Although the opening of the rail freight transport market allowed a large number of operators to access the railway network, market mechanisms haven’t been sufficient to organise, regulate and guarantee railway safety. In order to optimize the use and reliability of the railway network, it is necessary to introduce new additional procedures so as to consolidate cooperation with regard to the distribution of international freight routes among infrastructure managers.
In this context, the development of international rail corridors for a competitive European rail freight network facilitates the improvement of infrastructure use.
The regulation concerning a European railway network for a competitive freight transport will substantially improve co-operation between infrastructure managers and operators along rail freight transport corridors. Common objectives will be defined for these corridors, helping all those involved in cooperating for a common goal. An implementation plan will represent the basis for establishing new corridors (ten corridors) in three to five years since the entering into force of the Regulation.
“A very important aspect of the Regulation is the cooperation between freight terminal managers and rail infrastructure managers, in terms of traffic management and infrastructure development. Freight transport operators or forwarders, others than railway undertakings, will be able to request track access to these new corridors”, Keir Fitch, DG MOVE.
Thus, the Regulation represents a milestone for the European railway policy in terms of freight traffic development, which will help increase rail freight transport capacity in the countries in which the railway is already going through a rebirth in terms of freight volumes and market share, as well as support the improvement of railway competitiveness in terms of quality and efficiency of transport services in the countries where the railway is still in need of revitalization.
The first Memorandum of Understanding was signed for Corridor no. 7 “Orient” (previously called Corridor E), to enter operation starting with 2013. According to a recent report of UIRR, the structuring of this corridor took place in November 2011. The Corridor is the most rail freight corridor of the 9 designated by Regulation 913/2010 as it affects the highest number of EU Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
In Romania, the “Orient” Corridor crosses the pan-European Corridor IV. It is coordinated by a board which includes the ministries of transport, as well as a Management Committee including infrastructure managers and the main railway freight transport operators from the countries crossed by the corridor.
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