No C 254/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.9. 83 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council recommendation to the national railway undertakings on technical 
matters concerning operation and internal barriers to the crossing of frontiers affecting 
the international carriage of goods 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 12 September 1983) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 75 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the international carriage of goods is a 
growing sector of railway activities; 
Whereas it is necessary to continue to improve 
technical conditions concerning operation with a view 
to reducing costs and increasing the quality of the 
service provided; 
Whereas it is important to remove internal barriers to 
the crossing of frontiers, taking into account the 
other measures to be taken with regard to external 
barriers and in respect of which the Commission has 
already submitted a proposal for a Decision; 
Whereas the Basel pilot project (Transinfo) could 
provide a valuable insight into the genuine causes of 
delays in routing and help to determine appropriate 
ways of improving matters, 
HEREBY RECOMMENDS: 
I. With regard to technical matters concerning 
operation 
1. to continue and step up the activities of the multi­
lateral, mixed (commercial and operations) groups in order better to perceive potential needs and to 
encourage the provision of services in line with 
these needs; 
2. to apply still more extensively the provisions of the 
International Convention concerning the Carriage 
of Goods by Rail (CIM) permitting the 
concentration of the routing of consignments; 
3. to intensify multilateral action capable of resulting 
in the equipment, as a matter of priority, of 
carefully-selected international routes; 
4. to deploy all possible means of exploration, infor­
mation and encouragement with a view to 
directing traffic towards the best routes, and thus 
concentrate flows to a greater extent and permit 
the operation of a greater number of inter-network 
trains; 
5. to improve the planning of freight transport so as 
to be able to develop the concept of a guaranteed 
delivery time already applied by certain railway 
networks; by increasing the number of bilateral 
agreements between neighbouring countries; 
6. to deploy commercial and technical means in order 
to enlarge the range of train unit services (whole 
trainloads, block trains and mini-trains); 
7. to encourage customers to programme these train 
units as extensively as possible. 
II. With regard to internal barriers encountered at 
frontiers 
1. to increase the number of bilateral and multilateral 
agreements relating to the streamlining of the 
technical inspection of wagons; 
2. to bring their attention to the most stringent 
application of the rules which make it possible not 
to repeat the inspection of transit trains at frontier 
stations; 
22.9. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 254/7 
3. to do all that they can to ensure that transit 
transport of wagons is not delayed for reasons 
connected with documents; 
4. to make use, to this end, of all the possibilities 
afforded by their telegraphic or computerized 
information services in order to speed up 
administrative inspections and formalities so that 
wagons can be released quickly; 
5. to increase the number of multilateral agreements 
so as to avoid the drawing-up of a new train 
record at frontier crossing points; 
6. to continue their efforts of collaboration to 
simplify customs procedures applicable to transport 
using, be it only in part, the railway (in particular 
the combined rail/road traffic). III. With regard to further action 
to submit to the Commission before the end of 1985 a 
report on: 
— the results of the Basel pilot project (Transinfo) 
and the studies to be carried out and the means to 
be deployed in order to obtain systematic infor­
mation in the short term concerning delays in the 
forwarding of international consignments, 
— progress in the areas covered by this 
recommendation, 
— progress with other matters concerning technical 
operations, in particular the revival of the wagon 
pool and an increase in train speed. 
This recommendation is addressed to the railway 
companies of the Member States, which are listed in 
the Annex hereto. 
BILAG /ANHANGIHAPAPTHMAI ANNEXI ANNEXE IALLEGATOIBIJLAGE 
Jernbanevirksomheder / Eisenbahnen / Ei£f|poSpo|iiic6 SUctva / Railway companies /Entreprises de 
Chemin de fer / Reti ferroviarie / Spoorwegen 
— Societe nationale des chemins de fer beiges (SNCB) / Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische 
Spoorwegen (NMBS) 
Rue de France 85, B-1070 Bruxelles 
Frankrijkstraat, 85, B-1070 Brussel 
— Danske Statsbaner (DSB) 
Solvgade 40, DK-Kebenhavn > 
— Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) 
Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 43, D-6000 Frankfurt (Main) 
— Opyaviouo^ ZtSTipoSpoucav EUd5o£ A.E. (OZE) 
o66c KapoXou 1, GR-AW|vai 
— Societe nationale des chemins de fer francais (SNCF) 
Rue Saint Lazare 88, F-75436 Paris 
— Coras Iompair Eireann (CIE) 
Heuston Station, IRL-Dublin 8 
— Azienda autonoma delle ferrovie dello Stato (FS) 
Piazza della Croce Rossa, I-Roma 
— Societe nationale des chemins de fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) 
Place de la Gare 9, L-Luxembourg 
— Naamloze Vennootschap Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) 
Moreelse park 1, NL-3500 HA Utrecht 
— British Railways Board (BRB) 
Euston Square, UK-London NW1 2DZ 
— Northern Ireland Railways Company Ltd (NIR) 
East Bridge Street, UK-Belfast BTl 3PB