Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the interoperability of the European High Speed Train Network (95/C 210/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:

- Whereas Title XII of the Treaty establishing the European Community lays down that the Community shall contribute to the establishment and development of trans-European networks in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructures;

- Whereas Article 129c of the Treaty stipulates that the Community shall implement any measures that may prove necessary to ensure the interoperability of the networks, in particular in the field of harmonization of technical standards;

- Whereas following the Council resolution of 4 and 5 December 1989, the Commission convened a high-level expert group composed of the representatives of Member State governments, European railways and the railway industry, whereas this working group was consulted with a view to drawing up the master plan for a European high-speed train network, and whereas the working group was also consulted on the common standards and technical characteristics which would enable modern trains to operate on such a network;

- Whereas the Commission presented to the Council in December 1990 a Communication on the high-speed train network, and whereas the Council welcomed that Communication in its Resolution of 17 December 1990;

- Whereas the activities in question are a matter of shared responsibility of the European Community and the Member States under Article 129d of the Treaty;

- Whereas the interoperability of the European high speed train network is intended to

- enable citizens, economic operators and regional and local authorities to benefit from the establishment of an area without internal frontiers;

- promote the competitiveness of the railway sector as a whole;

- reduce substantially the costs arising from the juxtaposition of national techniques and operating rules;

- Whereas the Commission proposes the establishment of a regulatory framework involving in particular technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) which would be obligatory and applicable to the various subsystems making up the railway system (infrastructure, energy, maintenance, control-command and signalling, rolling stock, environment, operation, users);

- Whereas these TSI lay down essential requirements for safety, health, environmental and consumer protection and technical compatibility, fix the basic parameters which the subsystems must respect (gauge, voltage etc.) and determine the components and interfaces which play a critical role in interoperability, as well as procedures for evaluating the conformity to standards or suitability for use of subsystems and components;

- Whereas the Commission in its draft Directive also lays down the procedures needed for manufacturers to obtain the authorization for placing in service issued by the supervisory authorities once conformity to standards or suitability for use of components or subsystems has been established;

- Whereas the Commission's approach is based on the one hand on the principle of mutual recognition of 'CE' checking declarations, and on the other on the responsibility of the Member States for authorizing the placing in service of subsystems (Article 13), but in practice the provisions of Article 15(1) limit Member States' scope for intervention in that area, while they have responsibility in the field of security;

- Whereas the Council decided, under the terms of Articles 129c and 129d of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee of the Regions (COR) on the proposal for a Council Directive on the interoperability of the European high speed train network,

ADOPTED

unanimously, at its 4th plenary session of 27/28 September 1994, the following Opinion.

Introduction

The Commission defines the interoperability of systems as follows:

'... interoperability within the European high speed train network refers to all of the regulatory technical or operational conditions which must be met in order to ensure, without interruption, movements by high speed trains on infrastructure within that network which accomplish the specified levels of performance.'

By this definition, interoperability does not mean that each train must be capable of operating on any route of the European high speed train network, but that any interested transport enterprise must be able to operate, at the most economic cost, a commercial service of its choice with equipment designed for the only route(s) which it chooses.

The Committee of the Regions welcomes the Commission's approachapter It feels that it would be unrealistic to seek to impose universal interoperability, given the considerable disparities in existing equipment.

The Committee of the Regions also acknowledges the need to make arrangements to allow for interoperability on the European high speed train network. The difficulties encountered with coupling locomotives and shuttle trains for the Channel Tunnel, as a result of the large number of manufacturers, show the need for such regulation as regards the implementing modalities proposed by the Commission. However, the Committee of the Regions has the following comments to make:

1. Coherence of the system

1.1. The text proposed by the European Commission subdivides the European network into 8 subsystems [Article 3(1.2)] but there is no provision to ensure the overall coherence of the system. For reasons of safety, efficiency and general economy, it is particularly important to define the links between the various elements which go to make up the European network.

1.2. The Committee of the Regions proposes that the concept of a rail transport system be introduced before the division into subsystems, and that the means to check the coherence of this system be provided for.

1.3. The Committee of the Regions also asks that the networks defined in Annex I be enlarged to take account of Member States' projects which strengthen, supplement or round off the master plan of 1990 and which have already been examined by the Member States when the Directive was approved.

1.4. Finally, the Committee of the Regions stresses the need for coordination of the common aspects of documents Doc. COM(94) 106 and Doc. COM(94) 107.

2. Compatibility of the arrangements with the existing subsystems

2.1. The TSI are intended to apply to the new lines constructed after their publication, but also to the existing lines upgraded after that date.

2.2. Existing lines carry other traffic designed for the existing subsystems. It seems important to specify in the Directive that any further improvement can be made either in accordance with the European system defined by the TSI for new high speed lines or with the other existing subsystems covered by the TSI, the choice being left to the Member States. It is essential that trains not affected by the TSI should be able to go on operating on the network. If this were not the case, the financial cost would be excessive, particularly for local authorities.

2.3. Moreover, existing new lines, like upgraded conventional lines, must continue to be available to trains which do not conform to the TSI but do conform to existing national rules, so as to avoid breaking up sub-networks or making costly modifications to such stock. The Committee of the Regions stresses that such a situation would have especially negative consequences for regional and interregional trains.

2.4. Finally, in the case of existing new lines being extended, the Member States must be left the choice of using either the subsystems defined by the TSI for new high speed lines or those of other existing systems covered by the TSI, since at all events the interoperable trains using the extension will also have to use the existing line which is being extended.

3. Rigidity of the proposed system

3.1. It is surprising that Annex I-3 of the draft Directive limits the requirement for high speed trains to 250 km/h, since an agreement signed in Geneva on 31 May 1985 (European Agreement on major international railway lines) fixes a speed of 300 km/h for new lines.

3.2. Moreover, a number of Member States already have lines designed for a speed of 300 km/h, and trains operating at that speed.

3.3. For this reason the Committee of the Regions takes the view that the requirement of 250 km/h for interoperable high speed trains laid down in the draft Directive is insufficient, in view of the need to optimize utilization of the capacity of new lines built for 300 km/h and to improve the service to users in terms of journey time.

3.4. The Committee of the Regions regrets that there is no provision in the draft Directive on a revision procedure for the TSI. It is important that the arrangements should not become fossilized, given the speed of technical progress in the transport sector.

4. Guaranteeing the level of safety

4.1. The eighteenth recital of the draft Directive states that 'the suitability for use of the most critical constituents as regards safety, availability or system economy should be assessed'.

4.2. The Committee of the Regions takes the view that suitability for use must also apply to subsystems. In the arrangements proposed by the Commission, subsystems are subject to a procedure for checking by bodies notified by the Member States; this checking is intended solely to ensure that the subsystems comply with the TSI and with European standards. The Committee of the Regions stresses that respect for specifications is not enough and that it is absolutely essential to check 'in situ' that equipment is operating properly. EUROSTAR is a revealing case in point: very precise specifications were insufficient to make the system operational, as some problems only emerged during the test runs.

4.3. It is extremely important that the checking and suitability for use procedures laid down in the draft Directive should apply not only to the new lines but also to the conventional lines likely to be used by high speed trains.

4.4. For assessment of conformity or suitability for use, the draft Directive provides for the application of the modules deriving from Council Decision 90/683/EEC.

The Committee of the Regions feels that the modules defined by that Directive are not enough to guarantee safety, and that it should be stipulated that specific modules must be developed for assessing the subsystems' suitability for use.

5. Operational subsystems

5.1. The arrangements proposed by the Commission are precise for structural subsystems (infrastructure, energy, maintenance etc.).

In contrast, the Committee of the Regions notes that the standardization proposed for operational subsystems (environment, operation - particularly safety rules - and users) remains imprecise.

5.2. The Commission proposal does not take sufficient account of the human factor, either in terms of staff (drivers, accompanying and operating staff) or in terms of users.

5.3. The Committee of the Regions takes the view that there should be provisions for interoperability of services provided for users: information, seat reservation and ticketing procedures, harmonization of commercial services offered by railway undertakings.

6. Notified bodies

6.1. The Member States state which bodies will be responsible for the procedure for assessing conformity or suitability for use, and the checking procedure (Article 20).

6.2. The Committee of the Regions considers that the Member State must be able to state which firm is managing the infrastructure, since technical expertise on high speed rail transport is far from widespread. To this end, it would be desirable to replace 'independence' with 'impartiality' in Annex VIII-5.

7. Advisory Committee

7.1. Article 21 of the Commission proposal stipulates that the Commission shall be assisted by an Advisory Committee composed of Member States' representatives, but does not define the tasks of that committee.

7.2. The Committee of the Regions takes the view that in view of their regulatory (authorization for placing in service) and financial responsibilities with regard to infrastructure, the Member States must be more closely associated with the drawing up of the TSI through this Advisory Committee.

8. Timescale for implementation

8.1. The draft Directive stipulates that the Member States have until 30 June 1997 to transpose it into their national legislation and to use or accept subsystems conforming to the TSI.

8.2. The Committee of the Regions considers that, in view of the complexity of drawing up the TSI and the scale of their repercussions on national rules, the time-limits laid down are unrealistic, particularly since the publication of the TSI is normally planned for the same date.

8.3. Moreover, after the publication of the TSI, time will be needed for the designing of products to conform with them, and it is necessary to avoid any delay in bringing new high speed lines or equipment into service which may be caused by the unavailability on the market of products conforming to the TSI.

The Committee of the Regions endorses the proposal, subject to the above comments being taken into account by the Commission and the Council.

Done at Brussels, 28 September 1994.

The Chairman

of the Committee of the Regions

Jacques BLANC