU and the infrastructure manager. You receive the eCN and composition data the freight RU issues, and your arrival planning depends on the train running information the infrastructure manager sends. Understanding both sides of each message makes your terminal implementation far more predictable.
Does the TEL TSI Compliance Companion cover terminal workflows?
Yes. The tool includes a dedicated terminal-operator module set covering reference data, the eCN, train composition, arrival planning, loading/unloading and train closure, ILU reference data, wagon status, PKI and secure exchange, and CCM governance - each traced to the relevant Article of EU 2026/253. The Team plan supports collaborative workspaces for terminal groups and operators managing multiple facilities.
Does this tool assess our OPE TSI compliance?
No - and the distinction matters more than it might first appear. The TEL TSI (Reg. (EU) 2026/253) governs the data exchange: the messages you send and receive for train composition, train readiness, train running, forecasts and interruptions. That is what this tool assesses. The operational obligations behind those same facts arise in the OPE TSI (Reg. (EU) 2019/773). For example, it is OPE - not the TEL TSI - that requires the railway undertaking to inform the infrastructure manager when a train is ready for access to the network (OPE point 4.2.3.3.2). The TEL TSI then specifies the TrainReadyMessage that carries that information. A useful way to hold it: OPE creates the duty; the TEL TSI carries the message that implements it. The two are also demonstrated by completely different routes. The OPE TSI is a functional subsystem: it has no interoperability constituents (OPE point 5.2), and none of its requirements is assessed by a Notified Body. Instead, railway undertakings and infrastructure managers demonstrate OPE compliance within their Safety Management System, when applying for a safety certificate or safety authorisation (OPE point 6.2.1). So a strong result here means you are ready to exchange the data the TEL TSI requires. It does not mean - and cannot mean - that your OPE obligations are met. Those belong in your SMS. Sources: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/773 (consolidated), points 4.2.3.3.2, 5.2, 6.2.1; Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/253.
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