PURPOSE: to set out the conditions to be met to achieve interoperability within Community territory of the trans-European high-speed rail system.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive 2004/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system and Directive 2001/16/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the interoperability of the trans-European conventional rail system. (Corrigendum to the Regulation published in OJ L164 of 30 April 2004).

CONTENT: this Directive has been adopted as part of the second railway package. The Second Railway Package will help to accelerate the integration of the market by removing important obstacles to cross-border services. It will guarantee a high level of safety for railway operation and will contribute to reducing costs and facilitating operations through a greater harmonisation of technical standards in the railway sector.

It should be stressed that rail's share of the freight market has continued to decline and is now under 8%. In half of the EU countries the volume of goods transported by rail diminished, making a total decline of one per cent between 2002 and 2003. Equally, the opening of the railway freight market is too slow and new entrants share only 3 to 4% of the market.

The aim of this Directive is to amend Council Directive 96/48/EC and Directive 2001/16/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European rail system. Amendment of the interoperability Directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC. This amendment is essentially designed to ensure consistency of scope between the network on which there will be open access and that subject to the interoperability rules, with a progressive extension of the field of application to the whole European network.

The aim of this Directive is to establish the conditions to be met to achieve interoperability within Community territory of the trans-European high-speed rail system. These conditions concern the design, construction, placing in service, upgrading, renewal, operation and maintenance of the parts of this system placed in service, as well as the qualifications and health and safety conditions of the staff who contribute to its operation.

The pursuit of this objective must lead to the definition of an optimal level of technical harmonisation and make it possible to:

facilitate, improve and develop international rail transport services within Community territory and with third countries; contribute to the gradual creation of the internal market in equipment and services for the construction, operation, renewal and upgrading of the trans-European high-speed rail system; contribute to the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system.

This Directive states that trains must be equipped with a recording device. The data collected by this device and the processing of the information must be harmonised.

The Commission shall adopt, by 1 January 2006, a work programme aiming at the development of new TSIs and/or the review of TSIs already adopted with a view to covering the lines and rolling stock not yet covered. This work programme will indicate a first group of new TSIs and/or amendments to TSIs to be developed by January 2009, as regards the possibility of providing for specific cases and allowing for derogations in particular circumstances. The choice of the subjects to be covered by the TSIs will be based on the expected cost-effectiveness of each proposed measure and on the principle of proportionality of measures taken at Community level.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 30/04/2004.

TRANSPOSITION: 30/04/2006.

Directive 2004/50
OJ L 164 30.04.2004, p. 0114
Corrigendum to final act 32004L0050R(01)
OJ L 220 21.06.2004, p. 0040

T5-0357/2004
OJ C 104 30.04.2004, p. 0743-0949 E

T5-0357/2004

Debate in Parliament

3639/2004

3639/2004

A5-0243/2004

A5-0243/2004

COM(2003)0719
EUR-Lex

T5-0455/2003
OJ C 082 01.04.2004, p. 0320-0536 E

T5-0455/2003

Debate in Parliament

A5-0321/2003

A5-0321/2003

SEC(2003)0754
EUR-Lex

08556/2/2003
OJ C 270 11.11.2003, p. 0007-0024 E

10840/2003

08556/2/2003

10587/2001

10587/2003

T5-0006/2003
OJ C 038 12.02.2004, p. 0016-0119 E

Debate in Parliament

T5-0006/2003

2472

A5-0418/2002

A5-0418/2002

CDR0097/2002

2452

CES1028/2002
OJ C 061 14.03.2003, p. 0131

2420

PURPOSE : to amend Directives 96/48/CE et 2001/16/CE to take account of experience in implementing the Directives, and the development of the technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), proposals on safety and an Agency, and the adoption of the infrastructure package.

CONTEXT : This proposal is part of a package to revitalise the Community railway system by creating an integrated European railway system. The directive is linked to other proposals in this same package, in particular the proposal to establish a common regulatory framework for railway safety and the proposal to create a European Rail Agency. It applies a gradual approach to harmonisation and the development of common principles, taking into account the great differences that exist between the Member States. The other measures in the package relate to safety, the establishment of a European Railway Agency, and the integration of the rail freight market.

CONTENT : Directive 2001/16/EC on the interoperability of the conventional rail system, like that on the high-speed system, introduces Community procedures for the preparation and adoption of TSIs and common rules for assessing conformity to these specifications.

The directive requires a first group of priority TSIs to be adopted within three years, i.e. in 2004, in certain areas.

A number of lessons have been learned from the work on developing TSIs in the high-speed sector, the application of the directive to specific projects and the work of the Committee set up under Article 21 of Directive 96/48/EC, which have led the Commission to propose changes to the two rail interoperability directives.

They mainly concern the following points:

-precise objectives of the directive,

-geographical scope,

-technical scope,

-how the European specifications should be used,

-coordination of the notified bodies,

-application of the directive and of the TSIs in the case of upgrading, renewal and maintenance work,

-implementation strategy to be specified in the TSIs,

-verifications after placing in service, with TSIs not covering all the essential requirements,

-need for registers of infrastructure and rolling stock and

-independence of the notified bodies.

Furthermore, the establishment of an Agency and the adoption of a directive on safety, as proposed jointly with this proposal, (please see COD /2002/0022, COD/2002/0024, COD/2002/0025) mean that some provisions of the two rail interoperability directives need to be reformulated.

In particular, the mandates for developing and reviewing the TSIs would no longer be addressed to the joint representative body, but to the Agency, which would assume responsibility for the draft TSI while relying on the joint working groups proposed by the JRB.

Lastly, the adoption of the "infrastructure package" (Directives 2001/12, 13 and 14) means that the entry into force of these new directives also has an impact on the implementation of interoperability. In particular, the complete opening up of the rail network to international freight services, scheduled for 2008 by Directive 2001/12/EC, implies the need to implement interoperability on the whole network. It is therefore necessary to extend the geographical scope, in particular since the related proposal to amend Directive 91/440/EEC provides for opening up the network sooner.

COM(2002)0022
EUR-Lex
OJ C 126 28.05.2002, p. 0312 E

PURPOSE : to amend Directives 96/48/CE et 2001/16/CE to take account of experience in implementing the Directives, and the development of the technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs), proposals on safety and an Agency, and the adoption of the infrastructure package.

CONTEXT : This proposal is part of a package to revitalise the Community railway system by creating an integrated European railway system. The directive is linked to other proposals in this same package, in particular the proposal to establish a common regulatory framework for railway safety and the proposal to create a European Rail Agency. It applies a gradual approach to harmonisation and the development of common principles, taking into account the great differences that exist between the Member States. The other measures in the package relate to safety, the establishment of a European Railway Agency, and the integration of the rail freight market.

CONTENT : Directive 2001/16/EC on the interoperability of the conventional rail system, like that on the high-speed system, introduces Community procedures for the preparation and adoption of TSIs and common rules for assessing conformity to these specifications.

The directive requires a first group of priority TSIs to be adopted within three years, i.e. in 2004, in certain areas.

A number of lessons have been learned from the work on developing TSIs in the high-speed sector, the application of the directive to specific projects and the work of the Committee set up under Article 21 of Directive 96/48/EC, which have led the Commission to propose changes to the two rail interoperability directives.

They mainly concern the following points:

-precise objectives of the directive,

-geographical scope,

-technical scope,

-how the European specifications should be used,

-coordination of the notified bodies,

-application of the directive and of the TSIs in the case of upgrading, renewal and maintenance work,

-implementation strategy to be specified in the TSIs,

-verifications after placing in service, with TSIs not covering all the essential requirements,

-need for registers of infrastructure and rolling stock and

-independence of the notified bodies.

Furthermore, the establishment of an Agency and the adoption of a directive on safety, as proposed jointly with this proposal, (please see COD /2002/0022, COD/2002/0024, COD/2002/0025) mean that some provisions of the two rail interoperability directives need to be reformulated.

In particular, the mandates for developing and reviewing the TSIs would no longer be addressed to the joint representative body, but to the Agency, which would assume responsibility for the draft TSI while relying on the joint working groups proposed by the JRB.

Lastly, the adoption of the "infrastructure package" (Directives 2001/12, 13 and 14) means that the entry into force of these new directives also has an impact on the implementation of interoperability. In particular, the complete opening up of the rail network to international freight services, scheduled for 2008 by Directive 2001/12/EC, implies the need to implement interoperability on the whole network. It is therefore necessary to extend the geographical scope, in particular since the related proposal to amend Directive 91/440/EEC provides for opening up the network sooner.

COM(2002)0022
EUR-Lex