21.06.12
First Railway Package Recast agreement reached
An agreement has been reached on the First Railway Package Recast, which will ensure better access, regulation and cooperation for the industry, the Rail Freight Group suggests.
EU member states, the European Parliament and the Commission have agreed to better access to terminals and rail-related facilities such as refueling for all operators, as well as increased cooperation between train operators and infrastructure managers and independent regulation of the market.
RFG chairman Tony Berkeley commented: “We await with interest the expected decision from theEuropean Courtlater this year on Infraction proceedings against 13 member states for non-compliance with the original First Railways Package of 2001.
“If the Commission wins, then we hope and expect all member states to implement the necessary legislation without delay so that the benefits of full liberalisation, transparency and greater separation of Infrastructure Manager from all train operators will for the first time great a truly open, competitive market in rail freight, leading to strong growth.
“The UK has had this structure for 15 years, and rail freight continues to grow – intermodal traffic grew 11% in the last year. We would like to see this happen acrossEurope.”
The published agreement can be seen here: www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/131052.pdf
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