Lawmakers from the European Parliament have reached a significant provisional deal for a regulation that will restructure the planning and allocation of railway infrastructure within the EU-27 area. A change that should improve the reliability and performance of EU’s railway services among member states.
The reform had been agreed upon by representatives of the Parliament and its counterpart from the Council of the European Union in negotiations in November, and supported earlier this week in Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) by a 35-to-5 vote. The regulation establishes a new structure for aligning train traffic among member states within a more cooperative, if centralized, framework.
It’s primary goal is to break long-standing obstacles in relation to rail infrastructure in an area that has been one of the most significant barriers to establishing the EU’s single market for rail transport. It will likely be most beneficial for international cross-border journeys in which delays related to the planning of capacity and operational decisions have created major obstacles.
Better, central coordination
The regulation will still assign the national role of infrastructure manager for planning and management traffic for domestic railway systems. It will, however, substantially increase the mandate of the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM) and assign it the task of coordinating the planning of international railway systems.
The aim is to create a smoother flow of railway traffic at a cross-border level that generates as few delays as possible, increases the reliability of cross-border service, and assists with one of the EU’s core aims. That is the transition from carbon-intensive transport systems to rail-based systems for both freight and passenger transport.
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Bigger role for railway undertakings
European lawmakers also reached a provisional deal that significantly expands the role of railway undertakings, which refers to rail operators and providers in the context of this new regulation. They will not be limited solely to a separate role in managing the infrastructure.
The deal will be a turning point in how the EU treats railway capacity as a single European asset requiring integrated management. – MEP Tilly Metz (Greens-EFA/LUX), rapporteur on the deal
MEP Tilly Metz (Greens-EFA/LUX) who has acted as the rapporteur for this deal, emphasized that this provisional deal will “be a turning point in how the EU treats railway capacity not as a series of national silos but as a single European asset requiring integrated management”.
Railway undertakings will now have a guarantee that their operational needs for services and trains are considered in relation to railway network planning.
Timeline for implementation
The provisional deal will be subject to approval from the Council, which represents the EU’s states, and approval in relation to its design and implementation. It will also need to be approved by a vote in a plenary session of the entire European Parliament.
If approved, the agreement will be implemented alongside a broader effort to implement the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, which has outlined plans to double the use of rail for high-speed journeys to 1 billion journeys per year by 2030, and then triple this usage level by 2050.
The provisional deal is also aligned with plans outlined by the Commission of the European Union to create a decarbonized transport system for the entirety of the bloc through rail systems without the necessity of direct emissions.
However, some analysts have expressed concerns over how ENIM will implement its new responsibilities. Some do not believe that states are politically willing to make joint decisions that disrupt their existing planning systems and their domestic infrastructures.
Industry groups have already reacted positively to the provisional deal, especially in relation to its impact for international services within cross-border rail journeys in Europe.
