REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Second report on monitoring development of the rail market  {SEC(2009)1687/2}
Date: 2009-12-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, common transport policy, rail transport, report, transport infrastructure, transport market

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 8.12.2010 
COM(2009)676 final/2 

CORRIGENDUM: 
Annule et remplace le document COM(2009)676 du 18 décembre 2009 
Concerne : les paragraphes 30, 32, 38 et 40 ainsi que la figure 8, dans l'ensemble des versions 
linguistiques  

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

Second report on monitoring development of the rail market 

{SEC(2009)1687/2} 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

Second report on monitoring development of the rail market  

(Text with EEA relevance) 

I. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

INTRODUCTION 

For  several  years,  the  railway  sector  in  Europe  has  experienced  a  period  of 
significant  change;  this  change  is  linked  both  to  developments  in  the  regulatory 
framework – particularly at EU level – and also to economic, social and demographic 
factors. 

Since  the  1990s,  a  series  of  legislative  measures  have  been  adopted  at  Community 
level; these notably include three legislative packages aimed at setting up a European 
railway  area  based  on  free  competition  between  rail  undertakings  (please  refer  to 
Annex 11).  

This  trend  is  now  reaching  a  decisive  stage.  While  the  opening-up  of  the  market 
initially  only  involved  rail  freight,  from  1 January  2010,  international  passenger 
traffic  will  now  also  be  opened  up  to  competition.  The  regulatory  framework 
governing interoperability and safety was also recently amended due to the adoption 
of Directives 2008/57/EC and 2008/110/EC2. 

These constant changes to the regulatory framework have prompted the legislator to 
decide to ask the Commission to monitor developments in the European rail market 
on a regular basis, so as to assess the impact of Community policy on the rail market, 
and  also  to  make  it  easier  to  define  the  measures  which  need  to  be  adopted  and 
implemented in the future with regard to the rail sector. 

This  report  therefore  meets  the  obligation  to  monitor  the  European  rail  market,  as 
required under Directive 2001/12/EC3.  

This  monitoring  was  provided  for  in  an  initial  Communication  on  monitoring  the 
development of the rail market, adopted on  18 October  20074.  This report does not 

This  report  on  monitoring  development  of  the  rail  market  is  accompanied  by  a  Commission  Staff 
Working Paper containing 26 annexes. 
Directive  2008/57/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  June  2008  on  the 
interoperability  of  the  rail  system  within  the  Community  (OJ L 191,  18.7.2008)  and  Directive 
2008/110/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 amending Directive 
2004/49/EC on safety on the Community’s railways (OJ L 345, 23.12.2008).  
Section  Va  of  Directive  2001/12/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  February 
2001  (OJ L 75,  15.3.2001)  amending  Council  Directive  91/440/EEC  on  the  development  of  the 
Community's railways. 
Communication  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  on  monitoring  development  of  the  rail 
market, 18 October 2007 (COM(2007)609). 

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just update the first document, but also contains specific new information on subjects 
not discussed in the previous one.  

II. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

RAIL MARKET MONITORING SCHEME (RMMS)  

The Commission has set up a Rail Market Monitoring Scheme (RMMS) in order to 
meet the requirements as regards the monitoring of the market.  

The  Commission  is  assisted  in  its  monitoring  tasks  by  a  working  group  formed  of 
experts from national ministries and the railway industry, including social partners. 
Between 2001 and mid-2009, the RMMS working group met on 22 occasions, with 
four of its meetings taking place since the adoption of the previous report.  

The  efficiency  of  its  work  has  improved  thanks  to  the  preparation  of  a  standard 
questionnaire containing a series of indicators concerning various aspects of the rail 
market (see Annex 26). The Commission regrets that a number of Member States did 
not  reply  to  the  questionnaire  or  did  not  complete  it  in  full.  The  information 
contained  in  some  of  the  annexes  is  therefore  incomplete.  The  possibility  of 
including a legal obligation to provide certain information within the framework of 
the recasting of the first railway package is currently being considered.  

The  analysis  contained  in  this  report  is  based  on  the  RMMS  group’s  work,  and  in 
particular  on  the  results  of  the  questionnaire,  but  also  on  recent  studies  and  from 
statistics  from  the  European  Commission,  specifically  Eurostat.  As  regards  these 
statistics, unfortunately annual data for transport in 2008 was not available due to a 
computer problem. 

III. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

All Member States with rail networks have transposed the Directives contained in the 
first  railway  package.  However,  incorrect  transposition,  to  varying  degrees  and 
affecting at times various aspects, prompted the Commission to send letters of formal 
notice  to  24 Member  States  in  June  2008,  and  subsequently  reasoned  opinions  to 
21 Member States in October 2009 (Annex 3).  

Particularly  since  2008,  the  Commission  has  received  several  complaints  on  the 
operation of the market, particularly in relation to the conduct of market players, for 
example as regards the management of terminals and access to services. It is in the 
light of these comments that the Commission is considering clarifying or amending 
certain provisions contained in the first rail package by means of a recasting exercise. 

The  role  of  the  group  of  monitoring  bodies  (Annex  4),  set  up  by  the  Commission, 
also needs to be emphasised, this group having made fruitful dialogue possible and 
also enabled the comparison of the various national practices to take place.  

On  the  subject  of  the  second  rail  package,  the  necessary  national  institutions  have 
been set up (Annexes 4, 5 and 6). The Commission services are currently launching a 
legislation implementation monitoring exercise, focusing primarily on safety aspects. 

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15. 

On  the  subject  of  the  third  rail  package,  the  deadline  for  transposing  Directive 
2007/58/EC5  on  the  opening  up  of  the  market  for  international  rail  transport 
passenger services within the Community was 4 June 2009 (see Annex 2). However, 
the deadline for transposing Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  23  October  2007  on  the  certification  of  train  drivers  is  4 December 
2009. 

16. 

Finally,  the  European  Railway  Agency  (ERA),  established  in  2006,  is  now  fully 
operational. The ERA supports the introduction of a European rail area integrated on 
a technical level. 

IV. 

OPERATION OF THE EU RAIL TRANSPORT MARKET

6 

IV.1 

The position of rail transport compared to other modes  

17. 

Although  the  rail  share  in  the  freight  transport  market  fell  constantly  in  previous 
decades,  the  situation  has  stabilised  since  the  early  2000s:  in  EU-27  countries,  the 
rail  share,  in  tonne-kilometres,  in  the  freight  sector  fell  from  12.6 %  in  1995  to 
10.5 % in 2002, before increasing to 10.7 % in 2007. 

Figure 1: Rail share in freight transport (EU-27, 1995-2007) 

%
n

i

50.0

45.0

40.0

35.0

30.0

25.0

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Road

Rail

Inland Waterways

Pipelines

Sea

Air

Source: EU energy and transport in figures statistical pocketbook, 2009. 

18. 

The rail sector's share in land freight transport has also stabilised since 2002, with a 
17.1 % share, whereas in 1995 it had a 20.2 % share. 

5 

6 

Directive  2007/58/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23 October  2007  (OJ L 315, 
3.12.2007,  p. 44)  amending  Council  Directive  91/440/EEC  on  the  development  of  the  Community’s 
railways and Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying 
of charges for the use of railway infrastructure. 
As Cyprus and Malta do not have railway networks, all references to EU-12 or EU-27 countries should 
be understood as not including these two countries. 

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19. 

With  regard  to  passenger  transport,  the  fall  seen  over  the  last  three  decades  has 
recently  stopped  suddenly.  In  EU-27  countries,  the  rail  sector’s  share  in  the 
passenger  transport  market  fell  from  6.6 %  in  1995  to  5.9 %  in  2003,  before  rising 
again to 6.1 % in 2007 (see Annex 7). 

Figure 2: Rail share in passenger transport (EU-27, 1995-2007) 

%
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i

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Passenger cars
Railway
Sea

P2W
Tram&Metro

Bus&Coach
Air

Source: EU energy and transport in figures statistical pocketbook 2009. 

20. 

However,  the  passenger  rail  transport  sector’s  share  in  land  transport  was  6.9 %  in 
2007, as opposed to 6.5 % in 2003.  

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IV.2 

Trends in rail transport volumes and performance7 

a) Freight transport 

21. 

After  several  years  of  a  constant  and  particularly  marked  decrease  in  new  Member 
States, rail freight transport has grown at a not insignificant rate between 2000 and 
2007  (see  figure  3).  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  certain  countries  where 
non-incumbent rail undertakings have acquired significant market shares. 

Figure 3: Trends in rail freight transport 2000-2007 

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

-20

-40

-60

-80

-100

IE LU FR SK DK CZ BG ES RO PL FI EE BE IT HU PT SE SI AT LV DE UK NL LT EL

Source: EU Energy and Transport in Figures Statistical Pocketbook 2009, Table 3.2.5. 

22. 

In 2007, EU-27 countries saw a rise in rail freight transport of 2.8 % , as opposed to 
1.1 %  in  EU-12  countries  and  3.7 %  in  EU-15  countries  (Annex  8  and  subsequent 
annexes).  

7 

Rail transport performance means rail transport expressed in tonne-kilometres or passenger-kilometres. 

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23. 

In  2008,  trends  in  rail  freight  transport  (expressed  in  tonne-kilometres)  varied 
enormously  across  the  EU-27  group  of  countries.  Transport  in  this  sector  fell  by 
29.2 % in Estonia and 21.5 % in Ireland, whilst in Denmark and Latvia it increased 
by 9.7 % and 6.9 % respectively (see figure 4). 

Figure 4: Trends in rail freight transport 2007-2008 

EE IE EL PL CZ BE FR NL ES SK HU SI LU UK PT AT RO SE DE LT FI LV DK

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

Source: RMMS questionnaires completed by Member States in May-June 2009 

24. 

Since  mid-2008,  the  economic  crisis  has  had  a  major  impact  on  the  transport  of 
goods  by  rail,  affecting,  inter  alia,  the  economic  sectors  that  traditionally  used  rail 
freight  services,  such  as  the  mining  and  steel,  chemical  and  automobile  industries. 
Provisional  data  from  the  Community  of European  Railways  (CER)  would  put  this 
reduction  at  approximately  28 %  across  the  EU  as  a  whole  between  the  second 
quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009.  

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b) Passenger transport 

25. 

Between 2000 and 2007, the majority of Member States, and in particular almost all 
EU-15 countries, saw the transport of passengers by rail increase, reaching 44.6 % in 
Ireland, 36.1 % in Latvia and 30.5 % in the United Kingdom. Significant drops were 
seen  in  several  EU-12  Member  States,  particularly  in  Romania,  Lithuania  and 
Bulgaria, of 35.7 %, 32.3 % and 30.8 % respectively (see figure 5). 

Figure  5:  Trends  in  passenger  rail  transport  over  the  period  2000-2007 

50

40

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

-30

-40

RO LT BG SK PL HU CZ LU PT IT EL EE DE ES AT FI NL DK SI FR SE BE UK LV IE

Source : EU energy and transport in figures statistical pocketbook 2009, Table 3.3.7. 

26. 

The increase in traffic has been particularly significant in the high-speed sector. The 
number  of  passenger-kilometres  increased  from  59  million  people  in  2000  to  92 
million in 2007, including 48 million in France, 22 million in Germany and 8 million 
in Italy. The ‘high-speed’ share in the total passenger transport market was 23 % in 
EU-27 countries in 2007; in France this figure is closer to 60 %.  

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27. 

In 2008, passenger transport continued to increase, particularly in Spain, Austria and 
Luxembourg,  with  increases  of  16.7 %,  13.8 %,  and  8.8 %  respectively.  The  most 
significant  reductions  in  transport  were  seen  in  Romania,  Hungary  and  Latvia  of 
7.3 %, 5.2 % and 4.2 % respectively, as can be seen in figure 6. 

Figure 6: Trends in rail passenger transport in 2007/2008 

20

15

10

5

0

-5

-10

RO HU LV CZ IE EE DK PL SI NL DE EL UK BE LT PT SK FR FI SE LU AT ES

Source: RMMS questionnaires completed by Member States in May-June 2009 

28. 

V. 

29. 

30. 

Provisional  CER  figures  indicate  that  between  the  second  quarter  of  2008  and  the 
second quarter of 2009, passenger transport fell by 5 % in EU-15 countries, and by 
0.7  %  in  EU-12  countries.  This  would  appear  to  be  more  pronounced  for  business 
travel,  where  it  potentially  exceeded  10 %;  the  sale  of  second-class  tickets  would 
appear  to  have  remained  relatively  stable,  benefiting  from  both  the  fact  that  some 
former first-class travellers changed to second-class and also from an advantageous 
fare policy on the part of rail undertakings. 

OPENING-UP OF THE RAIL MARKET 

There  are  over  600  rail  operating  licences  in  the  freight  sector,  including  315  in 
Germany  and  67  in  Poland.  The  number  of  licences  in  the  passenger  sector  now 
exceeds 450, including 302 in Germany and 45 in the United Kingdom. 

Figure 7 shows the market shares of non-incumbent railway undertakings providing 
freight  services.  In  terms  of  tonne-kilometres,  non-incumbents’  market  shares  are 
greatest  in  Estonia  (49 %),  the  United  Kingdom  (100 %),  Romania  (41 %),  the 
Netherlands  (25 %)  and  Poland  (24 %).  With  regard  to  passenger  transport, 
non-incumbent undertakings have particularly large market shares in Estonia (58 %), 
in Sweden, and also in the United Kingdom, where several undertakings created in 
the wake of the previous monopoly have been integrated into a variety of holdings. 

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Annex 12 shows the distribution of market shares between the various undertakings 
in EU-27 countries.  

Figure 7: Total market shares (%) of non-incumbent rail freight operators at the end 
of 2008 

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

FI EL IE LT PT SI SK ES BE LV FR AT BG HU NO DE PL NL RO EE UK

Source: RMMS questionnaire completed by Member States in May-June 2009 

31. 

As far as freight is concerned, the Estonian, UK and Romanian markets are the most 
open  (Annex  13).  De  facto  monopolies  still  exist  in  several  Member  States.  With 
regard to passenger transport, local monopolies often exist alongside each other, with 
no competition between the various rail undertakings.  

VI. 

PERFORMANCE OF RAILWAY UNDERTAKINGS 

a) Employment 

32. 

At the end of 2008, the number of staff employed by undertakings responsible for the 
commercial  operation  of  rail  transport  services  was  112 000  in  France,  86 000  in 
Germany and 75 000 in Poland (Annex 14). However, the respective responsibilities 
of managers of rail infrastructures and rail undertakings vary from country to country 
and it is therefore hard to make comparisons. 

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b) Financial health 

33. 

There is also another significant disparity between rail undertakings’ performance in 
EU-15  and  those  in  EU-12  countries  (see  Annex  15).  The  poor  financial  health  of 
EU-12 railway undertakings is mostly due to insufficient payment in respect of the 
provision of public services, undertakings’ continued debts to the State and the (not 
financially viable) investments made by certain operators in recent years. The current 
crisis  is  affecting  all  EU-27  countries,  hence  a  general  worsening  in  undertakings’ 
health. 

c) Rolling stock 

34. 

35. 

The level of annual growth in the market over the period 2007-2013 was estimated in 
2008  at  2.2 %  worldwide  by  UNIFE  (Association  of  the  European  Rail  Industry)8. 
However,  the  reality  will  probably  be  less  than  this  forecasted  figure,  due  to  the 
consequences  of  the  crisis,  which  is  having  a  major  impact  on,  inter  alia,  the 
purchase of rolling stock for freight transport.  

By  2013,  the  high-speed  trains sector is expected  to  be  the  most  dynamic  sector  in 
western  Europe,  whilst  conventional  passenger  trains  and  the  freight  sector  will 
continue to dominate in eastern Europe.  

d) Quality of service and comparison with regard to ticket prices 

36. 

37. 

38. 

Measuring the quality of rail freight services in the European Union, the subject of a 
2008  communication9,  continues  to  be  difficult  given  a  general  lack  of  quality 
indicators.  Where  they  do  exist,  such  as  in  the  case  of  intermodal  transport 
(Annex 16), the quality of services would still appear to be insufficient.  

With  regard  to  passenger  transport,  the  degree  of  consumer  satisfaction  with 
extra-urban transport services is low: a Commission survey (see Annex 23) indicated 
satisfaction among less than half of passengers10. 

Another  study11  also  identified  the  considerable  variation  in  train  fares  between 
Member States, with a second-class train ticket for a 200 km journey costing up to 
the equivalent of EUR 68  in the United Kingdom and EUR 55 in Germany, but  no 
more than EUR 6 in Bulgaria and 7 in Latvia. In EU-15 countries, fares are cheapest 
in Greece (EUR 9), Portugal (EUR 16) and Belgium (EUR 19). 

e) Safety 

39. 

8 
9 

10 
11 

The  European  Rail  Agency’s  report  criticised  the  fact  that  a  total  of  1  517  people 
were involved in rail transport accidents in 2007, as opposed to 1 319 in 2006. This 
was, in particular, due to a significant rise in the number of level-crossing accident 
victims.  With  regard  to  train  passengers  alone,  70  people  died  in  2007  in  the 
European  Union;  by  contrast,  nearly  40 000  people  died  in  road  accidents; 

‘UNIFE Worldwide Rail Market Study – status quo and outlook 2016’, 2008 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  of  8  September 
2008 ‘The quality of rail freight services’ [COM(2008)536 - Not published in the Official Journal]. 
Source: IPSOS consumer satisfaction surveys 2006 and 2008 
Source: UBS ‘2009 prices and salaries’ study. 

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furthermore, the number of passengers involved in rail accidents decreased from 400 
in 1970 to only 77 in 2006 (Annex 24). 

VII. 

RAIL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE 

a) Length and intensity of network use 

40. 

41. 

The  EU  has  a  total  of  approximately  212 000  km  of  railway  lines.  The  Member 
States with the longest networks are Germany (33 890 km), France (29 918 km) and 
Poland  (20 621  km) (Annex  17). Malta and Cyprus have no  railway networks. The 
density of railway lines is highest in the Czech Republic, Belgium and Luxembourg 
(122, 111 and 106 km/1 000 km² respectively).  

In 2008, the European rail network included 5 764 km of high-speed lines located in 
France,  Spain,  Germany,  Italy,  Belgium  and  the  United  Kingdom.  The  high-speed 
network is being greatly extended, particularly in Spain where over 1 600 km of lines 
are currently being constructed (Annex 18). 

b) Trends in infrastructure investment 

42. 

43. 

The EU-12 group of countries can be characterised by the poor level of investment 
provided for rail transport; 2006 figures provided by the CER indicate that average 
investment per kilometre for the maintenance of railway lines was five times higher 
in EU-15 countries than in EU-12 countries (Annex 20).  

It should also be noted that there has been stagnation in rail investment co-financed 
under  the  cohesion  policy,  compared  to  figures  for  the  period  2000-2006.  This 
finding is striking, despite a very favourable situation marked by a 69 % increase in 
the budget allocated to transport under regional policy. Within EU-12 countries, the 
‘rail’  proportion  of  total  national  investment  in  the  transport  sector  is  largest  in 
Slovenia (45.6 %), Lithuania (36.5 %), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (34 %) and 
lowest  in  Poland  (20.8 %).  Investment  in  road  infrastructure  is  therefore  far  higher 
than investment in rail, in both western Europe and especially in EU-12 countries, as 
emphasised by an International Transport Forum (ITF) study12 (Annex 19). 

c) Multi-annual fees and contracts 

44. 

Also  according  to  the  ITF,  the  cost  of  accessing  networks  varies  very  significantly 
from one infrastructure manager to another (Annex 21). Generally speaking, fees for 
access are very expensive for freight transport in new Member States, particularly in 
Slovakia and in the Baltic countries, and lowest in Denmark, Spain and Sweden. The 
cost of access to trains for Intercity passengers is highest in Belgium, Lithuania and 
Germany and lowest in the Nordic countries. 

45. 

Nevertheless, according to the International Rail-Road Combined Transport Union, it 
can  be  noted  that  the  reduction  in  traffic  caused  by  the  crisis  has  led  some 

12 

Study entitled ‘Charges for the use of rail infrastructure 2008’ 

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infrastructure managers to lower goods trains’ access fees, especially in Poland and 
Slovakia. 

46. 

On  the  subject  of  multi-annual  contracts,  the  Commission’s  Communication  to  the 
Council  and  the  European  Parliament13  recommended  that  Member  States  and 
infrastructure managers take a number of measures in order to ensure a good level of 
service  and  to  achieve  the  necessary  financial  equilibrium.  Multi-annual  contracts 
have  been  signed  between  infrastructure  managers  and  rail  undertakings  in  half  a 
dozen Member States (Annex 22).   

d) Deployment of the ERTMS  

47. 

48. 

The introduction of the ERTMS (European Railway Traffic Management System) is 
a  significant  step  towards  ensuring  greater  interoperability.  At  the  end  of  2009, 
approximately  3 000  km  of  lines  in  service  across  the  European  Union  have  been 
fitted with this system. National deployment plans indicate that the ERTMS network 
is  expected  to  reach  20 000  km  by  the  end  of  2012  and  30 000  km  by  the  end  of 
2020. 

A  European  deployment  plan  was  adopted  on  22  July  2009.  This  plan  is  based  on 
national plans, but focuses on those lines which are the most important at European 
level.  It  therefore  does  not  reproduce  national  plans  in  their  entirety,  but  makes  it 
compulsory to equip key axes by specific deadlines. Consequently, in the run-up to 
2020, the main freight hubs in Europe will be linked by lines which have been fitted 
with ERTMS, thus opening the way to new opportunities for rail freight operators. 

VIII.  CONCLUSIONS  

49. 

50. 

51. 

This report sets out the main trends observed during recent years across the EU rail 
market,  particularly  during  2008.  In  addition  to  the  consequences  of  the  current 
economic  crisis  –  which  are  as  yet  unknown  –  it  has  nevertheless  been  confirmed 
that  the  development  of  a  European  rail  area  and  the  gradual  opening  up  of  the 
market to competition has allowed greater stability of the rail network’s share in the 
transport sector. 

This document also provides an overview of the initial tangible effects of the crisis 
which has affected the sector since mid-2008. Its impact has been more evident in the 
rail freight sector than  in  the  passenger transport  sector. The crisis is also  affecting 
the rolling stock segment to a greater extent than infrastructure, which is expected to 
benefit most from the economic recovery measures planned by Member States.  

The recovery plans announced are expected to benefit the rail network to the tune of 
up  to  EUR 20  billion,  primarily  in  EU-15  countries.  However,  doubts  have  been 
raised regarding whether certain countries are financially capable of providing all of 
the  investments  that  were  provided  for  in  spite  of  budgetary  difficulties  and  the 
increase  in  debt  which  are  expected.  For  its  part,  the  EU  has  mobilised  available 

13 

Communication on ‘Multi-annual contracts for rail infrastructure quality’ (COM(2008)54 of 6 February 
2008. 

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funds  in  order  to  participate  in  these  recovery  efforts  and  in  order  to  speed  up  the 
development  of  trans-European  networks,  inter  alia  by  bringing  forward  the 
allocation of EUR 500 million under the TEN-T budget. 

52. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  context  of  the  current  crisis,  an  acceleration  of 
consolidation in the rail freight sector can be seen, marked by the expansion abroad 
of groups like DB Schenker, as shown in figure 8. 

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Figure 8: Main mergers and acquisitions in the rail sector since 2005 

Year 

Company 

Takes over  

Company 

2005 

DB Schenker (DE) 

2005 

Trenitalia (IT) 

2006 

Babcock & Brown (AU) 

2007 

DB Schenker (DE) 

98% 

51% 

100% 

100% 

RBH (DE) 

TX Logistik (DE) 

Crossrail (CH) 

WS (UK) 

2007 

DB Schenker (DE) 

55.1% 

Tansfesa (ES) 

2008 

DB Schenker (DE) 

2008 

SNCF (FR) 

49% 

75% 

Nord Cargo (FR) 

ITL (DE) 

2008 

OKD Doprava (CZ) 

100% 

Viamont Cargo (CZ) 

2008 

Rail Cargo Austria (AT) 

55% 

Linea (FR) 

2008 

Rail Cargo Austria (AT) 

2008 

Veolia (IT) 

2009 

DB Schenker (DE) 

2009 

Europorte 2 (FR) 

2009 

SNCF (FR) 

2009 

Veolia Transport (IT) 

2009 

DB Schenker (DE) 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

100% 

50% 

95% 

MAV Cargo (HU) 

Rail4Chem (DE) 

PCC (PL) 

Veolia Cargo (FR) 

Veolia Cargo (DE) 

Transdev (FR) 

PTK Holding (PL) 

Source: Mofair (‘Wettbewerber-Report Eisenbahn 2008-2009’); European Commission 

53. 

54. 

55. 

There  is  also  continued  disparity  between  EU-15  and  EU-12  countries,  with  rail 
transport undertakings in the latter group of countries very often continuing to suffer 
from poor financial heath. A number of operators have had to resolve this issue by 
either  using  part-time  staff  to  a  very  large  extent  (such  as  in  Slovakia),  or  by 
reducing staff, particularly in Bulgaria. 

Recovery of the freight sector will be dependent on the anticipated creation of freight 
corridors14, but also  by  developing transport with third countries  bordering the  EU. 
The  ongoing  negotiation  of  a  treaty  with  the  Balkan  states,  the  Community's 
application for membership of OTIF and technical cooperation with the Organisation 
for Railways Co-operation (OSJD) forms part of this recovery. 

The process for monitoring the rail market will be assisted in the short-term by the 
publication  of  two  studies,  which  the  Commission  is  currently  in  the  process  of 
producing,  entitled  ‘Situation  and  perspectives  of  the  international  rail  market’  and 
‘Study on regulatory options on further market opening in rail passenger transport’. 

14 

Proposal  for  a  regulation  concerning  a  European  rail  network  for  competitive  freight,  11  December 
2008.  

EN 

15 

   EN