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.

CONTROL BODIES

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”.