WRITTEN QUESTION E-0473/03 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Air supply for passengers in the Eurostar and other high-speed trains when the power supply is cut off.
Date: 2003-02-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: air conditioning, rail transport, safety device, technical standard, transport safety, transport user, vehicle on rails

C 242 E/134

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

9.10.2003

The Commission asked the French authorities for clarification regarding the justification and legal basis for
these provisions, in response to which it received a written reply. During discussions in the Management
Committee for Beef and Veal, the Commission expressed reservations about the legality of the French
provision.

In close cooperation with the French and Netherlands authorities, the Commission is making a detailed
examination of the legal aspects of this matter and more particularly of the provisions on the voluntary
labelling system provided for by the above Regulation.

the serious impact

the French provisions could have on trade in calves raised in the
In view of
Netherlands, the Commission will endeavour speedily to obtain a legal opinion on their validity and reach
an appropriate decision.

(1) OJ L 204, 11.8.2000.

(2003/C 242 E/140)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0473/03

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(20 February 2003)

Subject: Air supply for passengers in the Eurostar and other high-speed trains when the power supply is

cut off

1.
Is the Commission aware that on the evening of Friday, 7 February 2003, a Eurostar train en route
from London to Paris broke down shortly after departure and was stationary for five hours before being
towed back into London Waterloo international station six hours after it had left?

2.
Is it also aware that while the train was at a standstill the passengers not only had no water and were
prohibited from using the toilets, but were also deprived of fresh air and enough oxygen to breathe
normally and were forced to smash the windows using the emergency hammers?

3. Was this shortage of air due to the fact that the train, unlike earlier models, is completely airtight,
so that when the doors are shut the supply of air is completely dependent on a ventilation system that
operates only with a continuous supply of electricity?

4. What would the consequences be if an incident of this kind occurred during a warm summer period,
when there would not only be a shortage of oxygen but also a sharp rise in air temperature? Might it not
be the case that many people would lose consciousness and some of them even die?

5.
Can problems of this kind also occur in the other high-speed trains, such as the French TGV, which
it is different from the Eurostar on the outside but is fitted with the same materials inside, the similar
Thalys operated by Belgium on cross-border services, the Spanish AVE, the German ICE, the Italian
ETR.500 and the Swedish X-2000?

6. What measures are being taken to protect passengers from such incidents in future? Does the
Commission intend to make it mandatory for train windows always to open sufficiently in the event of an
accident, as used to be the case in all trains?

Source: TV1 Flanders, late night news, 8 February 2003.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(1 April 2003)

The Honourable Member’s question relates to an incident on the 17.15 Eurostar train from London to
Paris on 7 February, of which the Commission was duly informed.

A formal enquiry is being carried out jointly by Eurostar and Network Rail, the infrastructure manager.
According to information available to the Commission, the abnormal duration of the incident was due to a
combination of factors: the difficulty of identifying the fault because of its unusual nature, the difficulty of
repairing it because of the particularly unfortunate position of the train and the time of day (rush hour),

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Official Journal of the European Union

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and the need to cut the electricity supply. This last factor would have meant that the emergency batteries
on board the train were deployed, but they have limited capacity, hence the difficulties experienced with
the air conditioning, the lighting and the passenger information system via loud-speakers.

With regard to Community law, a process of developing Community technical rules in the field of rail
transport is underway, in the context of Council Directive 96/48/EEC of 23 July 1996 (1) and Directive
2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2001 (2) on the interoperability
of the trans-European rail system. These Directives set out a procedure for the adoption of technical
specifications for interoperability (TSIs). The first generation of TSIs was adopted by the Commission on
30 May 2002 in the field of high-speed trains (Directive 96/48/EC), but TSIs for conventional rail
transport are still being drafted.

The TSIs are not exhaustive: they cover only the aspects which have to be harmonised to facilitate trans-
is specified by the
frontier rail services, on the basis that what is not specified at Community level
competent authorities in the Member States.

The Commission notes the proposals made by the Honourable Member with regard to passenger
protection and will certainly take them into account in its review of the first generation of TSIs, which has
already started, and in its proposal on passenger rights scheduled for later this year (2003).

(1) OJ L 235, 17.9.1996.
(2) OJ L 110, 20.4.2001.

(2003/C 242 E/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0482/03

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 February 2003)

Subject: Cetacean by-catch

Is the Commission aware of the plight of cetaceans caught as a result of pair trawling mainly for sea bass
primarily within the English Channel? Since the beginning of January over 120 dolphins have been washed
up on the beaches of my constituency.

A limited observer programme instigated by the UK’s Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs
in 2001 showed that dolphins were being caught as a by-catch of sea bass, a luxury not a staple food.

Action is vital if we are not to lose cetaceans from our coastlines. They are currently dying a needless
death in the quest to satisfy a demand for luxury food.

When I met Commissioner Fischler to discuss this issue in the autumn he assured me that action by the
Commission was imminent. What action has been taken since then? What steps does the Commission
intend to take to regulate pair-trawling for sea bass? If it cannot be satisfactorily regulated will the
Commission confirm that it will be banned until such measures as are necessary are put in place?

When will the Commission take action to initiate an observer scheme for these trawlers working in
international waters?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(25 March 2003)

The Commission is well aware of the problem of dead dolphins being washed ashore on the beaches of
Member States, in particular in this winter period in the south of the United Kingdom.