The group says that its members have lobbied for years for full liberalisation of the rail freight market, with competition, transparency and fair access to track and terminals, and they now welcome this new step in the Commission's role in enforcement of Community law.

The Commission's letter gives member states two months to come up with proposals to resolve, once and for all:

* 'the lack of independence of the infrastructure manager in relation to railway operators;
* 'insufficient implementation of the provisions of the Directive on track access charging, such as the absence of a performance regime to improve the performance of the railway network, the lack of incentives for the infrastructure manager to reduce costs and charges and of tariff systems based on the direct costs of rail services;
* 'the failure to set up an independent regulatory body with the necessary powers to remedy competition problems in the railway sector.'

The House of Rail urges the Commission to be firm to ensure that any changes are introduced urgently and fully comply with spirit and letter of the legislation. The threat of member states being hauled in front of the European Court of Justice for their failure to implement the laws to which they had already signed up to must spur them into action.

The Commission has also published summaries of the failures of individual member states. Comparisons with a similar list published in June 2008 indicate that member states have made very little effort to make the major changes necessary to comply with European law, and members of the HoR members with experience of operating in these countries will recognise that behind these summaries there are many more changes needed. However, the summary will enable HoR members to monitor progress in each member state and put pressure on governments and the Commission to maintain and enhance the momentum of change.

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Infrastructure managers press for liberalisation

EUROPOLITICS: 14 October 2009
By Isabelle Smets

Rail infrastructure managers are calling for further liberalisation of rail passenger transport in Europe. At a debate, on 13 October in Brussels, in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee, they called on the EU institutions to take forward the liberalisation of international passenger traffic that will take effect under EU legislation, on 1 January 2010. For the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), market opening will increase the quality and variety of services available to passengers while reducing costs.

EIM also pointed out that it is vital for each state to have infrastructure managers and control bodies – whose role is to guarantee non-discriminatory access to the network – that are fully independent from incumbent railway undertakings. This is theoretically the case under EU legislation, but as seen in the Commission’s infringement procedures (see Europolitics3835), is not always a reality on the ground.

The EIM’s demands come as the European Commission prepares a recast of EU directives that lay down rules on capacity allocation, fees, licensing and market access. For Michael Robson, secretary-general of EIM, this recast represents a “good opportunity for the European Union to act to enhance the independence of infrastructure managers and to give regulatory bodies the powers and resources they need to ensure that competition in passenger rail traffic is of benefit to all”.