Encouraging more efficient use of railways
In an attempt to reverse the decline of Europe's railway infrastructure, which now holds only 16% of the freight market, the European Commission has proposed to amend three existing pieces of legislation. This is in order to ensure that all railway undertakings are treated in a fair and non-discriminatory way, and to provide for the efficient and competitive use of infrastructure. The proposed measures would establish new provisions for the allocation of infrastructure capacity, the charging of infrastructure fees, the separation of accounts and the licensing of railway undertakings. The first proposal would replace the provisions of Directive 95/19/EC on the allocation of infrastructure charging and on the charging of infrastructure fees. This would enable different operators to bid for capacity, to be allocated by an independent authority, and would institute a right of appeal. It would also aim to ensure that attention is given to the development of international paths, which should ensure the quality of international freight services. Proposals on the charging of fees will be based on the cost directly incurred as a result of the operation of a train, but will ensure flexibility in charging systems. The second proposal would amend Directive 91/440/EEC, which separates the accounts in infrastructure management and transport operations. However in the case of integrated railways, only profit and loss accounts have been drawn up for infrastructure management, and not balance sheets. The amending Directive therefore proposes to clarify the legal situation and require the separation of both profit and loss accounts and balance sheets. It would also separate the accounts between passenger and freight transport and ensure that payments for one activity cannot be transferred to another. The third proposal would amend Directive 95/18/EC which only applies to railway undertakings providing services covered by access rights, in order to extend rules on licenses to all railway undertakings.