Brussels, 07/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Combined road-trail transport is in favour of railway unbundling and urging the European institutions to include it in legislation once and for all. Another voice has therefore been added to those calling for the separation of infrastructure managers and service providers. Up until now, the traditional French, German or Italian models have been based on a system where a large integrated holding company dominates the sector.
While the second reading phase of the recast of the first railway package is currently taking place and the Commission is examining the fourth package, discussions on separation of infrastructure managers and service operators are becoming quite heated. The International Union of combined Road-Rail transport companies (UIRR) has just added its contribution to the debate and supports the conclusions of the report by Sir Roy McNulty. The latter considers that the liberalised British model is more efficient (than the German model, in particular) and recommends the separation of the different undertakings, which should, nevertheless, maintain a high level of cooperation between them (see EUROPE 10545). The executive chairman of the UIRR, Rudy Colle, explains that “combined transport operators are extensive contractors of quality rail freight services and the UIRR can only agree with Lord McNulty that there is no better way to enhance efficiency than through competition”.
The UIRR insists that the European institutions take note of the need for healthy competition and hopes that the rules on conflicts of interest, as proposed by the European Commission in the recast of the railway package, will be maintained by the European legislator and that the question of unbundling will finally be established permanently in the fourth railway package. (MD/transl.fl)