The process of opening rail transport to competition has led to important structural changes in the market. Competition, among others, is growing at all business levels. This obviously generates new business opportunities and challenges that affect the market as a whole.
Competition between railway undertakings is still limited by different factors resulted from the protective behaviour of “traditional” railway operators and from the management based on different privileged pacts of the railway infrastructure which, as natural monopole, has to be non-discriminatory and accessible to the same extent to all interested parties. In most member states, the insufficient transparency of market conditions and the inefficient operation of the institutions continue to worsen the supply of competitive railway services. Essential information for the new entrants are not yet systematically and easily accessible. Operators who access a new market continue to be confronted with discrimination treatments in terms of track accessing and of rail-related services (maintenance sites, terminals, information desks and ticket offices, both for railway freight transport and passenger transport) which are often owned and exploited by the “traditional” railway undertaking.
“To ensure loyal competition between railway undertakings and to guarantee full transparency, as well as non-discriminatory access to services and their delivery, a distinction should be made between the delivery of transport services and the operation of infrastructure. Consequently, it is necessary that these two types of activities should be independently managed in case the infrastructure operator pertains to one body or to one company, which is also active and holds a dominant position in the country, at least within one of the railway freight or passengers markets for which infrastructure is used. This independence should not mean the set up of a separate legal entity for services infrastructures. Non-discriminatory access to services infrastructures and the delivery of railway related services in the case of these infrastructures should permit railway undertakings to provide better services to freight and passenger carriers”, stipulates the text adopted by the European Parliament at the beginning of July on the set up of the Single European Railway Area.
According to Directive 14/2004, infrastructure access additional and auxiliary services, would be explicitly demanded by the operator and invariably offered by the manager, however, in practice, rail-related services that can be provided by an infrastructure manager vary from one state to another and tariffs for these services are calculated based on the degree to which they are used. Rail-related services should be established in a way that would guarantee the support of this type of services on a constantly increasing railway market. For example, reinvesting profit should be moderately permitted where private rail services use private infrastructures, or else the investment will not generate return.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “The compromise text contains a number of improvements if compared to the legislation currently into force. For example national regulatory bodies will be strengthened and the access to rail related services has been simplified and facilitated, also in view of an ever more open rail market. At the same time, we regret that some major points are not adequately solved”.
The European Parliament considers vital the measure on equal access to infrastructure and to railway related services, such as maintenance workshops and railway stations, for all operators, either public or private.
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