CELEX: 
Language: en
Date: 2017-03-17
Title: COMMISSION DELEGATED DECISION (EU) …/… replacing Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a single European railway area

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
            
            
               1.CONTEXT OF THE DELEGATED ACT
            
            
               The act aims at a better use of the available rail infrastructure by increasing the flexibility and the predictability of timetabling and reducing the need to amend train paths once allocated, in particular for cross border train services. Railway infrastructure is essential for the provision of rail transport services, the capacity of which the infrastructure manager has to allocate on a non-discriminatory basis.
            
            
               2.CONSULTATIONS PRIOR TO THE ADOPTION OF THE ACT
            
            
               The matter has been consulted at the level of the Railway Undertakings' Dialogue and with infrastructure managers at the PRIME meetings in 2016. The Expert Group on Rail Market discussed draft versions of the act at two dedicated one day meetings in autumn 2016. RailNetEurope, the association of infrastructure managers for cooperation as regards  capacity allocation, consulted its members and shared the conclusions with Commission services in January 2017.
            
            
               3.LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE DELEGATED ACT
            
            
               The act relies on four elements: (1) it provides for a procedure to request and allocate infrastructure capacity between the end of the annual application period and the beginning of the new working timetable in December; (2) it requests infrastructure managers to consult with applicants before blocking capacity for maintenance of their tracks; (3) it prohibits certain practices of bad treatment of trains crossing different networks, notably at internal EU borders; (4) it creates obligations on the operators of service facilities, such as stations and terminals, to facilitate ad-hoc requests for train paths.
            
            
               COMMISSION DELEGATED DECISION (EU) …/…
            
            
               of XXX
            
            
               replacing Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a single European railway area
            
            
               (Text with EEA relevance)
            
            
               THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
            
            
               Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
            
            
               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
                  1
               , and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,
            
            
               Whereas:
            
            
               (1)Applicants for the allocation of infrastructure capacity should be able to submit late requests for the incorporation of capacity into the annual working timetable in a second application round before the beginning of the timetable period. In each round, the infrastructure manager should coordinate conflicting requests.
            
            
               (2)Once the train paths are allocated, the contractual rights of the applicant would include a right to reject or approve a request for rescheduling made by the infrastructure manager 
            
            
               (3)Temporary capacity restrictions are necessary to keep the infrastructure and its equipment in good condition and to allow infrastructure development in accordance with market needs.
            
            
               (4)Applicants should receive early information on upcoming capacity restrictions allowing them to adapt their operations and transport needs in accordance with restrictions in infrastructure capacity. If information on upcoming capacity restrictions is already published before the beginning of the application period, there should be less need to reschedule already allocated trains paths. 
            
         
         
            
               (5)Infrastructure managers should not only take into account their own costs when choosing between different alternatives for capacity restrictions, but also the commercial and operational constraints of the applicants concerned and the risks of transport being shifted to less environmentally friendly modes of transport. 
            
            
               (6)Infrastructure managers should establish, publish and apply transparent criteria as regards the diversion of trains and the allocation of a restricted capacity to different types of traffic. 
            
            
               (7)Infrastructure managers should adapt their network statements and timetabling procedures to ensure timely compliance with the new rules on capacity restrictions as introduced by this Decision.
            
            
               (8)As regards train operations crossing more than one network, the infrastructure managers concerned should coordinate to minimise impact of capacity restrictions on the traffic and to synchronise works on a given route or avoid restricting capacity on a diversionary route. 
            
            
               (9)Ad-hoc requests for train paths should be combined with short response times by operators of service facilities to provide a flexible access to the infrastructure. 
            
            
               (10)For reasons of legal clarity and taking into account the number of amendments that need to be made in Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU, that Annex should be replaced in its entirety. Moreover, in order to simplify the regulatory framework, a Delegated Decision is the appropriate legal instrument as it imposes clear and detailed rules which do not require transposition by Member States ensuring rapid uniform implementation throughout the Union.
            
            
               (11)Directive 2012/34/EU should therefore be amended accordingly,
            
            
               HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
            
            
               Article 1
            
            
               Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Decision. 
            
            
               Article 2
            
            
               This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
            
            
               Done at Brussels,
            
            
               
                     For the Commission
               
               
                     The President 
                     Jean-Claude JUNCKER
               
            
         
         
            
                  
                     (1)
                  
                        OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32.
               
            
      
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               ANNEX
            
            
               to the
            
            
               COMMISSION DELEGATED DECISION
            
            
               replacing Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a single European railway area 
            
            
               "Annex VII
            
            
               SCHEDULE FOR THE ALLOCATION PROCESS
            
            
               (referred to in Article 43)
            
            
            
               (1)The working timetable shall be established once per calendar year.
            
            
               (2)The change of working timetable shall take place at midnight on the second Saturday in December. Where a change or adjustment is carried out after the winter, in particular to take account, where appropriate, of changes in regional passenger traffic timetables, it shall take place at midnight on the second Saturday in June and at such other intervals between these dates as are required. Infrastructure managers may agree on different dates and in this case they shall inform the Commission if international traffic may be affected. 
            
            
               (3)The first deadline for receipt of requests for capacity to be incorporated into the working timetable shall be twelve months at the latest before the entry into force of the working timetable and the second deadline shall be six months at the latest before the entry into force of the working timetable.
            
            
               (4)No later than 11 months before the working timetable comes into force, the infrastructure managers shall ensure that provisional international train paths have been established in cooperation with other relevant infrastructure managers. Infrastructure managers shall ensure that as far as possible these are adhered to during the subsequent processes. 
            
            
               (5)The infrastructure manager shall prepare and publish in its network statement a first working timetable at the latest four months after the first deadline referred to in point (3). 
            
            
               (6)The infrastructure manager shall decide as soon as possible on the requests it receives after the first deadline referred to in point (3) in one of the following ways: 
            
            
               (a)individually, for any allocation request received before the beginning of the timetable period;
            
            
               (b)pursuant to a coordination process in accordance with Article 46, for allocation requests received before the second deadline referred to in point (3). 
            
            
               The infrastructure manager may only request to reschedule an allocated train path if the rescheduling meets all the following conditions:
            
            
               (a)it is necessary to avoid a conflict arising from a request submitted before the second deadline referred to in point (3);
            
            
               (b)it is necessary to ensure the best possible matching of all path requests; 
            
         
         
            
               (c)it is approved by the applicant to which the path had been allocated. 
            
            
               The infrastructure manager shall prepare an updated working timetable including all requests received before the second deadline referred to in point (3) that it allocated and publish the updated working timetable at the latest two months after that deadline. 
            
            
               The infrastructure manager shall indicate in the network statement the lines for which it intends to apply the procedure provided for in point (b) of the first paragraph. 
            
            
               (7)In the case of trains crossing from one network to another which arrive with a presumed delay of not more than 18 hours, the infrastructure manager of the other network shall not consider the train path cancelled unless the railway undertaking informs the infrastructure manager that it will not cross to the other network. Infrastructure managers that applied delays of six hours or more on [Publications Office: Please insert the PUBLICATION DATE of this AMENDING ACT.] may decide to continue to apply that delay for not more than three years after that date. 
            
            
               (8)Operators of service facilities shall respond to ad-hoc requests for access to or supply of services in their facility, or both, as quickly as possible within the time limit defined by the regulatory body in accordance with Article 13(4), which shall not exceed 24 hours of the opening time of the facility. Where the request for capacity is submitted more than seven days before the date on which it is applied for, the regulatory body may set a time limit for the operators of the service facility to respond which may be more than 24 hours.
            
            
               (9)As regards temporary restrictions of the capacity of railway lines,  for reasons such as infrastructure works, axle weight, train length, traction or, if the railway undertaking considers the speed reduction as significant for certain services, reduced speed ('capacity restrictions') of a duration of more than one week and affecting more than 40% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line, the infrastructure manager shall consult the applicants and the main operators of service facilities concerned at least 18 months before the beginning of the timetable period and publish the remaining available capacity 12 months before the beginning of the timetable period. As regards capacity restrictions of a duration of more than three days and affecting more than 20% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line, the infrastructure manager shall consult the applicants and the main operators of service facilities concerned at least 9 months before the beginning of the timetable period. As regards capacity restrictions of a duration of more than one day and affecting more than 10% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line, the infrastructure manager shall consult the applicants concerned at least 6 months before the beginning of the timetable period. 
            
            
               (10)In case of capacity restrictions necessary to re-establish safe train operations, the infrastructure manager may decide not to apply the periods laid down in point (9) if the timing of the restrictions is beyond the control of the infrastructure manager or the application of those periods would be cost ineffective or irresponsible as regards asset life or condition. In those cases, the infrastructure manager shall consult the applicants concerned forthwith.
            
            
               (11)The information to be provided by the infrastructure manager when acting in accordance with point (9) or point (10) shall include the planned day and, as soon as it can be set, the hour of the beginning and of the end of the capacity restriction, the section of line affected by the restriction and, where applicable, the capacity of diversionary lines. The infrastructure manager shall publish that information, and a link to it, in its network statement as referred to in point (3) of Annex IV at the same time it consults the applicants and operators. The infrastructure manager shall keep this information updated. 
            
            
               (12) As regards the capacity restrictions of a duration of at least seven days and affecting more than 30% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line, the infrastructure manager shall provide the interested applicants upon their request with a comparison of the conditions to be encountered under at least two alternatives of capacity restrictions. The infrastructure manager shall design those alternatives jointly with the interested applicants. The comparison shall, for each alternative, include at least the duration of the capacity restriction, the expected indicative infrastructure charges due, the capacity available on diversionary lines, the available alternative routes and the indicative travel times. Before making a choice between the alternatives of capacity restrictions, the infrastructure manager shall consult the interested applicants and take into account the impacts of the different alternatives on the applicants and users of the services. 
            
            
               (13) As regards the capacity restrictions of a duration of more than one week and affecting more than 40% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line, the infrastructure manager shall establish criteria for diverting trains providing different types of service, taking into account the applicant's commercial and operational constraints and without prejudice to the aim of reducing costs of the infrastructure manager in accordance with Article 30(1). The infrastructure manager shall publish those criteria together with a preliminary allocation of the remaining capacity to the different types of train services when it acts in accordance with point (9). After the end of the consultation and without prejudice to the obligations of the infrastructure manager as referred to in point (3) of Annex IV, the infrastructure manager, based on the feed-back it received from the applicants and the operational constraints, shall provide the railway undertakings concerned with an indicative break-down by type of service to the remaining capacity. 
            
            
               (14) In case of the capacity restrictions of a duration of at least seven days and affecting more than 30% of the estimated traffic volume on a railway line and concerning train services crossing more than one network in the Union, this point shall apply by derogation from point (9).  The infrastructure managers mainly concerned with those train services shall take into account the commercial and operational constraints of the applicants concerned and the main operators of service facilities concerned in accordance with Article 53(2). To that end, if the impact of the capacity restrictions is not limited to one network, the infrastructure managers mainly concerned shall hold a first consultation with the applicants and the main operators of service facilities concerned and publish known/planned capacity restrictions no later than 24 months before the beginning of the timetable period. The infrastructure managers mainly concerned shall set up a task force and arrange a first meeting at least 18 months before the beginning of the timetable period. The task force shall help prepare timetables, including the provision of diversion routes. The infrastructure managers shall, when necessary, invite the applicants active on the lines concerned, the associations of infrastructure managers referred to in Article 40(1) and the operators of service facilities concerned to attend the meetings of the task force. The infrastructure managers mainly concerned shall agree on the capacity restrictions and publish remaining available capacity no later than 12 months before the beginning of the timetable period."