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COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(82)237
Vol.1982/0095

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)237 final
Brussels,7May1982
ECOMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL COMMUNICATION FROMTHE.COMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL
r_
-6 i"-■:i
onanactionprogrammeforinternational railwaycooperation
v-;^\V
/•n"
C0M(82)237final

C0Ma,jr
EXPLANATORY NOTE
InitsResolutionof15December1981,theCouncil,after
settingoutthebroadlinesofCommunityRailwayPolicy,calleduponthe
Commission tosubmittoit,ifpossibleby1July1982,areportonanum­
berofmeasuresdesignedtopromotecooperation .
TheG<£mdnssion immediately setabouttheworkentailedand
nowconsidersthatitisinapositiontosubmitanActionProgrammetothe
Councilforapproval.
i
*

INTRODUCTION
1.InitsResolution (1)of15December 1981 ,theCouncil ,after setting out
thebroad lines ofCommunity Railway Policy ,called upon theCommission to
submit toit,ifpossible by 1July 1982 ,areport onanumber ofmeasures
designed topromote cooperation .
2.TheCommission shares theCouncil 'sinterest ingreater cooperation between
theRailways .Ithasundertaken thework involved and has,inparticular ,
examined apaper entitled "Cooperation between theRailways :Progress since
1970 and Future Prospects "and alist ofpriority measures ,both ofwhich
were prepared bytheGroup ofTenRailways oftheEuropean Communities and
arethesubject ofaseparate Communication totheCouncil ..
Inaddition ,theCommission hasconsulted representatives oftheGroup of
Ten (on22February and 3March 1982 )andgovernments ;experts (on25March -
1982). I
3.TheCommission nowconsiders that itisinaposition tosubmit tothe Coun­
cilanAction Programme onthe seven topics listed intheabovementioned
Resolution .TheProgramme contains measures tobetaken bytheGovernments
andbytherailways .
The Ccijncil Decision of20May 1975 ontheimprovement ofthesituation of
railway undertakings andtheharmonization ofrules governing financial
relations between such undertakings andStates (2)established theprinci­
ple that theRailways should have adequate managerial independence .
TheCommission will bear this inmind when deciding upon the legal form of
itsproposals .Itwill also consult theparties concerned when preparing
these proposals .
Inthe light oftheabove considerations ,theCommission will prepare appro­
priate proposals concerning each ofthesubjects examined inthis paper and
will submit them bythedates given .
(1)Annex IIPV/C0NS 61-TRANS 190 of15.12.1981 .
(2)0JNoL152 of12.6.1975 .

BARRIERS TOCLOSERCOOPERATION
A.GeneralExternalBarriers
Ai:£22D_î2_22_li!£;£0_2ï_îi!!S_Governments
Certainprovisions containedintheRailways *Statutesorthegeneralrules
concerningtransport mayconstitutebarrierstocooperation .
ι
TheCommissionwillanalysetheseprovisions inconjunction withtheRail­
waysandwillconsiderinwhatwaytheymightbeamended.Particular atten­
tionwillbepaidtothebarrierstotheacquisition bytheRailwaysof
holdingsinotherbusinesses orinancillaryactivities Ccf.Article10of
the1975Decision).
DatescheduledforCommission proposal :firsthalfof1983.
TheroleassignedtotheRailwaysdiffersfromonecountrytoanother.
Thisinconsistency constitutes aconsiderable handicapaffectingallaction
bytheRailways.
Afundamental prerequisite formoreeffectivecooperation isfortheMember
StatesandtheRailwaystocometoanagreement onthetaskstobeperfor­
medbytheRailwayswhereinternational trafficisconcerned,inorderto
establishthetypesofpassenger andgoodsserviceswhichshouldbeopera­
tedinaccordance withcommercialprinciples,andtoinstructtheRailways
totakewhateveractionisneeded,inparticular inorder:
(a)to.concentrate their;'effortsonprofit-making services,
(b)toexpandtheirmarketingeffortsinordertocoverallmarketslikely
toofferprospectsforthem,

-3-
(c)tointroducetheprincipleofsectoralmanagementresponsibility for
theseactivities,
(d)tosetupmachinery,inrespectofbothstaffandequipment,witha
viewtotheefficient,coordinated directionofallthedepartments
andservicesconcernedbyinternational traffic,and
(e)toimplement atransparent planningsystemcoveringtheshort,medium
andlongterm.
Scheduled date:endofthefirsthalfof1983(onthebasisofanexami­
nationofthefindingsofstudieswhichwillbeavailable bytheendof
/theyear).
B.GeneralInternalBarriers
Act_2on_to_be_taken_b^_the_Rajj.ways
6.Incertaincasesbetterstaffmotivation andpreparation mighthaveabene­
ficialeffectonrailwaycooperation .
Therewouldseemtobeaneedtostepupstaffexchangesbetweenrailway
networks,toputgreateremphasisonthestudyofforeignlanguages and
tomakestaffmoreawareofthevariousproblemsinvolved.
Scheduledate:endof1982.
C.ExternalBarrierstotheCrossingofFrontiers
^£ii2D_i2_^S_i3ken_b^_the_Governments
7.Theinspections carriedoutbythecustoms,andbytheveterinary,public-
health,plant-health andqualityinspection departments,theinspections
relatingtopollutingsubstances andtheorganization ofinspections and
activities bythevariouspartiesinvolvedinatransportoperation some­
timestakeaconsiderable amountoftimebecausetheactivities ofthe
variousauthorities attheborderarepoorlyorganized.
Actionshouldtherefore be.takentoensurethat:

-4-
(a)inspections arecarriedoutsimultaneously inoneplace,preferably
theplaceofdeparture and/ordestination ofthegoods,
Cb)goodsandmeansoftransportarenotinspectedsystematically ,
(c)thefindingsofinspections aremutuallyrecognized,
(d)thereisadequatecooperation betweenthevariousauthorities which
carryoutinspections,
(e)businesshoursandstaffmembersarefixedinrelationtothevolume
oftraffic,and
(f)information andnotification procedures areimproved.
TheCommission hassubmittedtotheCouncilaproposalforaDirective on
thefacilitation offormalities andinspections inrespectofthecarriage
ofgoodsbetweenMemberStates.(1)
♦
D.InternalBarrierstotheCrossingofFrontiers
Actn_to_be_taken_b^_^the_Ra_i_Lwa^s
8.Therewouldseemtobeoperatingdifficulties concerning thefollowing
operations :
(a)exchangeofwagons,
(b)inspectionofwagons,
Cc)exchangeoftractiveunitsattheborder,
(a)marshalling andtraihformation,-
(e)labellingofwagons,
(f)issueofbrakerecords.
(g)routingofaccompanying documents,and
(h)inspectionoffreightdocuments.
Tobesure/themeasurestobetakeninthisconnectionarewithinthe
Railways'sphereofresponsibility ,andanumberofthemareontheGroup
ofTen'slist,sotheCommissionAs _rolecouldsimplybetogiveguidance
andset'deadlines.' .
./.
(1)

1-5-
Scheduled date:firsthalfof1983.
9.Whereinfrastructure isconcerned,itcanbestatedthattheformationof
international trainsandcustomsclearanceoperations necessitate anin­
creaseinthecapacityofcertainmarshalling yardsclosetotheborder
onroutescarrying aconsiderable amountofinternational traffic.
Stepsshouldbetakentoreducethecongestionarisingfromtheinadequacy
ofthesemarshalling yards.
TheCommissionwillexaminethesortofinvestment whichshouldbeprogram­
medforthispurpose,butisnotyetinapositiontoindicateanydead­
lineforthismeasure.
II.PASSENGER SERVICES
A.TechnicalMattersconcerning Operation
Measures_to_be_taken_by_the_Ra2lwa£s :TEE_Grougin2_and_new_Inter-C_ity
Concept
10.TheRailwayshaveadoptedUICLeaflet140.0whichspecifiesthecharacte­
risticsofinter-citytrains.Theservicestobeprovidedshouldbespe­
cifiedforeachinter-citylink,onthelinesoftheTEEservices,theaim
beingtoarriveatanewdefinitionofqualitytrainsbasedonspeedand
comfortandageneralframeworkforinter-citytrains.Therailways
shouldtakeadvantageoftheTEEimageandprojectitinrelationtoall
theirqualityservices.
♦
Scheduled date:endof1982.
Measures_to_b8_taken_b^_the_Government s_and_b^_tine_RajIwa};Estab_l_ish-
ment_of__a_Network_of_High-speedInternational_Lines
ι
11.Anumberofrailwaynetworkshavedevelopedorareexperimenting with
high-speedtrainsor,atleast/programmestoincreasespeeds.These
effortsshouldbecombinedandanetworkofhigh-speedinternational lines
shouldbeestablished .

-6-
Theultimateaimwouldbetohaveanoverallpolicycoveringmarketdeve­
lopmentsandtheservicetobeprovided.Governmentactionisessential
totheextentthatinfrastructure isinvolved.
Scheduleddate:firsthalfof1983.
B.Commercial Management
Act2on_to_be_taken_b^_the_Governments
12.InordertoimplementthetermsofreferencetobegiventotheRailways
bytheState,astheowner,theymustbesufficiently independent where
thecommercial managementofinternational passengertransportisconcer­
ned,inordertohelpattaintheobjectivesofthe1975Decision.
Thismeansinparticular :
Ca)thattheGovernments,intheircapacityasSupervisory Authorities,
shouldrefrainfromintervention intheday-to-daymanagementofthe
railways; '
(b)theRailwaysshould (becompletelyindependent whereallactivities
in'thissectorareconcerned,inparticular asregardsmarketing and
pricingpolicy;
(c)theRailwaysshouldassumeresponsibility ,vis-a-vistheirownersfor
thefinancialresultsoftheirmanagerialactivity;and
<d)theRailwaysshouldbefreetotakeallnecessaryactioninorderto
strengtheninternational cooperation,takingthecommoninterestinto
account.
Scheduleddate:Beforetheendof1982theCommissionwillsubmitapro­
posalsimilartothatconcerningthefixingofratesforgoodstraffic
mentionedinSection16below.
Specialreduced "frames
13.Thedifferencefromcountrytocountrybetweenthespecialreducedfares,
whichalsoaffectinternationaltraffic,areincomprehensible forusers
anddetractfromtheRailways'image.Harmonization shouldconsistin

-7-
approximating themeasuresadoptedbyeachMemberState,withspecial
attentionbeingpaidtotherepercussions oninternational traffic.
Scheduleddate:Onthebasisofanexamination ofthepresentsituation,
thecompletion dateforwhichcannotbespecifiedatpresent,theCommis­
sionwillmakeaproposal.
Actionto_be_taken_by_the_Ra2j.ways :
14.Inordertoimpr^wrftheimageandthecommercialefficiencyoftheRail­
wayswhereinternational passengertrafficisconcerned,itisimportant
thattheyshouldmakefurtherprogressbybringingtheirservicesand
theirsalesforcesintolinewiththemarketsituation .
Thefollowing measuresmightbeenvisaged :
(a)development ofaproperjoint-marketing andadvertising service,and
creationofappropriate bilateralormultilateral structures ;
(b)establishment ofan,international chargingsystem(TEV)whichisinde­
pendentofthedomesticchargingsystems,isbasedoncostsandisin
linewithrequirements concerningrationalandefficientsales;
(c)harmonization ofcommercialtariffmeasures,takingintoaccountthe
competitive situation,withpowersbeingdelegated onareciprocal
basis;
(d)development ofpackagetripsinconjunction withtravelagenciesand
touristboards,relyingonthedistribution networkswhichthetravel
agenciesandthetouristboardshaveattheirdisposal;
(e)creationofapermanentbodyforthecoordination ofjointactivities
concerninginternational passengertraffic.
Scheduled date:endoffirsthalfof1983.
I
III.FREIGHTSERVICES
A.TechnicalMattersconcerning Operation(b)
(c)
(d)

-8-
15•Action-to-be_taken_b^_the_RajLwa^s
AnumberofmeasuresshouldbetakenbytheRailwaysinordertodevelop
orrevivecertainprojects.
Themainaspectsconcernedareasfollows:
(a)waysofimprovingtheEuropeanWagonPool;creationofnewspecia-
lized-wagon^ols;
(b)increasing thecommercial speedto90km/honthemainroutes;
(c)developing inter-network trainsfinishing upinmarshalling yards
situatedfarfromtheborder;
(d)increasing thespeedwithwhichconsignments areforwarded,onwell-
equippedroutes;
(e)extendingtheimprovedprogramming oftheforwardingofconsignments
forheavytrafficandperishable goods,soastoincludeasmanygoods
aspossible,
(f)steppingupanddiversifying wholetrain-load services;and
(g)monitoringtrainsinordertoprovidethebestpossiblequalityof
service. %
Scheduled date:endofthefirsthalfof1983.
B.Commercial Measures
16.Action_to_be_t aken_b^_the_6overnment s
TheRailwaysneedtohavesufficientcontrolovertheirratesandthe
serviceswhichtheyprbvide,inordertobeabletocopewiththevarious
situationsarisingontheinternational transportmarkets.

-9-
Inreturn forthis ,they would berequired tocover the costs assignable
tothetransport operations inquestion andmake apositive contribution
towards covering joint 'costs .
Ifprogress istobemade inthis area ,itisessential that theCouncil
adopts theDecision concerning thefixing ofrates fortheinternational
carriage ofgoods (onwhich nine Governments have agreed ).
17.Action tobetaken bytheRailways
t
Better coordinated commercial measures ,thanks totheimplementation
(where services and sales are concerned )ofbilateral ormultilateral
strategies based onthe "community ofinterests "concept would make it
possible tostrengthen ,theposition oftheRailways onthevarious
international freight transport markets .
The following' measures might beselected :
(a)setting-up joint marketing services with aview todeveloping sales
strategies geared specifically tointernational traffic andtoimple­
menting ,onaninternational scale ,action plans based onthe rail­
waynetworks' common interests ;
(b)sales promotion campaigns inwhich the sales andoperating departments
would take part ;
(c)better mutual information :
(i)onthegeneral situation oftheRailways ,
(ii)onthepriority tobegiven tocertain types oftraffic in
view oftheir profitability ,
(iii)onthecost situation ofthetypes oftraffic inquestion .

-10-
(d)Wherelogisticsareconcerned,developing packageservicesinclose
cooperation withthefreightforwarders andinconjunction withthe
othermodesoftransport;
(e)establishing anadequatecomplementofproperlytrainedcommercial
staffawareoftheneedtoprovideaservicetotheircustomers ;
(f)establishing aninternational chargingsystemforpart-loadtraffic;
(g)bringingintoforceinternational tariffswithcommonscalesanda
structurewhichisseparatefromthevariousdomestictariffs,taking
intoaccounttherespective costandmarketsituations ;
Ch)takingintoaccountthecommoninterest,i.e.thecriterionofthe
profitability ofthetransportoperation asawhole,frombeginning
toend,andnotthe 1individualsectionsofthejourneyoneachofthe
railwaynetworksinvolved;
(i)reciprocaldelegationofadequatepowersinordertocopewithcompe­
titivesituationsnecessitating theadoptionofspecialortailor-made
tariffmeasures;
Cj)concluding agreementstocreaterevenuepools,withspecificformulas
fortheoveralldistribution ;and
(k)settingupapermanentjointbodytocoordinateactivities concerning
international freighttraffic.
Scheduled date:endofthefirsthalfof1983.

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IV.COMBINED TRANSPQRg
A.PiggybackTransport
18.Action_to_be_taken_b^_the_Goyernments
Inordertogetthisnewtechniqueofftheground,itquicklyprovedneces­
sarytobringthevariouspartiesfacetoface.
AftersettingupaTemporaryJointCommittee,thegroupsconcernedsetup
aStandingCoordinating Committee.
Theobjectives are:
(a)toprepareanInternational Agreement onPiggybackTransportgover­
ningtherelationsbetweenrailwaynetwo^sandpiggybackcompanies,
inparticular withregardtorailhaulagecharges;
(b)tostandardize therailwayrollingstockandlaydowncertaincommon
rulesofconductfortherailwaynetworksandthepiggyback companies
withregardtoinvestment .
\
Inordertoattaintheseobjectives,thesettingupofanInternational
Piggyback Companyhasbeenenvisaged.
Initiallyitwillfocusitsattention onexamination oftheproblems
specifictopiggyback 1transport,butcouldfairlyquicklybecomea
companyforthecoordination ofinvestment andthemanagement ofspe­
cializedpiggybackequipment.
Scheduleddate:endof'thefirsthalfof1983.

t -12-
B.Container Traffic
19.Action_to_be _taken_by_R ai_Lwa^s
Intercontainer isencountering certain difficulties ,mainly concerning
certain tariff levels ,inadequate infrastructure ,andadministrative
inflexibility .
Inorder toremove these barriers tothedevelopment ofcontainer traffic
andcooperation between theRailways inthis area ,itisnecessary :
(a)toset atariff level which inallcases takes greater account ofthe
special conditions relating totheinternational transport market ;
(b)toharmonize thetariff conditions relating tothevarious methods of
combined transport ,containers ,swap bodies andpiggyback transport ,
taking into account their respective costs ;and
(c)toimprove themonitoring oftheinternational transport oflarge
containers ,andinformation relating totechnical incidents affecting
therouting ofwagons .Tothis end,theInternational Information
Centre planned bytheGroup ofTenshould beset upassoon aspossible
Scheduled date :end ofthe first half of1983 .
C.System ofRail Links andTransfer Centres
Itisnecessary tomake provision forcertain rail links carrying aconsi­
derable amount ofcombined transport and,tothis end,toidentify theweak
points ,particularly where transfer centres areconcerned ,andtodetermine
what action should betaken asregards investment .Thedeadline forthis ,
which isconditioned bycontingent factors ,cannot bespecified atpresent .the
/

1-13-
20.ThisactionProgramme doesnotbyanymeansexhaustallthepossibilities
forcooperation,buttheCommission considersthatitanswersthewishes
expressedbytheCouncilinitsResolutionof15December1981.Itwill
befollowedbyotherinitiatives inthecourseof1983onthebasisofthe
findingsofthestudiesnowbeingcarriedoutconcerning generalobstacles,
thecommercialstructureoftheRailwaysandpossibleactionconcerning
jointpurchasing andresearch.Beyondthis,thereisaneedtoexplore,
orexamineingreater -detaiI,anumberofareasonacontinuing basisin
order,wherepossible,toachievesomedegreeofintegration .
TheCommission takestheviewthatoverallactionofthiskindisalong-
termtaskcallingforpermanentfollow-up andacertainamountofcoordi­
nationwheretheRailways,Governments andCommunityAuthorities arecon­
cerned.TheCommission wouldsuggestthataTripartite CommitteeforRail­
wayCooperation shouldbesetupinordertocarryoutthistask.This
Committeewouldexaminethedifficulties encountered intheimplementation
ofthisandfutureProgrammes,seekwaysofovercomingthesedifficulties
andproposesubsequent action.
21.Inaddition,whiletheCouncilisjustifiedinexpecting agreatdeal
fromprogressconcerning cooperation,itisnecessarytorealisethat
thisisonlypartoftheEuropeanCommunity'sRailwayPolicy.
Other,parallelactivitiesdesignedtoimplementthegeneralmeasurespro­
videdforbythe1975Decision,andinparticular thebusinessandfinan­
cialprogrammes,areindispensable adjuncts.
Inconnection withtheseparallelactivities,mentionshouldbemadeof
theworkonthedevelopment ofinfrastructure ofCommunityinterestwhich
.takesintoaccouni*,inparticular,thespecial -situationoftheRailways.
Inaddition,theCommissionisawarethattheeffortsbeingmadetoachieve
greaterharmonization oftheconditionsofcompetition mustbepursuedin
particular inthesphereofsocialandtechnicalprovisions andinfrastruc­
turecharging.

-14-
ItgoeswithoutsayingthattheRailwayswillbeallthemorewillingto
engageincooperationiftheyfeelthattheyhavesupportfortheirefforts.
Inordertoimplementallthesemeasures,theCommission wouldsuggest
thattheRailwaysreporttotheirSupervisory Authorities onthemeasures
takenpursuanttothevariousCommunityprovisions .OncetheCommission
isinpossession ofthisinformationitwillbeinapositiontoreport
totheCouncilontheresultsofitsefforts.
22.Inconclusion,theCommission wouldasktheCounciltostateitsposition
onthisActionProgramme.