On 28 April, the Council gave its green light for new rules that aim to improve domestic rail passenger services in the EU. It endorsed the deal concluded by the presidency with the European Parliament on 19 April.
The revised rules – known as the 4th railway package market pillar – will open up domestic rail passenger markets in the member states. Railway companies will have non-discriminatory access to the network across the EU provided that public service contracts are not compromised. This means that it will be easier for new operators to enter the market and offer their services. For the award of public service contracts competitive bidding will become the rule, although exceptions to this rule are still possible.
Quality of service, for instance the punctuality and frequency of trains, will have more of an influence on the award of contracts to operators. For public service contracts – which currently account for over 90% of EU rail journeys – direct award will continue to be allowed provided it leads to better quality of service or cost-efficiency.
In order to make sure that all train companies have equal access to tracks, the new rules strengthen the independence and impartiality of infrastructure managers. These are bodies that run the network and allocate train paths. Measures will be taken to increase their financial transparency and avoid conflicts of interest. This is especially important in cases where the infrastructure manager and a railway company are part of the same structure, such as a holding company.
The agreement covers three legislative proposals: a revised regulation governing public service contracts, a revised directive on a single European railway area and a regulation repealing the regulation on the normalisation of railway undertakings’ accounts.
Infrastructure managers must comply with the new requirements from 1 January 2019. Member states must ensure that train companies have non-discriminatory access to the network in time to be able to launch new commercial services on 14 December 2020.
Competitive tendering for public service contracts will kick in seven years from the publication of the legal acts. Existing directly awarded contracts will be allowed to run until they expire.
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