News
EC plans new strategy for rail freight networks
New rules will demand more transparency and more competition as market is opened-up
The European Commission has proposed new rules to increase competition and investment in European rail networks, writes David Badger. Transport Commissioner Siim
Kallas told reporters on Friday: “Europe needs, and deserves, better rail services. “My aim in all of this is more
competition in passenger and freight services.” The plan is to force more trans-
parency into a sector dominated by state-controlled operators in many countries, and lays out specific rules to avoid conflict of
interests and discriminatory practices. It also aims at encouraging in-
vestment by requiring “national long-term strategies and multi-an- nual contractual agreements”, the commission explained. Kallas also wants to see more competition in the sector. “I intend to move forwards as
quickly as possible with legislative proposals to open up the mar- ket,” he said. The commission is also looking
into whether rail service opera- tors and infrastructure suppliers occupying too dominant a
position in the market should be forced to divide into smaller units. Meanwhile, the Association of
the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) has released the first edi- tion of its ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) Freight Corridors Tracker. The document highlights the
progress made in building a more competitive rail freight network in Europe. Michael Clausecker, UNIFE’s Di-
rector-General, said: “While ERTMS has been successfully de- ployed on a large number of high-
speed lines in Europe, some coun- tries are deliberately preventing the creation of interoperable freight corridors by not equipping their lines. “The EC must act to ensure the
deadlines contained in ERTMS de- ployment are met. It is not ac- ceptable that a small minority of countries prevent the others from advancing towards interop- erability”. UNIFE’s tracker foresees the
gradual installation of ERTMS along six corridors in 2015 and 2020, but only a few freight lines have been equipped so far.
F6 | Freighting Update | September 27, 2010
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