Debate: Action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail
Date: MONDAY, 12 DECEMBER 2022
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

As stated in the action plan, the Commission will continue with the enforcement of the full and correct implementation of the EU rail acquis and with the removal of remaining barriers that hinder setting up and operating cross-border long distance rail services. In the coming period we plan to propose a number of initiatives in this regard, this has also been identified in your report. We will propose an initiative on multimodal ticketing. Passengers must be able to see all available travel options and all available fares, not just the options that are of commercial interest to operators or to ticket platforms. The passenger is the one to choose. Data needs to be open for consumers and businesses in order to drive up the quality of services. We will also propose an initiative on a more efficient process of capacity allocation and traffic management. A key weakness of the current legislative framework is its reliance on an annual timetable process for the management and allocation of capacity. This process is too rigid and does not allow neither long-term planning to ensure optimal use of capacity nor short-term allocation of capacity to accommodate short notice requests. We will tackle this. Furthermore, we aim to improve the cross-border coordination of capacity, so that cross-border services can be operated more efficiently. Train operators are also inefficient because of obstacles to the mobility of the train drivers across Member States, employers or in terms of road. This is even more important in the rail-freight sector, since 50% of freight trains in Europe are cross-border and are for longer distances. This is why we will propose a revision of the Train Drivers Directive to ensure that the train drivers can easily move between Member States and rail companies while also benefiting from the last technological innovation. And yes, indeed, the language: it does not exist a common language right now in the rail sector. So the cross-border operations require trained drivers to be able to communicate with dispatchers in different languages. And this is a huge obstacle. And the commission is assessing now possible alternatives to the current requirement in our impact assessment. We will also revise the technical specification for interoperability. These are vital to provide a common, legally binding European basis for rail, with the possibility to use the same type of trains anywhere. Not only do the specifications ensure interoperability, they should also reduce costs, as harmonised products can be developed once and deployed across the EU and beyond, since the technical specifications for interoperability are becoming the reference regulatory framework for many other countries. The action plan also announces pilot services, in which interested stakeholders can propose to the Commission their plans for cross-border long-distance passenger services and indicate where they see obstacles the Commission can help with. We do this work taking into account all passengers, including those with reduced mobility and disability, ensuring accessibility. We have received an encouraging number of interesting proposals and they are currently being evaluated. In January we will present the results of the evaluation and discuss the next steps with the proposers. And with that, I would like to thank you again for your work on this own-initiative report and I am looking forward for its adoption in the plenary.