Changes from adopted text to adopted text

Removed(15) The European frameworks developed by the European Network of Infrastructure Manager should provide guidelines that infrastructure manager should make the utmost efforts to follow, while retaining responsibility for their operational decisions. Infrastructure managers should motivatejustify any deviation from the frameworks developed by European Network of Infrastructure Manager, which should only be allowed in exceptional cases and be subject to approval by the national rail regulatory body. This approach is considered to strike the balance between the needs of coordination and application of harmonised approaches in the single European railway area, and the need for adapting procedures and methodologies to the specific circumstances of given geographical areas. After five years of application of this Regulation, the Commission should assess whether the state of convergence of procedures and methodologies and the effectiveness of the coordination process between infrastructure managers, as well as the general progress towards the establishment of the single European railway area, warrant the introduction of secondary legislation to replace elements the European frameworks developed by the European Network of Infrastructure ManagerManagers. [Am. 16]

Removed(15a) To ensure a seamless European rail network and to enhance cross-border and multi-network rail traffic for both freight and passenger transport, new tasks should be assigned to the ERA. ERA should cooperate closely with ENIM and the Network Coordinator in the delivery of its new tasks. [Am. 17]

Removed(15b) ERA's resources are insufficient given the extent of the proposed increase in the Agency's tasks and the scale of the Union's ambitions within this Regulation. Thus, the amount of the financial resources dedicated to the performance of ERA tasks under this Regulation should be drawn from the unallocated margins under Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) ceilings or mobilised through the non-thematic MFF special instruments. Since the Commission proposal for MFF revision did not reinforce ERA budget, the increase in appropriations for ERA cannot be offset by a compensatory reduction of programmed spending under CEF Transport or lead to a reduction of the funding for any other Union programmes. [Am. 18]

Removed(16) The rules on management of cross-border rail traffic under normal conditions and in the case of disturbances should promote smooth, resilient and seamless operation of rail transport services. They should provide for a system of structured coordination between infrastructure managers and other stakeholders.

Removed(17) The operation of railway infrastructure not only requires close cooperation between infrastructure managers, but also a strong interaction with railway undertakings and other stakeholders directly involved in rail and multimodal transport and logistic operations. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for structured coordination between infrastructure managers and other stakeholders. To strengthen the role of Railway Undertakings and applicants, ERP is established as a consultative body to ENIM. Operators of service facilities and terminals, multimodal capacity stakeholder, such as sea and inland waterway ports and owners of other rail-related service facilities, might also be part of ERP. ENIM should consult ERP before preparing adoption of the European frameworks for Capacity Management, Traffic Management and Performance Management. Furthermore, ERP could provide ENIM with a closer view on market developments and it could also issue own initiative opinions on any proposals or decisions by ENIM and ERA. [Am. 19]

Removed(18) Reliability of rail services is one of the aspects most valued by railway customers, and not least a critical requirement of the re-emerging night train market, where rail customers and applicants need to know well in advance how their services can run. Reliability of schedules is also a critical aspect for the smooth functioning of the rail system, where there are strong interactions between services and network externalities. For that reason, deviations from the schedule should be kept to the minimum. Additionally, a system of adequate incentives should be introduced to promote the fulfilment of commitments by infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, operators of service facilities and other relevant stakeholders. Those incentives should be both of economic and non-economic nature. [Am. 20]

Removed(19) Continuous monitoring of the quality of rail infrastructure and transport services is a precondition for improving the performance of these services. It is Therefore, infrastructure managers should monitor and benchmark the performance of rail infrastructure services and rail transport services. Infrastructure managers, when setting out their own performance targets in the plan, should consult the national regulators, national ministries and the Commission in order to ensure that those targets are consistent with the Union performance targets. It is also necessary to establish a transparent and objective system of indicators that provides feedback on aspects of performance that are relevant for the different operational stakeholders and for the end customers of rail transport services. The main function of that a system should focus on monitoring the fulfilment of commitments made by the operational stakeholders and progress in performance over time while taking into account different circumstances and characteristics within the rail sector. For the establishment of such a system and the analysis of its output, the Commission and ERA should be able to rely on independent experts with a profound knowledge of the railway sector in the form of a Performance Review Body. This body should be able to provide independent expert advice to the Commission and ERA in all areas that influence the performance of rail services and infrastructure management. [Am. 21]

Removed(20) To improve the performance of rail infrastructure services in the single European railway area, the infrastructure managers, in close cooperation with the Commission, ERA, the Performance Review Body and relevant stakeholders, should set up and implement a common framework for the review of performance. This framework should ensure that all EU infrastructure managers use common principles and methodologies for measuring performance through agreed indicators. The framework should allow for identifying performance deficiencies on the EU railway network. It should ensure that infrastructure managers set performance objectives in a way that takes into account the specificities of the network they manage, but at the same time ensures coherency in identifying the most relevant performance deficiencies. The framework should allow infrastructure managers to cooperate at EU level, including within ERA in identifying measures to address performance deficiencies and to keep track of their impact. Infrastructure managers, working together with ERA in the European Network for Infrastructure Managers and taking into account the opinion of the Performance Review Body and the Commission, should review this framework regularly to ensure that it is fit for purpose. [Am. 22]

Removed(21) To ensure an effective EU framework for the coordination of rail infrastructure managers, the European Network of Infrastructure Managers, established by Directive 2012/34/EU, should become more operational. It should include decision-making mechanisms, which allow EU rail infrastructure managers to effectively coordinate on the strategic planning of rail infrastructure capacity.

Removed(22) The rail regulatory bodies should cooperate at Union level to ensure coherent application of the regulatory framework and consistent treatment of applicants across the single European railway area. They should do so through the European Network of Rail Regulatory Bodies (ENRRB), with a view to develop common practices for making the decisions for which they are empowered under this Regulation. For that purpose, the European Network of Rail Regulatory BodiesENRRB should perform coordination tasks and adopt non-binding recommendations and opinions, which should not affect the competences of the rail regulatory bodies or those of the infrastructure managers. ENRRB should verify the compatibility of the European frameworks, with the regulatory objectives of the Regulation. Regulatory supervision should be designed in such a way so as to prevent national decisions to undermine the harmonised procedures described in the European frameworks, unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation. [Am. 23]

Removed(23) Efficient management of rail capacity and traffic requires exchange of data and information between infrastructure managers, applicants and other operational stakeholders. This exchange can be considerably more effective and efficient with the support of interoperable digital tools and, where possible, automation. Specifications for interoperability should therefore be implemented as a matter of priority and further developed to keep up with technological developments and the new processes put forward in this Regulation. In order to ensure a swift development and implementation, the Commission should be empowered to adopt a delegated act for the implementation and governance of an integrated digital European rail traffic management. As ERA is the European system authority for telematics applications, it should be closely involved in the development and implementation of the digital tools referred to in Article 62 of this Regulation to ensure that they are compliant with the TSI for telematics applications as defined in Directive (EU)2016/797 and in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2016/796. [Am. 24]

Removed(23a) Workers are crucial for the efficient functioning of the railway sector. For services to become more efficient and in order to increase their quality, digitalisation is essential. The digitalisation and automatisation of rail capacity and traffic management need to be accompanied by digital skill development for the sector’s employees. Additional training and investment in the extension of digital competencies with respect to new digital requirements is to enable workers to adapt and positively contribute to the well-functioning of the sector through enhanced communication and capacity to deal with unexpected events. [Am. 25]

Removed(24) Infrastructure managers should ensure alignment, in particular regarding digitalisation, with the work of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking established in Title IV of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085, with respect to the Master Plan referred to in Article 86(5) and the System Pillar referred to in Article 85(2)(c), and through the deployment group referred to in Article 97 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2085.

Removed(25) It is necessary to provide the mechanism to set criteria, principles and procedures related to capacity management, to cooperation between rail stakeholders and to coordination at EU level, for infrastructure managers and in the area of regulatory supervision. This mechanism requires that infrastructure managers and rail regulatory bodies, in cooperation with relevant stakeholders develop and implement European frameworks and guidelines. Following an evaluation of the development and implementation of the European frameworks and where the voluntary application of sector guidelines fails to achieve the necessary level of regulatory coherence, the Commission should have the means to address such regulatory inadequacies through implementing or delegated acts, where appropriate.

Removed(26) In order to ensure a smooth process of capacity and traffic management for international rail services, minimise cancellations of allocated capacity and interruptions in rail operations due to disruptions on the rail network and in order to take into account developments in the practices of infrastructure managers and the use of new methods of capacity allocation and information and communication technologies, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission. These powers should concern the deliverables resulting from the strategic planning of infrastructure capacity; the schedule for the strategic capacity planning and the capacity allocation process; the deadlines for changes to allocated capacity and the construction of alternative solutions for applicants; the schedule for coordination, consultation and publication of capacity restrictions resulting from infrastructure works; the definition of highly utilised and congested infrastructure and the procedures and methods to calculate the degree of capacity utilisation; the criteria to identify and declare a network disruptions; the information to be provided to operational stakeholders; and the areas infrastructure managers should coordinate on and the specific arrangements for such coordination. It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council should receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

Removed(27) To ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission to introduce technical and operational requirements to facilitate the smooth functioning of the single European railway area concerning uniform criteria for the requirements set by infrastructure managers with regard to applicants; common procedures, criteria and methodologies for the management of scarce capacity, for contingency planning, and for the allocation of capacity beyond the period covered by the working timetable; common approach to compensations paid for changes to allocated capacity; common criteria and procedures for rescheduling; the definition of the technical elements of a system for monitoring the performance of rail and rail-related services, including methodologies and data requirements and their review. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Removed(28) The rules on capacity allocation set out in Directive 2012/34/EU are replaced by those set out in this Regulation. Therefore, the rules on cooperation between infrastructure managers, the rules on cooperation between rail regulatory bodies, the requirements for the elements of the network statement describing the nature of the rail infrastructure that is available to railway undertakings, the conditions of access to it and the principles and criteria for capacity allocation, should be defined in this Regulation. The rules on cooperation and coordination, as well as the elements of the network statement, which are not related to capacity management, should remain in Directive 2012/34/EU.

Removed(29) The ex-post evaluation of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 concluded that the Regulation’s impact was too limited to contribute to a modal shift from road to rail. Moreover, the cooperation between Member States and infrastructure managers in the management of the rail infrastructure was still ineffective from a cross-border perspective. The evaluation has also shown that managing separately the capacity on the rail freight corridors and on the rest of the network is not efficient. A single regulatory framework should apply to the operation of rail network capacity, consolidating the related provisions in Directive 2012/34/EU and of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010. Therefore, Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and the provisions in Directive 2012/34/EU on capacity allocation should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation. Relevant Articles of Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 on Union Guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network should be amended accordingly. [Am. 26]

Removed(29a) Similarly, alignment should be ensured with the following implementing regulations, for the allocation rules in service facilities (implementing regulation (EU) 2017/2177) and for procedures and criteria concerning framework agreements (implementing regulation (EU) 2016/545). [Am. 27]

Removed(30) The preparation of the working timetable requires preparatory activities to be carried out in the years preceding the entry into force of the said working timetable. Therefore, the transition from the regulatory framework established by Directive 2013/34/EU2012/34/EU and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 to the one established by this Regulation implies that preparations for working timetables under the new framework should begin in parallel to the application of rules under the current framework. Accordingly, a dual regime must apply in a transition phase whereby necessary preparatory steps for a given timetable should comply with the legal framework applicable to that specific working timetable. Framework agreements concluded under the current framework should have the possibility to continue applying for a transition period under the new regimeuntil the end of their contract. [Am. 28]

Removed(31) Under the new framework, the preparatory steps for a working timetable should begin with the publication of a capacity strategy five years before the entry into force of a given working timetable. In the interest of an early application of the new regulatory framework and taking into account the preparatory work already undertaken by the sector, the schedule of activities leading to the establishment of the first two working timetables could be shortened to 38 months by abbreviating the phase of the capacity strategy. Accordingly, the first working timetable falling under the new regulatory framework should be the working timetable starting on [9 December 2029]. All stakeholders should start the necessary preparations without delay with a view to comply with the new framework. An earlier application date could be considered by Member States that are able to prove that they have carried out all the necessary steps before the adoption date of the Regulation. [Am. 29]

RemovedHAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

RemovedCHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

RemovedArticle 1 Subject-matter and scope

Removed1. This Regulation lays down the principles, rules, and procedures applicable to management of rail infrastructure capacity and coordination with service facilities, traffic management, crisis management and performance management for domestic and international rail services. It also lays down rules on a European Network for Coordination between infrastructure managers and with other relevant stakeholders and on the oversight of capacity and traffic management.

Removed1a. This Regulation also lays down rules and procedures for the implementation of an integrated digital European rail traffic management system. [Am. 30]

Removed2. This Regulation applies to the Union rail system defined in Article 2(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/797, the use of railway infrastructure for domestic and international rail services referred to in Article 1(2) of Directive 2012/34/EU, including service facilities as defined in Article 3(11) of that Directive. [Am. 31]

Removed3. Chapters II to V of this Regulation shall not apply to rail infrastructure or railway services that are excluded from the application of Chapter IV of Directive 2012/34/EU in accordance with Article 2(3), (3a), (4), (8), (8a), (9) and (10) of that Directive during the period of validity of the relevant exclusions. [Am. 32]

Removed4. This Regulation shall not apply to Cyprus and Malta for as long as no railway system is established within their territory.

RemovedArticle 2 General responsibilities and principles

Removed1. Without prejudice to Article 7c of Directive 2012/34/EU, infrastructure managers shall be responsible for the management of rail infrastructure capacity and rail traffic management.

RemovedReferences to an infrastructure manager in all provisions related to rail infrastructure capacity allocation in this Regulation shall be construed as references to the allocation body referred in Article 7a(3) of Directive 2012/34/EU.

Removed2. With the view to facilitating the provision of efficient and effective rail infrastructure capacity and traffic management within the Union, infrastructure managers shall cooperate within the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (‘ENIM’) referred to in Article 7f of Directive 2012/34/EU and in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation on cooperation.

Removed3. In fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with paragraph 1 and 2, infrastructure managers shall:

Removed(a) make optimum effective use of the available infrastructure capacity as required in Article 26 of Directive 2012/34/EU with the aim of increasing the share of rail transport, both for passenger and freight services in accordance with Union’s climate targets; [Am. 33]

Removed(b) maximize the value to society of rail transport services enabled by rail infrastructure in social, economic and environmental terms;

Removed(c) ensure non-discriminatory management of and transparent access to infrastructure capacity, including during works, with a view to supporting fair competition;

Removed(d) enable seamless and punctual rail traffic across more than one network and across borders by striving to eliminate bottlenecks and operational obstacles; [Am. 34]

Removed(e) ensure transparency about the state and availability of rail infrastructure capacity;

Removed(f) review and improve the performance of rail infrastructure and transport services in close cooperation with rail sector operators, including service facilities that are directly involved in a railway service; [Am. 35]

Removed(g) contribute to the implementation and development of the single European railway area, in particular through common European technical and operational rules and standards, technical equipment requirements and staff certification. [Am. 36]

RemovedArticle 3 Impartiality of the infrastructure manager in respect of traffic and capacity management, including maintenance planning

Removed1. Infrastructure managers shall carry out the functions of traffic and capacity management, including maintenance planning in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner and the persons in charge of taking decisions in respect of those functions shall not be affected by any conflict of interest.

Removed2. As regards traffic management, infrastructure managers shall ensure that railway undertakings, in cases of disruption concerning them, have full and timely access to relevant information. Where the infrastructure manager grants further access to the traffic management process, it shall do so for the railway undertakings concerned in a transparent and non-discriminatory way.

Removed3. As regards capacity management and the long-term planning of major maintenance, renewal and upgrade of the railway infrastructure, the infrastructure manager shall consult applicants, as defined in Article 3, point 19 of Directive 2012/34/EU, in accordance with this Regulation and, to the best possible extent, take into account the concerns expressed.

RemovedArticle 4 Definitions

RemovedFor the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions in Article 3 of Directive 2012/34/EU shall apply.

RemovedThe following definitions shall also apply:

Removed(1) ‘force majeure’ means any unforeseeable, unavoidable or exceptional or unusual event or situation beyond the control of the infrastructure manager or, the railway undertaking or the applicant, which cannot be avoided or overcome with reasonable foresight and diligence, cannot be solved by measures which are from a technical, financial or economic point of view reasonably possible for them, which hasincluding re-routing across borders; this event must have actually happened and isneeds to be objectively verifiable, and which makes it impossible for the infrastructure manager to fulfil, temporarily or permanently, its obligations in accordance with this Regulation or Directive 2012/34/EU or for the railway undertaking to meets its contractual obligations towards an infrastructure manager or managers; [Am. 37]

Removed(2) ‘interoperability’ means interoperability as defined in Article 2(2) of Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

Removed(2a) ‘applicant’ means railway undertaking or an international grouping of railway undertakings or other persons or legal entities, such as competent authorities as defined in Article 2(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council and shippers, freight forwarders and combined transport operators, with a public-service or commercial interest in procuring infrastructure capacity; [Am. 38]

Removed(3) ‘operational stakeholder’ means an applicant, railway undertaking association of applicants, infrastructure manager, railoperator of service facility operator, provider of rail-related services and any other entity directly involved in operating a rail transport service; [Am. 39]

Removed(4) ‘European Coordinator’ means the Coordinator referred to in Article 51 of Regulation [... new TEN-T Regulation];

Removed(5) ‘framework agreement’ means a legally binding general agreement under public or private law, setting out the rights and obligations of an applicant and the infrastructure manager in relation to the infrastructure capacity to be allocated and the charges to be levied over a period longer than one working timetable period;

Removed(6) ‘simultaneous capacity allocation’ means a process whereby infrastructure managers allocate rail infrastructure capacity in response to a set of requests for capacity received by a given cut-off date and through coordination of these requests to ensure the best possible utilisation of the infrastructure and the closest possible match with the requests;

Removed(7) ‘first come, first served’ means a principle for the allocation of rail infrastructure capacity where the priority for the allocation process is given according to the chronological order of the capacity requests;

Removed(8) ‘train path’ means the infrastructure capacity needed to run a train between two places over a given period, which is described as an exact route with timing for that train, including the origin and destination, an entry time and day and an exit time and day, including any stopping point and related departure times;

Removed(9) ‘capacity specification’ means a capacity right, which specifies the commercial and operational characteristics of the infrastructure capacity relevant for the applicant concerned and which provides the infrastructure manager with enough information to prepare specific train paths that respect those characteristics;

Removed(10) ‘multi-network rail service’ means a freight or passenger rail transport service, domestic or international, which is operated on two or more networks managed by different infrastructure managers. The train may be joined and/or split and the different sections may have different origins and destinations, provided that all wagons or carriages cross over into at least one network operated by a different infrastructure manager;

Removed(11) ‘multi-network capacity right’ means the entirety of capacity rights enabling the provision of a multi-network rail service;