In conformity with the new Directive proposal on the railway single area, member states should make sure that regulations and the infrastructure access charge framework are published in the reference document of the network. This document establishes the characteristics of the infrastructure used by railway undertakings. According to the new proposal, the infrastructure manger and the infrastructure operator agree on a method of dividing costs between the different services they provide and between the different railway vehicles they use, based on the best understanding of cost causality and tariff principles.
The operation principle of the infrastructure access charge should be differentiated according to market conditions. The Commission must also establish an evaluation system based on the comparison between the approaches used in deciding on the infrastructure access charge in different countries. In conformity with governmental contributions, this charge is usually the infrastructure manager’s main source of income and is responsible for a third of the railway operator’s expenses. Consequently, the level of infrastructure access charges in different countries have a major impact on the railway competitiveness. A recent study of CER/EIM has proved that that major differences between the infrastructure access charge calculation scheme in different member states reflect various complexity and intensity degrees of using different networks, specific market conditions, as well as the most important aspect of all which is major gaps between the state financial support in different countries. CER believes these differences should be acknowledged in the attempt of revising the legislation scheduled for late this year. The context for re-calculating the infrastructure access charge varies a lot between member states and the charge should not decided on before considering several aspects, especially the infrastructure state financing and compensations for public service obligations (whose absence in some member states has a major effect on the financial situation of railway operators), declared the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) in a position document. The exact definition and the calculation of external costs are not clear. In defining the external costs, it is necessary to make a difference between fixed and variable costs, because direct costs should be calculated only based on variable costs. In order to improve the transparency of tariffs, the suppliers of services should also deliver information for the charges of railway-related services.
Stimulants could help reduce charges
Charging and financing are therefore two sides of the same coin. The level of infrastructure charges depends on the funding that infrastructure managers receive from their member state. Infrastructure managers can afford to set lower charges if they receive a proportionate amount of funding. In the majority of Central and Eastern European countries, governments provide insufficient or no funding to the infrastructure managers, leading to a deterioration of the network as their renewals are cancelled in favour of short-term maintenance. Under Article 6.2 of Directive 2001/14 infrastructure managers should be provided with incentives to reduce infrastructure costs and the level of charges. Ten member states (the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, France, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia) received reasoned opinions as, according to the Commission, they do not comply with this Article. In November, France has relinquished state intervention in the determination of rail infrastructure charges, which will henceforth be set by the infrastructure manager. Portugal and Austria have established a performance regime to minimise disturbances on the network. These performance regimes set incentives for infrastructure managers and railway operators to avoid disturbances and thereby optimise the use of the railway infrastructure. The aim of EU law (First Railway Package) is to reduce both unit costs and unit charges. The Association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM) highlights that this could be achieved, for example, by means of ‘bonus-malus’ systems encouraging the infrastructure manager to be more cost efficient. In addition, EIM highlights that transparent and efficient planning (within multi-annual contracts for example) can allow a better predictability of costs, funding and charges and increased productivity.
by Elena Ilie
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