WRITTEN QUESTION E-3847/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(9 January 2003)

Subject: Availability to the public throughout Europe at the beginning of November 2003 of a railway timetable containing information on international and long-distance services

1. Is the Commission aware that, when the new timetables of the European railways were introduced on 15 December 2002, various railway companies did not have their international timetables ready in time or had even decided not to publish one at all?

2. Is the Commission furthermore aware that the German railway company DB, which has on the contrary published a full Kursbuch Europa since 2001 in cooperation with the European Timetable which has been produced by Thomas Cook Publishing since 1873 and which it was previously only possible to obtain in small numbers in the form of monthly issues distributed by post or through bookshops specialising in travel, has been unable, because of a legal dispute with its competitor Connex, to sell the domestic and foreign timetables valid from 15 December 2002 to the public before or immediately after the date of their entry into force?

3. From the point of view of consumer protection and enabling the railways to compete with air transport, is it acceptable that users of international rail services should find it more and more impossible to compare for themselves the full range of available services, routes, connections, waiting times, direct overnight services and fares before selecting a particular train, because they are becoming increasingly dependent on the limited information which they can obtain by making inquiries in person at stations or by telephone or using the Internet, to which by no means everybody has access, and are becoming correspondingly dependent on the choices which others make for them and which may be less advantageous or less well-considered?

4. Will the Commission, in cooperation with the railway companies in the present and future EU Member States, take measures to ensure that, at least a month before the next set of new railway timetables comes into force on 14 December 2003, a railway timetable listing the principal direct international long-distance services and the connecting or interconnecting ferry services comparable or identical to what the German railway company DB used to publish is available and accessible to all at all main railway stations in the EU?

5. Will the Commission include in its regulation on passengers' rights in 2003 a penalty clause for railway companies which do not make timetables available to the public in time?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2003)

The Commission is aware of the changes introduced by the European railway undertakings in international rail services as of 15 December 2002. The Commission regrets that some railway undertakings have not been able to issue their timetables for international services in due time, especially as this is one of the main tools to make known the services they offer for travellers in Europe. The Commission fears that this omission will not contribute to the achievement of one of the goals of the common transport policy, the maintainance of the modal share of rail, and even a shift from road to rail of passenger transport.

In the framework of interoperability a Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI: a description of the essential requirements necessary to ensure the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system under the Directive 2001/16/EC)(1)) on telematics applications for passengers will be developed. This TSI must guarantee the interoperability of the exchange of information on rail passengers services, particularly in terms of technical compatibility, and it should support an easy access to the information on the rail services to the users.

The Commission intends to include in its forthcoming proposal on passengers' rights and obligations in international rail services, provisions on the integration of information on international rail services and tickets, as well as the possibility to offer tickets on sale for journeys carried out by several railway

undertakings (integrated tickets). The current situation on the passenger rail market does not make it necessary to impose financial sanctions on railway undertakings who do not publish their timetables in due time.

The Commission would also like to point out that the International Union of Railways (UIC) has launched on 3 December 2002 the Merits- database (Multiple European Railway Integrated Timetable Storage). The database shall centralise timetable data on trains operating at both national and international level (approximately 180 000 trains of 32 European railways undertakings) in Europe. The UIC also started the development of the Prifis-project (Price and Fare Information System), which will provide potential customers and sales staff with all the information they need to plan a trip and conclude a sale, i.e. timetable details, prices including fares and conditions (sale, travel, and after-sale) for each product, and the availability of seats and berths. Prifis is expected to be operational by 2005.

Furthermore, the Community of European Railways (CER), recently launched an initiative to improve service levels offered for international rail services, one of them being the intention to improve information to be provided to potential customers through integrated information and ticketing systems.

(1) Directive 2001/16/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system OJ L 110, 20.4.2001.