European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2022 on the action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail (2022/2022(INI))
Date: 2022-12-13
Institutions: Committee on Transport and Tourism, Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, European Parliament
Subjects: action programme, carriage of passengers, charges for use of infrastructure, common transport policy, cross-border transport, rail transport, sustainable mobility, trans-European network, transport infrastructure, vocational training








C_2023177EN.01004801.xml










17.5.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 177/48






P9_TA(2022)0437
Action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail
European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2022 on the action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail (2022/2022(INI))
(2023/C 177/05)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to the Green Deal and subsequent Fit for 55 package;










—


having regard to the 4th Railway Package,










—


having regard to the White Paper entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ (COM(2011)0144,










—


having regard to the Commission Green Paper of 1995 entitled ‘Towards fair and efficient pricing in transport policy- options for internalising the external cost of transport in the European Union’ COM(1995)0691,










—


having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (1) (European Accessibility Act),










—


having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy — putting European transport on track for the future’ (COM(2020)0789),










—


having regard to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (2),










—


having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans- European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU (3) (TEN-T Regulation),










—


having regard to Directive (EU) 2021/1187 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 on streamlining measures for advancing the realisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) (4),










—


having regard to its resolution of 20 January 2021 on the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) guidelines (5),










—


having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2021 entitled ‘Railway safety and signalling: assessing the state of play of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) deployment’ (6),










—


having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 10 March 2020 on New Industrial Strategy for Europe,










—


having regard to Decision (EU) 2021/2316 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 December 2021 on a European Year of Youth (2022) (7),










—


having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations (8) (Rail Passengers’ Rights Regulation),










—


having regard to the Commission study of October 2021 entitled ‘Long-distance cross-border passenger rail services’,










—


having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A9-0242/2022),










A.


whereas the new Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy sets the milestone of doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and of tripling high-speed rail traffic by 2050;










B.


whereas high-speed rail passenger volumes nearly doubled between 2001 and 2018, proving that there is a demand for high-speed rail whenever it is provided (9);










C.


whereas EU airports are experiencing a significant increase in delays (10);whereas a significant capacity shortage (for around 1,5 million flights by 2040) has been forecast if no acute remedial measures are adopted (11); whereas road congestion costs the EU approximately EUR 110 billion per annum (1 % of the EU’s GDP) (12);










D.


whereas high-speed rail brings multiple benefits, such as reductions in fatalities, congestion and emissions, and has a positive economic impact by improving accessibility, cutting down travel times, and generating employment opportunities;










E.


whereas important legislative steps have been taken towards the completion of the single European railway area;










F.


whereas ERTMS trackside and on-board financing plays a key role in ensuring an enhanced deployment rate and increased safety and interoperability throughout the TEN-T while advancing the realisation of a truly interoperable European railway area;










G.


whereas the completion of TEN-T — while maintaining capacity to develop secondary networks — is crucial to advancing towards more sustainable modes of transport, in particular rail, and to boosting multimodal connectivity between EU cities, regions, peripheral areas and islands;










H.


whereas there are still technological barriers to the interoperability of trains between EU countries;










I.


whereas smart multimodal ticketing is a key instrument for encouraging greater use of sustainable rail and multimodal transport; whereas the rail network and stations can play a key role in integrating other modes of transport in the first/last mile connection;










J.


whereas the European Year of Rail 2021 was an opportunity to promote a shift towards making rail the backbone of passenger transport across the Union, better serving citizens and improving the development of the TEN-T network in the Member States;










K.


whereas the European Year of Youth 2022 is an opportunity to reinforce this momentum through actions directed at young people;










L.


whereas urban nodes are currently not sufficiently integrated into the current TEN-T network; whereas a significant number of last mile infrastructure for freight and multimodal connections for passengers is missing;












1.


Welcomes the Commission’s action plan and supports the proposed objectives to make rail transport more attractive, competitive and efficient;












2.


Welcomes the main objectives pursued under this action plan, in particular:






(a)


recognising the crucial role of rail in decarbonising mobility in the EU and taking initiatives to enable the single European railway area to become the prerequisite for the modal shift needed (13);










(b)


contributing to the establishment of the single European railway area, which will help to improve the EU internal market, meet the mobility needs of Europe’s citizens and foster the socio-economic cohesion of the Union;










(c)


boosting connectivity across the whole of Europe, including rural areas, remote regions, islands, mountainous areas and less populated zones;










(d)


reinforcing connectivity with enlargement and Eastern Partnership countries, in particular Ukraine and Moldova;










(e)


improving efficiency and ensuring high-quality transport services, while providing sufficient transport capacity and reducing travel times at appropriate fares;










(f)


ensuring fair competition among rail operators and establishing both a competitive level playing field and complementarity between transport modes;










(g)


ensuring the same level of protection in all different modes of transport and further reinforcement of passengers’ rights, which will foster the attractiveness of rail, in particular transport for young people, and guarantee equal access for all by fully implementing the European Accessibility Act;










(h)


ensuring and promoting the training, upskilling, reskilling and certification in line with future needs of train drivers and railway staff;










(i)


creating a framework to pave the way for an increase in investments in competitive long-distance rail transport passenger services;
















3.


Welcomes the establishment of cross-border pilot services and calls on the Commission to identify as soon as possible resources for this purpose and a clear timeframe with appropriate milestones and objectives;






Better implementation of the Union rail acquis and accelerated interoperability










4.


Welcomes the acceleration of the work to ensure the full implementation of the 4th Railway Package and the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI);












5.


Stresses that the full deployment of the ERTMS, through the achievement of the targets in the revised legislative proposal for the TEN-T Regulation, will help to create a digital single European railway area, ensuring the further development of increased network capacity, safe, secure, fast and efficient rail transport services for long-distance and cross-border connections;












6.


Highlights that boosting long-distance rail transport must be accompanied by its integration into different inter-regional, regional, urban and peri-urban rail networks as well as with other modes and TEN-T, thus improving door-to-door mobility; highlights that this will be crucial to increasing the attractiveness of rail and multimodal passenger transport services;












7.


Stresses the importance of speeding up the construction of new rail lines and of further promoting the completion of infrastructure projects, including bridges connecting islands to the mainland, in order to close existing missing links and to improve the integration of islands with the motorways of the sea;












8.


Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to speed up the Union-wide deployment of the ERTMS in the revision of the TEN-T Regulation while setting a deadline for the decommissioning of class-B legacy systems;












9.


Emphasises that regulatory predictability, including for technical specifications for interoperability, is a key to boosting the investments needed from public and private stakeholders to meet the deployment objectives for ERTMS and interoperability at EU and national level;












10.


Stresses the importance of ensuring the synchronised deployment of trackside systems and on-board units and of the need for improved ERTMS governance to ensure this synchronised deployment at both national and EU level, including by streamlining and accelerating procedures;












11.


Emphasises the need to ensure quick, sufficient and efficient financing and funding to support investments, which should involve competent authorities, that will allow the fastest possible deployment of ERTMS on-board units and other TSI standards (14) in public services;












12.


Commends the role of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), which is one of the pillars of European Union rail policy; points out that the ERA needs to be adequately funded so that it can provide support for the TEN-T completion objectives, particularly on cross-border sections;












13.


Calls on the Commission and Member States to take appropriate initiatives to further improve the attractiveness of investing in the ERTMS;












14.


Calls for efforts to extend the coordinated timetables already introduced in some Member States to the EU level in order to facilitate easy and smooth travel for all EU citizens across borders;






Strengthened infrastructure for passenger rail










15.


Considers that the timely completion of the multimodal, seamless TEN-T core network corridors by 2030 will be a first step to further network integration, is imperative and must involve the elimination of bottlenecks and missing links and the completion of cross-border sections; supports the completion of planned high-speed rail connections in the extended core network by 2040; believes that priority investments should be also directed at the development of long-distance, cross-border high-speed rail connections, especially in areas where there is currently no high-speed rail infrastructure; stresses, in the context of the revision of the TEN-T guidelines, the importance of connecting EU capitals by affordable and efficient high-speed train services and improving the quality of infrastructure; highlights that new high-speed lines are an effective tool for increasing the competitiveness of rail transport;












16.


Stresses the utmost importance of building new infrastructure to meet the demand for high-speed rail; recalls that doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 will require at least a 75 % increase in the current network length of 11 526 km (15);












17.


Stresses the role of TEN-T, high-quality rail links and multimodal transport in supporting economic growth and inclusivity, especially in isolated regions and areas with a significant structural gap; invites the Commission, therefore, to adopt actions and projects to support better connectivity of local sustainable and rail multimodal transport in peripheral and coastal areas with lower margins for development;












18.


Regrets the limited EU funding available through the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027 (CEF II), which only covers around 5 % of the total investment needed to complete the TEN-T core network (16);












19.


Stresses the need to improve the use of EU funds beyond European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the cohesion funds, including the CEF, NextGenerationEU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe programme (REACT-EU) or funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), for securing massive high-quality investments in sustainable and efficient transport infrastructure, including missing high-speed rail links;












20.


Stresses that given that only 44 % of EU border area residents currently have access to rail services (17) and that there are often no appropriate multimodal transport solutions, in order for TEN-T to play its role in fostering socio-economic and territorial cohesion in the EU internal market, smart connectivity to the TEN-T core network is needed and a further integration of different national networks must be developed, also including rural, remote, insular, peripheral and other disadvantaged areas in order to promote their socio-economic development;












21.


Stresses the significance of cross-border rail connections to the Western Balkans region, Ukraine and Moldova; notes that an effective and fast border-crossing mechanism at the EU’s external borders is key to ensuring seamless passenger rail connectivity between the EU and enlargement and Eastern Partnership countries;












22.


Welcomes the promising alternatives offered by hydrogen and battery-powered trains when electrification of a rail section is not possible;












23.


Supports the Commission’s focus on the completion of first/last mile multimodal hubs in urban nodes, thereby strengthening rail connectivity with air, sea and road transport; recalls, however, that smaller and less populated urban nodes should have efficient connections with multimodal hubs and terminals located at reasonable distances;












24.


Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen the strategic role of railway stations within an integrated and sustainable mobility system, in particular by supporting the modernisation of small stations;












25.


Welcomes the strengthening of the ERA’s role in certifying and authorising rolling stock in order to ensure smooth and timely processes, in particular for cross-border links, as well as in consolidating and reducing the number of national rules; encourages both the ERA and Member States, furthermore, to speed up their cooperation on ‘go-everywhere’ rolling stock specifications;






Sufficient rolling stock availability










26.


Calls for the clarification and simplification of State aid rules on the public funding of interoperable rolling stock for cross-border transport and related service facilities, as well as for railway infrastructure services in the revised Railway Guidelines, including the available instruments for financing such vehicles and the implementation of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol;












27.


Calls on railway companies to plan sufficient orders of high-speed rolling stock, in line with the Commission’s goals to double high-speed by 2040; points out, equally, that the rolling stock for night train services needs timely planning in order to facilitate the renaissance of night trains; draws attention, furthermore, to the fact that sufficient availability of rolling stock for the forthcoming planned reinstatement of regional cross-border rail links needs to be ensured;












28.


Maintains that better track safety should be matched by an equivalent level of technological and mechanical safety in the trains used every day to transport people and goods;












29.


Encourages the Commission, in view of its stated intentions, to further study and assess the possibility of establishing a European rolling stock pool and to continue discussions on how to implement this with the EIB;












30.


Emphasises the need for clear requirements and specifications for interoperability and further investments in rolling stock;












31.


Underlines that these investments are particularly critical when rolling stock is retrofitted with the multisystem applications necessary to enable cross-border and international operation in more than one country;












32.


Regrets that the drafting of the ‘go-everywhere’ rolling stock specifications has been moved to the next TSI revision, leading to a three-year delay; urges the Member States to prioritise cooperation with the ERA in order to boost the development of the ‘go-everywhere’ rolling stock specifications;












33.


Recalls that the Green Rail Investment Platform recently launched by the EIB is a key initiative for supporting and boosting public and private investment in rail projects; encourages rail operators, infrastructure managers, transport authorities and other stakeholders to access the Platform in order to address specific market needs;












34.


Calls for innovative initiatives to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-businesses; highlights the importance of taking into account local, regional and national needs in order to strengthen and stimulate the business environment for SMEs and to link it with the new industrial policy at EU level;












35.


Calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of bicycle carriages in cross-border passenger trains as provided for in the Rail Passengers’ Rights Regulation;






Bringing the training and certification of train drivers and railway staff into line with future needs










36.


Stresses that the lack of harmonisation of train driver certification may hamper their mobility between Member States and the development of long-distance passenger services, particularly in cross-border sections;












37.


Takes note of the importance of the language issue for train drivers involved in cross-border journeys, and calls on the Commission to promote the development of digital language tools as an affordable solution to help overcome language barriers and to bridge the existing gaps;












38.


Highlights, furthermore, the need to promote a single EU-wide working language, namely English, for train drivers operating long-distance and cross-border passenger rail connections who do not speak the languages of the Member States crossed during the journey;












39.


Supports language training for railway staff in order to ensure they can serve all travellers properly;












40.


Stresses the importance of a clear European skills strategy to remove the persistent technical and operational barriers which hinder cross-border traffic;












41.


Stresses the relevance of the New Industrial Strategy for Europe in supporting the reskilling and upskilling of train drivers, particularly in new digital skills; stresses, furthermore, the importance of ensuring employment rates and equal opportunities for all;












42.


Recalls that Directive (EU) 2016/798 (18) on railway safety provides for the specific certification of accompanying personnel; believes that qualified personnel are needed not only to improve the rail service, but above all to ensure the safety of rail transport in all its aspects;












43.


Calls for further initiatives to encourage women into professions in the rail sector;












44.


Calls for further initiatives to equip young people and the SME workforce with the relevant skills and knowledge;






More efficient use of networks










45.


Stresses the importance of ensuring improved use of the network especially along the TEN-T, and calls for measures to smooth passenger flow, including establishing transit and terminal nodes along high-speed routes, and to enhance the attractiveness of night trains; points out that these steps require close cooperation on mixed traffic lines in the design of passenger and freight arrangements in order to prevent bottlenecks and track congestion, which undermine the performance of the whole network;












46.


Highlights that the availability of capacity and an absence of bottlenecks is key for efficient network use and in order to increase the modal share of rail;












47.


Encourages Member States to provide a multi-annual perspective in the funding of their infrastructure in order to allow planned and internationally coordinated infrastructure maintenance and development, reduce temporary capacity restrictions and improve reliability in international rail;












48.


Encourages the Commission to use the ‘connectivity index’ it is currently developing for the precise identification of the infrastructure investment needed to secure the network effect;












49.


Highlights the role of digitalisation, the need for adequate cybersecurity and better coordination, in particular for cross-border rail traffic; stresses, in this regard, the need for better coordination in the way that capacity is managed in Member States’ networks, with a view to improving the utilisation of available capacity; calls, therefore, for greater harmonisation of procedures and criteria for capacity planning and allocation, as well as full interoperability of digital tools; asks the Commission to consider the creation of coordination mechanisms for the better integration of cross-border rail traffic into national traffic and, therefore, for more efficient management of rail capacity for both passenger and freight trains;












50.


Insists on the need for more efficient cross-border track allocation;






Appropriate pricing for track access










51.


Welcomes the Commission’s upcoming plans to publish guidelines for setting track access charges and to encourage reduced track access charges on the set-up of cross-border services, as well as transparency in their calculation;












52.


Reiterates the importance of track access charges as a decisive factor that influences the rail market; calls on the Commission to suggest recommendations for dedicated infrastructure charges for night trains in the upcoming Guidelines;












53.


Stresses the importance of fair and appropriate track access pricing for all operators, while guaranteeing equal treatment for incumbent operators and new entrants and ensuring that infrastructure networks are adequately funded;












54.


Emphasises that track access charging is a relevant revenue stream for infrastructure managers and recalls that one calculation for track charges is based on scarcity caused by the lack of sufficient infrastructure capacity (19);






User-friendly ticketing and access to the rail system










55.


Acknowledges that making long-distance rail passenger services more attractive requires:






(a)


more accessible smart ticketing to facilitate multimodal journey planning: passengers should have a seamless user experience when searching, selecting, and buying their railway services with impartial ticket retail — meaning that all rail operators’ tickets are sold through all ticket channels; in order to achieve seamless ticketing, through-ticketing that by design already contains the possibility for the eventual introduction of multimodal ticketing should be considered and promoted;










(b)


appropriate protection for passengers in the event of delays or missed connections: regardless of whether they have booked a through ticket or separate tickets, passengers should benefit, as a minimum, from journey continuation, which is a key factor in their choice of transport mode;
















56.


Calls for rail tickets to clearly provide the information on the CO2 footprint of the journey booked that is already publicly available (e.g. through websites such as EcoPassenger) in order to further encourage modal shift by means of well-informed mobility planning;












57.


Looks forward to the upcoming Commission proposal on multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS) with the aim of further enhancing travel data access, availability and exchange, and of facilitating the conclusion of fair commercial agreements with both principles being essential for all market participants; highlights the needed for cooperation between railway undertakings and ticket vendors to improve ticket distribution, establishing fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions for the exchange of data via machine readable formats based on open standards, through application programming interfaces (APIs) with specific provisions for disturbances and/or cancellations of service;












58.


Stresses the importance of ensuring fair, easily accessible, affordable and advantageous ticket prices for all categories of passengers, including the most vulnerable, as well as of the accessibility to platforms and tickets providers, in particular for senior passengers as well as for people with reduced mobility;












59.


Highlights the need for a comprehensive approach with clear implementation milestones for achieving easier access to multimodal connections based on interoperable solutions that are fit for purpose;












60.


Calls on the Commission to continue monitoring compliance with the new Rail Passengers’ Rights Regulation;






Level playing field with other transport modes










61.


Considers that all possible avenues should be explored to ensure a level playing field with other transport modes; welcomes the Commission’s announcement that it would assess an EU-wide VAT exemption for international train services and the revision and simplification of State aid rules;












62.


Stresses that transparent information should be available for passengers to make more sustainable choices, and that the ‘CountEmission EU’ initiative could help establish a framework for emission comparisons;












63.


Calls on the Member States to optimise the use of public funds to improve public transport, e.g. rail services, which can carry large passenger volumes and meet the ever-growing demand for transportation;






Public service obligations to promote sustainable cross-border and/or multimodal collective transport










64.


Highlights the vital role that rail transport plays in keeping transport functioning even in crises by accommodating enormous passenger influxes within short periods;












65.


Emphasises that public service contracts, in complement to a clear improvement of a non-discriminatory market framework for commercially-driven services, can play a key role in promoting the continuity of cross-border services for European citizens and improving connections to interesting destinations, such as tourist and historical destinations, by providing rail services that help to maintain a dense, regular, reliable and quality rail network, even to less attractive destinations;












66.


Believes that public service obligations in complement to an improved and fair market framework can promote the use of rail, including in long-distance passenger transport, in particular in the case of market failures in cross-border sections, in particular last kilometre routes, perhaps in combination with other profitable network segments;






Empowering youth










67.


Calls on the Commission and Member States to sustain the momentum of the 2021 European Year of Rail in the 2022 European Year of Youth by encouraging young people to travel by train and attracting them to professions in the rail sector, which is facing skill shortages driven by innovation and digitalisation for ensuring adequate salary levels and working conditions;












68.


Believes that a single European high-speed rail network is important for connecting people, including young people; maintains that access to education and jobs will improve cohesion in Europe;












69.


Welcomes the Commission's planned initiatives to make the provision of cross-border night train services easier, and furthermore encourages rail undertakings to realise the full potential of night trains;




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70.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.






(1)  OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70.

(2)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32.

(3)  OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(4)  OJ L 258, 20.7.2021, p. 1.

(5)  OJ C 456, 10.11.2021, p. 47.

(6)  OJ C 99, 1.3.2022, p. 2.

(7)  OJ L 462, 28.12.2021, p. 1.

(8)  OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1.

(9)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, EU transport in figures: statistical pocketbook 2021, Publications Office, 2021.

(10)  https://www.eurocontrol.int/press-release/european-aviation-facing-serious-capacity-challenges-now-and-future

(11)  https://www.eurocontrol.int/sites/default/files/2020-01/eurocontrol-nm-user-forum-2020-airport-perspective-schiphol.pdf

(12)  https://www.eca.europa.eu/lists/ecadocuments/ap19_07/ap_urban_mobility_en.pdf

(13)  Commission communication to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ (COM(2019)0640).

(14)  The Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) define the technical and operational standards to ensure the interoperability of the railway system of the European Union. The TSI for telematics applications subsystem (TAP) concerns applications for passenger services, including systems providing passengers with information before and during the journey, for reservation and payment systems, luggage management and management of connections between trains and with other modes of transport.

(15)  Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) Fact Sheet ‘A TEN-T to make modal shift and the European Green Deal a reality,’ Brussels, December 2021.

(16)  Ibid.

(17)  Medeiros, E. et al., ‘Boosting cross-border regions through better cross-border transport services. The European case,’Case Studies on Transport Policy, 9 (2021), March 2021.

(18)  Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (recast) (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 102).

(19)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Long-distance cross-border passenger rail services: final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.