REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Third report on monitoring development of the rail market
Date: 2012-08-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, free competition, market access, rail transport, transport infrastructure, transport market

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 21.8.2012  
COM(2012) 459 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

Third report on monitoring development of the rail market 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

{SWD(2012) 246 final} 

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   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

Third report on monitoring development of the rail market 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

I. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

II. 

7. 

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3 

INTRODUCTION 

The European railways have experienced major changes over recent years, connected 
both  to  a  generally  unfavourable  economic  situation  and  the  development  of  the 
regulatory framework, particularly at European level. 

The  objective  of  establishing  a  single  European  railway  area  based  on  open 
competition has been set out on several occasions: the 2011 White Paper 'Roadmap 
to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient 
transport  system',  the  Communication  'Action  for  Stability,  Growth  and  Jobs' 
adopted  on  30  May  2012  (which  emphasises  the  importance  of  reducing 
administrative  burdens  and  barriers  to  entry),  the  conclusions  of  the  January  2012 
European  Council  and  in  the  Communication  'Better  Governance  for  the  Single 
Market'. This process supports the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy by means 
of its contribution to economic growth and job creation.  

In  this  context,  the  Commission  proposed  a  recast  of  the  first  railway  package,  on 
which  political  agreement  was  reached  on  3  July  2012,  while  the  impact  of  the 
opening-up to competition of the international passenger transport market with effect 
from 1 January 2012 was starting to be felt. 

These  constant  changes  to  the  regulatory  framework  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/EC1.  
The Communication on monitoring development of the rail market2, adopted on 18 
October 2007, followed by the report3 of the same name of 18 December 2009, were 
also prepared to this end. This report does not just update these documents, but also 
contains specific new information on subjects not discussed in the previous ones.  

RAIL MARKET MONITORING SCHEME  

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

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  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  on  monitoring 
development of the rail market of 18 October 2007 (COM(2007) 609). 
Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on monitoring development 
of the rail market COM(2009)676 as amended by the corrigendum of 8 December 2010. 

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8. 

9. 

III. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

The  Commission  is  assisted  in  its  monitoring  tasks  by  a  working  group  formed  of 
experts  from  national  ministries  and  the  rail  sector,  including  social  partners. 
Between 2001 and the end of 2011, the RMMS working group met on 25 occasions, 
with three of its meetings taking place since the adoption of the previous report.  

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. For the purposes of 
this analysis, the concept of Member States includes Norway, which also completed 
to the questionnaire. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK 

All Member States with rail networks have transposed the Directives contained in the 
first railway package. However, incorrect transposition, to varying degrees and with 
regard  to  sometimes  different  aspects,  has  resulted  in  the  Commission  initiating 
infringement proceedings against most Member States since 2008. The proceedings 
have reached different stages depending on the country and the type of situation. At 
the end of 2011, cases were pending in respect of 12 countries  before  the  Court of 
Justice.  Recurrent  objections  relate  to  the  independence  of  essential  functions, 
infrastructure charging and the independence of the regulatory body.  
In addition, the Commission has proposed4 a recast of the first railway package; in 
terms of form, this involves simplifying the regulatory framework in the rail sector 
by  merging,  harmonising,  clarifying  and  updating  the  three  Directives  mentioned 
above  in  one  text.  In  terms  of  content,  three  objectives  are  pursued:  ensuring 
adequate  financing  and  charging  for  railway  infrastructure,  guaranteeing  fair 
competitive conditions for operators and reinforcing the effectiveness of supervisory 
bodies. 

With  regard  to  the  second  railway  package,  the  national  institutions  required  have 
been  set  up.  The  Commission  is  currently  assessing  the  transposition  of  the  Safety 
Directive5, with its work due to be completed by mid-2013. 

With regard to the third railway package, the deadline for transposition of Directives 
2008/57/EC6 and 2009/131/EC7 was 19 July 2010, while the deadline for Directive 
2011/18/EU8 was set at 31 December 2011. For Directive 2007/58/EC9, the deadline 

Communication from the Commission concerning the development of a Single European Railway Area 
COM(2010) 474 final of 17 September 2010. 
Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on safety on the 
Community's  railways  and  amending  Council  Directive  95/18/EC  on  the  licensing  of  railway 
undertakings  and  Directive  2001/14/EC  on  the  allocation  of  railway  infrastructure  capacity  and  the 
levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification. 
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. 
Commission Directive 2009/131/EC of 16 October 2009 amending Annex VII to Directive 2008/57/EC 
of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  interoperability  of  the  rail  system  within  the 
Community. 
Commission  Directive  2011/18/EU  of  1  March  2011  amending  Annexes  II,  V  and  VI  to  Directive 
2008/57/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  interoperability  of  the  rail  system 
within the Community. 
Directive  2007/58/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23 October  2007  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. 

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14. 

15. 

16. 

IV. 

17. 

18. 

for transposition was 4 June 2009 and the deadline for full implementation 1 January 
2010. 

In  addition,  the  Commission  announced  several  new  rail  transport  initiatives  in  its 
White Paper in March 2011:10 it intends to propose a 'fourth railway package' with 
the objective of opening up domestic passenger transport to competition, improving 
access  to  infrastructure  and  associated  services,  as  well  as  extending  the  European 
Railway Agency's tasks in the area of certification. 
The regulation on freight corridors11 provides for the establishment of six corridors 
by 10 November 2013 and three others by 10 November 2015. Member States must 
set up an Executive Board for each corridor responsible for supervising the extensive 
implementation  work  by  the  Management  Board,  composed  of  the  relevant 
infrastructure managers. Most corridors have already set up their Executive Boards. 
These  freight  corridors  will  constitute  the  backbone  of  the  TEN-T  multimodal 
corridors. 

Lastly,  the  recast  of  the  directives  of  the  first  railway  package  has  enabled 
developments  in  the  areas  of  regulatory  supervision,  infrastructure  financing  and 
charging and market access conditions. A formal network of regulatory bodies will 
be  created  for  coordination  and  exchange  of  best  practice,  together  with  a  clause 
stipulating a review in 2014. 

OPENING-UP OF THE RAIL MARKET 

At  the  end  of  2010,  there  were  almost  700  European  rail  operating  licences  in  the 
freight sector, including 340 in Germany and 72 in Poland. The number of licences 
in  the  passenger  sector  now  exceeds  500,  including  320  in  Germany  and  44  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  At  EU  level,  the  number  of  licences  has  therefore  increased  by 
nearly 16% for the freight sector and 11% for the passenger sector in two years. It 
should  be  noted  that  these  figures  do  not  include  national  licences,  significant 
numbers  of  which  are  still  issued  by  some  Member  States  (undertakings  which 
provide exclusively regional rail freight services may hold national licences only). 

With regard to freight services, in tonne-kilometre terms, undertakings other than the 
largest  operator  hold  the  largest  market  shares  in  Romania  (55%),  the  United 
Kingdom (51%) and Estonia (43%), as shown in figure 1. Over two years during the 
crisis, the market share of non-incumbent operators increased significantly in several 
Member States (from 10% to 23% in Latvia, from 14 to 27% in Belgium and from 10 
to  20%  in  France),  while  it  remained  zero  or  close  to  zero  in  Finland,  Ireland, 
Lithuania and Luxembourg. 

Figure  1:  Total  market  shares  (expressed  as  a  percentage  of  traffic  in  tonne-
kilometres) of rail freight operators other than the main operator at the end of 2010  

10 

11 

White  Paper  of  28  March  2011:  'Roadmap  to  a  Single  European  Transport  Area  –  Towards  a 
competitive and resource efficient transport system' COM(2011) 144 final.  
Regulation  (EU)  No  913/2010  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  22  September  2010 
concerning a European rail network for competitive freight. 

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Parts de marché, en %, de tous les exploitants de fret ferroviaire 
autres que l'opérateur principal

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

I

F

E

I

T
L

U
L

I

K S
S

S
E

T
P

E
B

T
A

U
H

R
F

V
L

T

I

E
D

K
D

O
N

G
B

L
P

L
N

E
S

E
E

K
U

O
R

Source: RMMS questionnaire completed by Member States in May-June 2011 

19. 

In the case of passenger transport, new entrants have particularly high market shares 
in  the  United  Kingdom  (90%),  Estonia  (50%)  and  Poland  (48%),  while  countries 
where  the  incumbent  operator  still  controls  the  whole  of  the  market  are  now  in  a 
minority  (Belgium,  Greece,  Spain,  Finland,  Ireland,  Lithuania,  Slovenia  and 
Slovakia). However, in some Member States such as Poland, new operators are the 
result of the partial break-up of the incumbent operator and hold de facto monopolies 
in their respective regions. 

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Figure  2:  Total  market  shares  (expressed  as  a  percentage  of  traffic  in  passenger-
kilometres)  of  operators  of  rail  passenger  transport  services  other  than  the  main 
operator at the end of 2010  

Parts de marché, en %, des opérateurs proposant des services 
de transport ferroviaire de voyageurs autres que l'opérateur 
principal

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
BE ES FI IE LT SI

SK FR HU BG RO

NL (2009) AT DE IT PT LV NO DK PL EE UK

Source: RMMS questionnaire completed by Member States in May-June 2011 

20. 

21. 

This  situation  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  opening  up  of  the  domestic  rail 
passenger  transport  market  occurred  at  a  more  or  less  early  stage  in  the  different 
Member  States:  from  1992  in  Sweden,  in  1994  in  Germany,  in  1995  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  then  in  Denmark  and  in  Italy,  and  subsequently  in  a  further  ten  EU 
countries.  

As regards international passenger transport, which was opened up to competition by 
European  legislation  on  1  January  2010,  alliances  between  incumbent  operators 
remains  the  most  common  operating  mode.  However,  services  are  gradually 
appearing on several routes which are in competition with the services provided by 
the incumbent operator of one of the countries served. This is the case, for example, 
of  Deutsche  Bahn  and  ÖBB  which  are  working  with  the  Italian  company  FNM  on 
the  Munich-Bologna  route.  Similarly,  Trenitalia  and  Veolia  Transdev  are  now 
operating  services  on  the  Paris-Venice  route.  Westbahn  GmbH  has  opened  a  line 
from  Vienna  to  Salzburg  and  Freilassing.  Deutsche  Bahn  could  also  be  operating 
independent services from Germany to London or Paris in the relatively near future. 
Lastly, with regard to cross-border regional services, a multiplication of new services 
can be observed, some of which are operated by incumbent operators and others by 
new entrants, as demonstrated by a Commission study12. 

12 

Situation and perspectives of the rail market, March 2010. 

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V. OPERATION OF THE EU RAIL TRANSPORT MARKET

13 

V.1 

22. 

23. 

The position of rail transport compared to other modes  

While  the  rail  sector's  share  of  overall  freight  transport  had  experienced  a  steep 
decline over previous decades, its market share has remained slightly above 11% for 
a decade, nevertheless with only 10.2% in 2010 in a crisis context. 

The  rail  sector's  share  in  land  freight  transport,  which  had  stabilised  since  2002  at 
17.1 %, whereas in 1995 it still had a 20.2 % share, fell in 2010 to 16.2%. 

Figure 3: Rail share in freight transport (EU-27, 1995-2010) 

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Route

Rail

Navigation intérieure

Conduites

Mer

Air

Source: EU transport in figures, Statistical Pocketbook 2012 

24. 

In  the  case  of  passenger  transport,  the  rail  sector's  share  of  the  passenger  transport 
market  in  the  EU-27  has  increased  slightly  over  recent  years,  rising  from  5.9%  in 
2004  to  6.3%  in  2010.  However,  considerable  differences  remain  between  the 
Member States with railway networks, as this share accounted for some 10% or more 
in Hungary and in Austria, but scarcely 2% in Estonia and a little more than 1% in 
Greece. 

Figure 4: Rail share in passenger transport (EU-27, 1995-2010) 

13 

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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80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Voiture
Autobus/Autocar
Tram/Métro
Mer

2 roues motorisés
Train
Air

Source: EU transport in figures, Statistical Pocketbook 2012 

V.2 

Trends in rail transport volumes and performance14 

a) Freight transport 

25. 

The  crisis  resulted  in  an  18.3%  drop  in  freight  transport  in  tonne-kilometres  in  the 
EU-27  in  2009.  The  rebound  in  the  sectors  which  had  been  most  affected,  in 
particular the steel, chemical and car industries, resulted in a marked inverse trend in 
2010,  as  no  fewer  than  15  Member  States  recorded  increases  of  more  than  10%, 
though without returning to 2008 levels at this stage. According to figures provided 
by the CER (Community of European Railways), the performance of rail freight in 
the third quarter of 2011 remained 9.2% lower than that of the third quarter of 2008 
across the whole of Europe. 

14 

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

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Figure 5: Development of rail freight traffic 2009-2010 in tonne-kilometres 

Évolution du trafic de fret ferroviaire 2009-2010
en tonnes-kilomètre

40

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

NO IT LV FR UK BG NL BE CZ FI AT RO EE DE PL LT ES HU SE PT IE SK SI LU DK

Source: RMMS questionnaire completed by Member States in May-June 2011  

b) Passenger transport 

26. 

Passenger transport was relatively unaffected by the crisis, as the decrease in traffic 
levels in passenger-kilometres was 1.4% for the EU-27 in 2009, where the increase 
of 3.6% in the EU-15 was not sufficient to offset the decrease of 8.3% in the EU-12 
countries.  

Developments in 2010 were mixed, with a less favourable situation again in the EU-
12 (-11.3% in Romania) than in the EU-15, with the highest increase in the United 
Kingdom (+5.8%). 

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Figure  6:  Development  of  rail  passenger  transport  in  2009/2010  in  passenger-
kilometres 

Évolution du transport ferroviaire de voyageurs en 2009-2010 
en passagers-kilomètre

RO HU PL ES SI BG IT SE EE PT SE LV IE NO NL CZ BE SK FI DE DK FR LU LT UK

8

6

4

2

0

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

-12

-14

Source: RMMS questionnaire completed by Member States in May-June 2011 

VI. 

PERFORMANCE OF RAILWAY UNDERTAKINGS 

a) Employment 

27. 

28. 

At the end of 2010, the number of staff employed by undertakings responsible for the 
commercial operation of rail transport services and the management of infrastructure 
was  110 000  in  France,  80 000  in  Germany  and  64 000  in  Poland  (Annex  6). 
However, since the scope of activity of these undertakings varies from one State to 
another,  comparison  remains  difficult.  Similarly,  the  decrease  in  the  sector's 
workforce over the last decade is difficult to quantify precisely. 

The  proportion  of  people  over  50  among  the  active  population  employed  in  land 
transport  accounted  for  31%  in  2010  compared  to  an  average  of  27%  across  all 
sectors. The sector is also characterised by an early average retirement age (55 years) 
and a low proportion of women in the overall workforce (14%). 

b) Railway supply industry 

29. 

30. 

According  to  a  study  by  UNIFE  (Association  of  the  European  Rail  Industry)15,  the 
railway market worldwide was estimated at more than EUR 120 billion in 2007 and 
is forecast to reach EUR 154 billion by 2016. The highest growth rates are expected 
in  the  Asia-Pacific  region  and  in  the  countries  of  the  Community  of  Independent 
States.  

In  addition,  the  CER  (Community  of  European  Railways)  reports  that  a  major 
renewal of railway rolling stock for passenger transport is in progress in the Czech 
Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.  

15 

Worldwide Rail Market Study – Status Quo & Outlook 2016 

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c) Quality of service and passenger satisfaction 

31. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

The  quality  of  rail  freight  services  in  the  European  Union  remains  difficult  to 
measure  as  a  result  of  a  general  lack  of  indicators.  Nevertheless,  the  gradual 
implementation  of  performance  monitoring  of  rail  freight  services  on  the  different 
freight corridors should provide some information on service punctuality. 
Pursuant  to  Regulation  1371/200716,  rail  operators  subject  to  that  Regulation  are 
required  to  publish  an  annual  report  on  the  quality  of  services  provided  and 
punctuality of passenger services in particular.  

In addition, a study carried out for the Commission (Annex 15) found that passengers 
are  generally  satisfied  with  security  on  board  trains,  journey  times  forecast  and 
comfort  levels  in  passenger  coaches;  however,  they  tend  to  consider  that 
improvements could be made to train cleanliness  and  maintenance,  punctuality  and 
the  quality  of  information  provided,  particularly  when  services  are  delayed. 
Punctuality  appears  satisfactory  in  a  significant  number  of  Member  States,  but  is 
considered  insufficient  by  more  than  40%  of  those  surveyed  in  Poland,  Germany, 
Sweden, Romania and France.  

Passengers  also  consider  that  particular  attention  should  be  paid  in  stations  to  car 
parks,  the  quality  of  facilities  and  cleanliness  and  maintenance.  On  the  other  hand, 
passengers  are  generally  satisfied  with  ticket  distribution,  information  and  security. 
The level of satisfaction with regard to stations varies considerably from one country 
to the next; it is very high in Spain and Luxembourg, but remains low in Poland and 
Hungary. 

d) Public service obligations 

35. 

36. 

It is considered that 90% of the domestic rail passenger market is covered by public 
service  obligations17.  In  the  EU-15  countries,  most  public  service  contracts  are 
signed for a minimum duration of between two and ten years; in the EU-12, whereas 
the duration of most contracts was not more than one year in 2005, the proportion of 
long term contracts has increased, with a beneficial impact on investment. 

Compensation expressed as a percentage of the difference between expenditure and 
revenue  from  ticket  sales  did  not  exceed  71%  in  the  EU-12  countries  in  2009, 
compared to 94% in the EU-15; these figures represent a 4 point decrease in relation 
to 2007 in a context of extensive budgetary restrictions (Annex 11). 

e) Safety 

37. 

38. 

According  to  the  European  Railway  Agency's  report  (Annex  16),  188  train 
passengers were victims of fatal accidents between 2008 and 2010, out of a total of 
4 120 victims over the same period. 60% of the fatalities involved people who were 
on tracks in prohibited areas.  

The  overall  level  of  safety  in  Europe,  measured  in  terms  of  the  number  of  fatal 
accidents per billion train-kilometres, has continued to improve since 1990, albeit at 
a slower rate since 2004, as shown in figure 7. 

16 

17 

Regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on 
rail passengers’ rights and obligations. 
Public service rail transport in the European Union: an overview (November 2011) 

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Figure 7: Fatal train collisions and derailments per billion train-kilometres 

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Source: European Railway Agency 2012 Safety Performance Report 

VII. 

RAIL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE 

a) Network lengths 

39. 

40. 

The EU has a total of approximately 212 000 km of railway lines, a level which has 
been  relatively  stable  for  a  number  of  years.  In  some  Member  States  which  are 
experiencing  particularly  difficult  budgetary  situations,  closures  are  affecting  not 
lines but tracks, especially in Greece, Romania and Portugal, primarily because the 
networks are oversized.  

The  European  high  speed  network,  however,  has  continued  to  grow,  reaching 
6 600 kilometres in 2010, corresponding to a two-fold increase in eight years. Spain 
now has the biggest network ahead of France (Annex 8). 

b) Trends in infrastructure investment 

41. 

According  to  ITF  (International  Transport  Forum),  the  share  of  investment  in  land 
transport infrastructure has remained stable at 0.8% in western Europe over the last 
decade, while it increased in central and eastern European countries, reaching 2% in 
2009. The rail sector's share of that investment varies extensively, however, from one 
country to the next: in 2009 it stood at 65% in Austria, 55% in the United Kingdom, 
52% in Luxembourg, 45% in Sweden and 41% in Belgium, and 32% on average in 
western Europe; in central and eastern European countries, however, the rail sector's 
share dropped sharply from 22% in 2000 to 13% in 2009 (Annex 9).  

c) Charges and multi-annual contracts 

42. 

The level of network access charges varies very significantly from one infrastructure 
manager  to  the  next;  for  a  1 000  tonne  freight  train,  the  price  in  euros  per  train-
kilometre ranged from 0.1 in Spain and 0.5 in Sweden to 10.2 in Slovakia and 9.8 in 
Ireland  (Annex  10).  Nevertheless,  it  would  appear  that  these  differences  are  set  to 
decrease, as several EU-12 countries where charges are usually high have announced 

EN 

12 

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or even embarked on a reduction of their tariffs. It should be noted that charges may 
also  vary  significantly  within  one  national  network  depending  on  the  lines  or  time 
slots involved. 

43. 

The  Commission  considers  that  multi-annual  contracts  between  infrastructure 
managers and railway undertakings are conducive to ensuring a good level of service 
and the requisite financial balance. Multi-annual contracts have been signed in some 
fifteen Member States (Annex 12). 

d) Deployment of ERTMS 

44. 

45. 

The  introduction  of  ERTMS  (European  Railway  Traffic  Management  System)  is  a 
significant step towards ensuring greater interoperability. At the end of 2011, more 
than 4 000 kilometres of lines were in service with ERTMS in the EU, an increase of 
more  than  20%  compared  to  the  previous  year.  Moreover,  more  than  4 000 
kilometres of lines are currently being fitted and are scheduled to enter into service 
by the end of 2013. 

The European Deployment Plan adopted on 22 July 2009 sets out the requirement for 
key axes to be equipped by 2015. Before the end of 2012, Member States must notify 
a detailed timetable setting out the dates of calls for tenders and the main steps in the 
completion of the project to enable installation of ERTMS by 2015. The Commission 
will be monitoring compliance with this obligation closely. 

VIII.  CONCLUSIONS  

46. 

47. 

48. 

49. 

The 2009 economic crisis has had a significant impact on rail freight traffic. Despite 
a significant rebound, 2010 levels have remained some 15% below those recorded in 
2008 in most Member States; the decline has even continued in France and Italy. At 
EU level, it nevertheless appears that the rail sector's modal share is now comparable 
with pre-crisis levels.  

The effects of the crisis have been much less pronounced for rail passenger transport. 
The increase in traffic observed in most EU-15 countries has continued; the decline 
which  started  in  the  1990s  in  the  EU-12  countries  has  nevertheless  continued  in 
2010. In this context, there is a clear correlation between the recent development of 
traffic  observed  in  each  of  the  Member  States  and  passenger  satisfaction  levels  as 
expressed in the survey carried out for the Commission, as borne out, for example, 
by the positive results in the United Kingdom and Lithuania. 

The  opening-up  of  the  market  gathered  pace  in  the  rail  freight  sector  during  the 
crisis, albeit at a varying speed from one Member State to the next. In addition, some 
incumbent operators now have significant market shares in other European countries 
as a result of subsidiary undertakings operating locally. The crisis has not generally 
slowed  down  the  progress  of  new  entrants  on  different  national  markets.  It  is 
important to note in this context that increasing the number of competitor operators 
has not had a detrimental impact on the high level of safety of this transport mode.  

The  effective  opening  up  to  competition  of  the  passenger  market  is  taking  place 
gradually,  but  now  involves  a  majority  of  Member  States.  The  railway  market 
monitoring  process  will  be  complemented  in  the  short  term  by  the  publication  of  a 
Eurobarometer  study  on  the  opening-up  of  the  domestic  rail  passenger  market, 
currently being carried out for the Commission. The results of the study will be taken 
into account in the preparation of the future legislative proposal on the opening-up of 
the domestic rail passenger market. 

EN 

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   EN