Brussels, 27/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM) are demanding improved application of the legislative measures laid down in the EU's first railway package. In a press release published on Tuesday, the EIM says that instead of the measures laid down in the first railway package, “obstacles to market access in the rail transport sector remain, in various forms”. The cause, they believe, is the “too lax” or even “non-existent” implementation of these measures in the Member States, EIM's Dan Wolff explained to EUROPE. In the run-up to the mid-term review of the white paper on European transport policy, and although the European Commission is due soon to present a report on the implementation of the first railway package, the EIM is particularly stressing the importance of transparent and fair systems for granting licences, clear and precise rules for the allocation of railway branches, and improved market access. The association also stresses the need to improve funding for railway infrastructures by reducing the costs of infrastructures, creating public-private partnerships, and negotiating extra costs for freight transport on international corridors. In the EIM's view, it is high time that the Commission ensured that all these measures are implemented “de facto” and not just “de jure”, Mr Wolff warned.