Single European railway market can only succeed with common standards and smooth coordination!

Efficient network of regulatory authorities necessary

The European Parliament today voted at second reading the revision of the existing legislation for a Single European Railway Area.

"We need strong and independent national regulatory authorities for a successful opening of the railway market and a model in which network and railway operators continue to cooperate closely", the EPP Group Vice-Coordinator in the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament and Shadow Rapporteur for the revision of the first railway package, Werner Kuhn MEP, said. "We were able to implement this demand successfully into the new version of the Directive. Now it is important for all EU Member States to establish the appropriate authorities", the transport expert said.

Moreover, an optimal networking between the regulatory authorities is needed according to the CDU MEP: "For a well-functioning railway market, the coordination of the train path allocation is absolutely necessary. Subsequently, a European regulatory body shall take over a superior coordination function and, especially in cases of doubt, it shall use its decision-making powers. This would not necessarily mean a new agency: "This job could, for example, be taken over by the existing European Railway Agency. Its skills must be clearly defined."

According to Werner Kuhn, for the successful liberalisation of the railway market, it is necessary to introduce transparent rules for the calculation of track access charges and promote technical harmonisation.

The European Parliament also asks the Commission to propose an infrastructure model by the end of the year.