Council Resolution on the development of rail and combined transport On 19 June 1995, the Council of Ministers (Transport) adopted a Resolution on the development of rail transport and combined transport (95/C 169/01). This Resolution is aimed at encouraging the continued development of rail transport within the context of the Community's overa... On 19 June 1995, the Council of Ministers (Transport) adopted a Resolution on the development of rail transport and combined transport (95/C 169/01). This Resolution is aimed at encouraging the continued development of rail transport within the context of the Community's overall transport policy. This is deemed to be an important priority given the decreasing market share of rail transport services despite their advantages from the point of view of environmental protection, safety and energy saving. The Community's common railway policy, laid down in Council directive 91/440 (OJ No L 237 of 24.8.91) on the development of the Community's railways, rests on the following four complementary pillars: - Organization of the market in rail transport; - The infrastructure of the Trans-European Transport Network; - The inter-operability of the trans-European railway network, in particular the high-speed network, through technical harmonization; - Opening up public contracts in the transport sector. The Council, in its Resolution, states that it considers that it is now necessary to progress with this policy through an evaluation of the concrete results of its implementation, in particular with regard to access to infrastructure. The Resolution also states the will of the Council to: - Make rail transport and combined transport efficient and competitive with other transport modes, through measures designed to promote fresh dynamism amongst operators; - Establish suitable conditions to promote the development of rail transport and combined transport within the Community's overall transport system; - Ensure that rail, navigable waterways and shipping services, especially short-distance services, participate as fully as possible in the development of combined transport, in cooperation with road transport partners. The most pertinent areas for the development of rail transport are defined in the Resolution as: - Medium and long-distance freight transport; - Travel within the major population areas and inter- and intra-regional travel; - Inter-city travel; - High-speed trains for travel between the major European conglomerations. The Council calls on the Member States to foster cooperation between operators involved in combined transport with a view to: - Defining ethical rules for all protagonists; - Facilitating studies, standardization and innovation; - Promoting prior discussion, between Member States, on the programming of corresponding investments. The Member States and the Commission are also urged to encourage the development of conditions for rapid experimentation with the European control and command system, particularly through the gradual introduction of technical harmonization. The Commission is, in addition, requested to examine the appropriateness of proposals on: - Common principles on charging for the use of railway infrastructure, charging infrastructure fees and the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity; - Developments requiring major investment; - The establishment of the international groupings provided for in Directive 91/440, in order to promote the integration of the trans-European railway network.
