Building submissions for railway installations may not be filed by just anyone. The building submission authorisation is the proof that the submitting person has the technical and legal suitability to do so.
What is the building submission authorisation?
The building submission authorisation (BVB) is the authority to prepare, sign and file the technical documents for construction measures on railway installations that require approval or consent. It is person-bound, meaning it is tied to a specific person and their demonstrated qualification, not to a company.
It is the railway-specific counterpart to the building submission authorisation in the general building law of the federal states. While the state building regulations set the framework there, railway operating installations are governed by the railway-law procedure, in which the Federal Railway Authority or the respective competent authority takes on the role of the building authority.
Anyone who signs a building submission thereby declares that the documents comply with the recognised rules of technology and the applicable regulations. This is no formality: with their signature, the authorised person personally assumes technical responsibility for correctness and completeness towards the authority.
What it is needed for
The building submission authorisation is needed wherever structural measures on railway operating installations go through a formal procedure. Typical use cases are:
- Filing building submissions for railway installations requiring approval or consent.
- New construction, conversion and extension of engineering structures such as bridges, culverts and retaining structures in the railway environment.
- Measures on platforms, passenger stations and structural installations of the infrastructure.
- Proof of the submitting person’s technical suitability to the competent authority.
Without an authorised person, a railway project requiring approval does not get through the procedure. The authorisation is therefore not a downstream detail but a critical building block already in the early project phase, often before the actual planning begins. If it is missing, it delays the entire project start.
Distinction from the general authorisation
A building submission authorisation registered under state law, for example as an architect or consulting engineer, does not automatically cover the railway environment. Railway operating installations are subject to their own specialist law with their own requirements for safety, operations and construction.
The railway therefore requires the technically appropriate authorisation and familiarity with the railway-specific regulations and design principles.
Prerequisites
As a rule, the authorisation requires a relevant engineering degree, sufficient practical experience in railway construction and proof of technical suitability. It is held on a personal basis and is not transferable to a company. Anyone holding it must maintain their suitability through ongoing activity and further training.
What counts is not only formal knowledge but design experience in the existing network: railway structures are almost always built or rebuilt under operations, which places special demands on construction phases, load assumptions and the interfaces to signalling and control technology.
The submission process
Place within the core services
The building submission authorisation complements the other person-bound roles in railway construction. At LND Ingenieure it belongs, alongside Technischer Berechtigter, safety supervisor and switching applicant, to the core services, so that projects can be accompanied from submission through to construction supervision from a single source.
This end-to-end approach reduces interfaces: when the same body is responsible for the submission and later takes on the construction supervision, no information is lost between approval and execution, and the client has a single point of contact throughout the project.
Häufige Fragen
What does building submission authorisation for the railway mean?
It is the person-bound authority to prepare, sign and file technical documents for construction measures on railway installations requiring approval.
When do you need an authorised person?
Whenever building submissions for railway installations requiring approval or consent must be filed with the competent authority, often before the actual planning begins.
Is a state-law authorisation enough?
No. Railway operating installations are subject to their own specialist law. A state-law authorisation does not automatically cover the railway environment.
Is the authorisation transferable?
No, it is person-bound and not transferable to a company.
Edoé Lassey
Edoé Lassey führt die LND Ingenieure GmbH als Bauüberwacher und Ingenieur für Infrastruktur- und Tiefbau. Die zertifizierten Rollen Technischer Berechtigter, Sicherungsüberwacher, Schaltantragsteller und Bauvorlageberechtigung gehören zum Leistungskern.
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