Brussels Rail Transport Brief: April'June 2021

Published date29 June 2021
Subject MatterAnti-trust/Competition Law, Transport, Antitrust, EU Competition , Cartels, Monopolies, Rail, Road & Cycling
Law FirmK&L Gates GP
AuthorMiguel A. Caramello Alvarez, Philip Torb'l, Alessandro Di Mario and In's Mendes

RAIL REGULATORY AND POLICY

New European Commission's Proposals

In the fall of 2021, the European Commission (Commission) expects to put forward a set of proposals covering intelligent transport systems (ITS), Trans-European transport network (TEN-T), rail freight corridors, and passenger rail.

According to Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, the ITS framework must be updated to pay more attention to multimodal transport. Similarly, a rethink of the TEN-T framework is supposed to support a shift to more sustainable modes of transport. The TEN-T framework is meant to bridge gaps and remove barriers in the EU's network of roads, railways, inland waterways, and shipping routes.

The Commission also intends to present the result of an evaluation of the bloc's rail freight corridors regulation in the coming months. The goal, according to Commissioner Valean, is to align these corridors with the TEN-T network, "ensuring that key lines used by international freight are included at least in the comprehensive network and prioritized for investment."

New Faces in DG Move

On 23 April, it was announced that two new directors are joining the senior management of the European Commission's directorate-general for mobility.

Starting on 16 June, Mona Bj'rklund will take up a role as director of the policy coordination department, while Kristian Schmidt, formerly the EU ambassador to Myanmar, will be the new director overseeing work on land transport.

Rail Projects Top Recovery Fund Spending Plans

EU member states are putting forward their EU Recovery and Resilience Facility spending proposals and a lot of spending will be directed towards mobility.

Just a couple of examples: Hydrogen projects are a big part of the French plan, which includes support for state railway Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF). In Germany, ?500 million will be directed towards railway tech programs like new signaling systems. In Italy, the big focus is the spending of around ?24.77 billion on decarbonisation and reduction of emissions through the transfer of passenger traffic and goods from road to rail and increasing the competitiveness of the production systems, particularly in the south, through improvement of railway connections.

New Rights for Rail Passengers

On 28 April, the European Parliament took the final step at modernizing rail passenger rights within the European Union by adopting a new legal framework for rail passenger right. The new set of rules will strengthen passengers' protection in case of disruptions.

The European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport Adina Valean welcomed the agreement reached and stated that the new rules will significantly improve rail passengers' protection in case of delays, cancellations, or missed connections. Strong rail passenger rights are essential to improving the sector's image and attracting more people to rail, two of the objectives for the European Year of Rail.

The new rules include a strengthened complaint-handling mechanism, and reinforce the obligation for the National Enforcement Bodies to cooperate. Passengers with reduced mobility will also have more flexibility when making travel arrangements, as they will only be obliged to notify the operator of their travel plans 24 hours in advance instead of currently 48h hours and if they require an accompanying person, they will travel free of charge. Passengers with reduced mobility using an assistance dog will also be given assurances that the animal can travel with them.

The new regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 12 May. It entered into force on 1 June and will become applicable as of 6 June 2023.

British Plan for Major Railway Sector Reform

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, announced on 19 May, outlines the plans for Great British Railways.

A new public body, the Great British Railways, which will assimilate the country's railways by owning the infrastructure, collecting fares revenue, running and planning the network, and setting most fares and timetables, is set to be established as part of sweeping reforms included in the long-awaited plan for rail.

The government describes the creation of the Great British Railways as the biggest change to the sector in the past 25 years, and according to the press statement, the plan will set out the path towards a truly passenger-focused railway, underpinned by new contracts that prioritize punctual and reliable service.

Additionally, the plan includes a comprehensive environment plan, to be delivered by 2022, as the railway targets becoming carbon neutral. The government says national coordination will give freight operators greater flexibility and responsiveness. There will also be the first national accessibility audit to ensure the railway works for everyone.

The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Promise for People with Disability

The European Commission is preparing to rethink TEN-T by November 2021, to align it with the Commission's long-term mobility strategy.

The goal is to expand the requirements for EU countries to build urban infrastructure but the Commission also wants cities to design "Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans," which would have to include measures to make transport systems accessible to all, the greening of transport and digitization.

Infrastructure however remains a major issue for people with disabilities because the railways do not always own it. Infrastructure can be owned by a municipality, which makes uniform standards more difficult to achieve and makes upgrades vulnerable to cooperation gaps.

ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION

European Commission Fines Rail Freight Cartel

On 20 April, the European Commission fined German, Belgian, and Austrian railway companies; Deutsche Bahn (DB); Société Nationale des Chemins de fer belges (SNCB); and the Austrian Federal Railways ('BB), for allocating customers between themselves for transporting cargo across EU borders. DB and SNCB were fined a total of ?48.5 million. Austrian 'BB brought the cartel to the Commission's attention, under a leniency application, and got full immunity, avoiding a ?37 million fine. The three railway companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and benefited from a 10 percent reduction of their respective fine. Under the settlement procedure, parties to a cartel that acknowledge their participation in the cartel and their liability for it can benefit from a 10 percent reduction of their fine as well as a simplified and shortened procedure.

According to the Commission, for a period of six years, between 2008 and 2014, the companies participated in a customer allocation cartel, which concerned cross-border rail cargo transport services on block trains on key rail corridors in the European Union. Block trains are cargo trains shipping goods from one site, such as the production site of the vendor of the transported goods to another site, such as a warehouse, without stopping on the way.

The investigation revealed that...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT