CRCC Certification for Railway Products
23. November 2022CRCC Certification for Railway Products
CRCC Certification is mandatory for the export, sales and/or usage of railway products in the Chinese market. The governing authority for this certification is the China Railway Test & Certification Centre (CRCC), formerly known as China Railway Product Certification Center.
The scope of the railway products subject to the certification has consistently grown year after year since implementation, currently including 378 products. Some examples would be:
- Switches
- Tracks
- Freight trains
- Passenger trains
- Locomotives
- Individual railway cars
- Signaling systems
- Railway isolators
- Energy supply components
- Wheels
- Axles
- Brake pads
- Brakes
The five steps to obtain the CRCC Certification are:
- Regulations
Prior to the application for the certification the relevant regulations need to be obtained from the China Railway Test & Certification Centre. The respective regulations set out the exact requirements for the certification, which shall undergo an extensive analysis before application to assure compliance.
- Application documents
Appropriate documents required for each different product category need to be completed and submitted to the certification authority. It is import to ensure that the information given in the application documents is consistent with the products that are to be certified, to avoid rejection by the certification authority.
- Product tests
Depending on the actual product type, a set number of sample products and key components will be requested and tested by an accredited Chinese laboratory. They will be tested for compliance to the safety standard set forth by the appropriate Implementation Rules.
- Factory inspection
A factory inspection, also known as an audit, is required for the CRCC Certification. During the auditing process the Chinese auditors will check the factory complies with “good practices” in the manufacturing and inspection processes complying with the certification requirements. The auditors will typically ask for “Random Sample Tests” by arbitrarily choosing one of the product during the audit to undergo testing in China. In addition, similar to the CCC Certification, an annual Follow-up Audit is to be carried out each year afterwards.
- Certificate of Approval
The Certificate of Approval will be issued by the China Railway Test Certification Centre (CRCC)
