Re-examined proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed railway system
Date: 1996-06-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: committee (EU), high-speed transport, intra-EU transport, rail transport, transport network

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  10 06 1996 
COM(%)  249  final 

94/0112  (SYN) 

Re-examined  proposal  for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on the Interoperability of the 

trans-European high-speed railway system 

(presented by the Commission  pursuant to Article  189 c (d) 
of the EC Treaty) 

A.  EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

On 8 December  1995, the Council unanimously adopted a common position [(EC) 
No 36/95 (1)] on the adoption of a Council  Directive  on the interoperability  of the 
trans-European  high-speed railway  system.  This  Directive  is based on the Com 
mission  proposal  [COM(94)0107  of 15 April  1994(2)],  as modified, following  first 
reading by the  European  Parliament, by the amended proposal  [COM(95)0271 of 
15 June 1995(3)]. 

At its plenary session of 15 - 19 April  1996, the European Parliament  adopted, on 
second reading, eight  amendments to the text of the Council's  common  position, 
numbered 1 to 4 and 9 to 12. 

Amendment No  1 adds to the first recital, stressing, in line with Article  129b of the 
Treaty,  the aim of the interoperability  of the entire  European  rail  network.  The 
Commission  approved  this  amendment,  as progressive  convergence  toward the 
interoperability  of the European  rail  network  as a whole  will  further  the develop 
ment of the railway sector. 

Amendment No 2 adds to the third recital, opening  up a global  vision  of the rail 
transport  network  schemes and indicating that,  in future,  proposals for the inter 
operability  of the conventional  rail  network will be submitted by the Commission. 
The  Commission  approved  this  amendment,  while  making  the requisite  editing 
alterations,  as it  accords  with  the aims  it  set out in the explanatory  memoran 
dum to its "proposal  for a  European  Parliament  and Council  Decision  on Com 
munity  guidelines  for the development  of the trans-European  transport  network" 
[COM(94)0106 of 7 April 1994 W]. 

Amendment  No 3  modifies  the  fifth  recital,  specifying  that,  beyond  passenger 
transport, ways and means need gradually to be found for the network to carry ra 
pid goods services.  The Commission approved this amendment, especially as the 
whole  area  of the high-speed  transportation  of  rapid  services  or  urgent  or pe 
rishable goods is under study in a number of Member States. 

<1) 

(2) 

(3) 

W 

OJ No C 356 of 30.12.1995, p. 43. 

OJ No C 134 of 17.05.1994, p. 6. 

OJ No C 203 of 08.08.1995, p.  13. 

OJ No C 220 of 08.08.1994, p.  1. 

-2 

Amendment No 4 adds to the fifth recital,  specifying that access to the  European 
high-speed  train  network  must  be  rendered  easier.  The  Commission  approved 
this amendment as it accords with its vision of a "citizens' network". 
It  is  also  in 
line with the opinion delivered by the Economic and Social Committee, which was 
approved on 23 November 1994 [ESC 1297/94 (5)]. 

Amendments No's 9 and 12 relate to Article  7, which deals with derogations  from 
the Directive.  They propose, in view of the major economic considerations  invol 
ved, the application of one and the same vetting procedure for all four  derogations 
allowed under this Article.  The Commission approved these  amendments,  while 
making the requisite editing alterations, as it sees them as recognition  of the fact 
that all the derogations under this Article relate to economic considerations. 

Amendment No  10 overhauls Article  21.  It replaces the advisory committee  pro 
cedure contained in the Council's common position by the consultative  committee 
procedure  advocated  by the Commission  in its original  proposal.  The  Commis 
sion approved this amendment, while making the requisite editing alterations, as it 
makes for a simpler and faster procedure. 

Amendment No  11 adds an essential requirement to Annex  III aimed at the con 
sumer  protection.  The  Commission approved this  amendment,  as  it  sees  inter 
operability of the trans-European high-speed rail system as an urgent necessity, 
not just for technical reasons but also to meet the needs of citizens. 

« 

OJ No C 3*7 of 31.12.1994, p. 8. 

•  3-

B.  RE-EXAMINED  PROPOSAL 

/. 

Preamble 

1. 

The following recital is added following the first recital : 

"Whereas,  with  a  view to  making  a  people's  Europe  a  reality,  this  Di 
rective represents the first step towards the interoperability of the entire 
European railway network ;" 

2. 

The following recital is added following the third recital : 

"Whereas  in  April  1994  the  Commission  submitted  a  proposal  for  a 
European  Parliament  and  Council  Decision  on  Community  guidelines 
for the development  of the trans-European  transport  network (6), which 
also  includes  network  schemes  for  the  conventional  railway  network ; 
whereas,  therefore,  once  this  decision  enters  into  force,  the  Commis 
sion  retains  the  option  of  submitting  proposals  for  the  interoperability 
of  the  conventional  rail  network,  in  particular  with  a  view  to  removing 
obstacles to trans-frontier  local and regional traffic ;" 

3. 

The fifth recital is replaced by the following : 

"Whereas  the  commercial  operation  of  high-speed  trains  requires  ex 
cellent  compatibility  between  the  characteristics  of  the  infrastructure 
and  those  of  the  rolling  stock ;  whereas  performance  levels,  safety, 
quality of service and cost depend upon such compatibility  as does,  in 
particular,  the interoperability  of the  European  high-speed rail  system ; 
whereas,  although  the  high-speed  network  is  designed  primarily  for 
passengers,  the  intention  is that ways  and means  should gradually  be 
found of enabling the network to carry rapid goods services ; 

Whereas  passengers  must  have  easy  access  to  the  whole  European 
high-speed railway network ;  whereas, therefore, the interoperability  of 
the  ticketing,  reservation  and  information  systems  of  the  European 
high-speed railway network must also be guaranteed ;" 

<6> 

COM(94)0106 of 07.04.1994 (OJ No C 220 of 08.08.1994, p. 1.) 

- 4-

//. 

The text proper 

1. 

The  text  of  the  introductory  part  to  Article  7,  and  paragraphs  (a),  (b) 
and (c) thereof remain unchanged. 

2. 

The text of paragraph (d) of Article 7 is replaced by the following : 

"(d)  in  the  case  of  a  project  for  upgrading  an  existing  line  for 
high-speed,  where  application  of  these  TSIs  compromises 
the economic viability of the project. 

The  Member  State  concerned  shall  notify  its  intended  de 
rogation to the Commission  in advance and shall forward to 
it  a  file  setting  out  the  technical  specifications  or  parts  of 
specifications  for  interoperability  which  it  wishes  not  to 
apply." 

3. 

The following paragraph 2 is added to Article 7 : 

"2. 

In the cases referred to under (a) to (d) the Commission shali exa 
mine whether  the  measures  envisaged  by  the  Member  State  are 
justified  and  shall  take  a  decision  in  accordance  with  the  proce 
dure in Article 21 (2)." 

4. 

The text of Article 21 is replaced by the following : 

" 1.  The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  an  advisory  committee  for 
rail  transport,  composed  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member 
States and chaired by the representative of the Commission. 

2. 

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the standing 
committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.  The  committee 
shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft  -  if  necessary,  by  taking  a 
vote -  within a time limit which the chairman may lay down accor 
ding to the urgency of the matter.  The opinion  shall be  recorded 
in the minutes; in addition, any Member State may request that its 
position be recorded in the minutes. 

The Commission shall take account of the committee's  opinion as 
far as possible.  It shall inform the committee how it has taken ac 
count of its opinion. 

- S~ 

3.  The committee may discuss any matter concerning the interopera 

bility of the European high-speed rail system. 

4.  Should it prove necessary, the committee may set up working par 
ties  to  aid  it  in  carrying  out  its tasks,  in  particular  with  a  view  to 
contributing to the coordination of the notified bodies." 

///.  Annexes 

The text of Annex III is supplemented, after § 2.7.3., by the following text : 

"2.8.  Users 

2.8.1.  Consumer  protection 

Information  and offers  concerning  services  must  be transparent  and 
guaranteed throughout the European high-speed rail network." 

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ISSN  0254-1475 

COM(96) 249  final 

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ISBN 92-78-04827-5 

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