Brussels, 13/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - For almost a month now, the railway line between Brussels and Luxembourg has been halted at the border because Belgian vehicles with the TBL 1+ safety systems have to wait to be approved by the Luxembourg authorities. Speaking on Twitter on 8 May, European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas explained that this is “exactly what we're trying to fix”, particularly through the 4th railway package presented earlier this year. The railways are hoping that the technical pillar can be fast-tracked in an effort to sort out these kinds of situations.
This is a textbook case that illustrates the need to complete the single railway area and simplify approval procedures. As the Belgian-Luxembourg case demonstrates, these procedures are very lengthy and expensive. The Community of European Railways (CER) estimates that today €1.2 billion worth of railway vehicles are parked somewhere in Europe, waiting for national administrations to put their stamp of approval on vehicle authorisations and safety certifications. The Commission attempted to put an end to these practices, seen as barriers to the single market, in its most recent proposal for the 4th railway package, particularly in the sections on interoperability and strengthening the European Railway Agency (ERA), which is, effectively, the technical pillar of the proposal. The Community of European Railways considers that the technical pillar should also be ratified as soon as possible by European decision-makers even if this means the package being examined separately. In a press release on 8 May, CER Executive Director Libor Lochman stated: “If you really want to open the market, if you really want to help the rail sector to improve its performance and cost efficiency, then a quick and pragmatic reading of the Technical Pillar would do the job: it would allow all types of railway undertakings to get their vehicles faster and at more reasonable prices, new international traffic to grow, and the rail system to be more cost efficient”. (MD/transl.fl)