On Monday 4 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) unanimously adopted (with 30 votes in favour) their negotiating position on the draft regulation governing the use of railway infrastructure capacity (see EUROPE 13296/12). This text aims to change the way rail is managed and improve cross-border coordination.
“We urgently need a modal shift to rail to decarbonise the European transport sector. New rules will facilitate this transition and ensure a more optimal use of the rail tracks”, commented rapporteur Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourger).
In their position, MEPs agreed to give more powers to the ‘European Network of Infrastructure Managers’ (ENIM) to coordinate cross-border capacity and traffic, and proposed new tasks for the ‘European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), as well as an increase in its budget.
Regarding capacity restrictions resulting from infrastructure works and degraded infrastructure, MEPs call on Member States to provide the infrastructure manager with an overview of these changes and their likely impact in the network statement.
In addition, Member States should provide the Infrastructure manager with stable and timely multiannual funding for the maintenance, renewal and construction of new rail infrastructure, for a rolling period of at least five years. This would be done through the multi-annual performance agreement, to help infrastructure managers prevent the deterioration of rail infrastructure and minimise the impact on any capacity restrictions. The annual budget made available to infrastructure managers should be transparent to the infrastructure manager and reliably allocated.
The MEPs also want to entrust the European Commission with the task of ensuring consistency between the strategic guidelines issued by the Member States to support the development of international rail freight and passenger services. It could therefore adopt delegated acts defining the specific legal status, model, procedures, criteria and methods to be applied for the adoption of national strategic guidelines.
Finally, MEPs want an impartial, competent and autonomous Performance Review Body to be set up no later than six months after the regulation comes into force. Members of this body would be appointed on merit and in such a way as to ensure a mix of skills and experience relevant to rail capacity management. Members would be designated by the Commission through a call for experts.
The Commission would adopt, no later than twelve months after entry into force, a delegated act detailing the organisation, governance and financing of the performance review body.
The report still has to be adopted by the European Parliament plenary session before negotiations with the EU Council can begin. For its part, the EU Council is still in the examination phase.
To read the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/b4f (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)