4th Railway Package leaves the station

A step further towards better, faster and cheaper railway services in Europe was taken today after the European Parliament adopted the 4th railway legislative package. The new reforms consist of market-opening for new competitors, fair and independent governance, higher safety standards and oversight and a significant reduction in unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative burdens. The EPP Group Transport Spokesman and Rapporteur, Wim van de Camp MEP, said: "This vote is a cautious but positive step towards a genuine European railway area where the passenger comes first. Rail passengers are set to gain from better services at lower prices due to increased competition."

The EPP Group’s Shadow Rapporteurs, Andor Deli MEP and Markus Ferber MEP, emphasised the importance of the next ten years for the success of European railways: "Despite increasing competition for freight within Europe, we still lack cross-border connections between cities and regions for passengers. If rail wants to catch up with low-cost airlines it needs to make better use of the limited investments available and implement these new rules urgently and ambitiously", they stressed.

A freer market also means less subsidies and more transparent procedures when awarding contracts to service providers. "We are finally pushing back the sector’s dependence on state subsidies by setting rules on compensation, demanding more transparency and including objective pro-traveller criteria, like punctuality or travel comfort, in the public tendering procedures used in the sector", Van de Camp concluded.