A single railway network for Europe

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2012/34/EU establishing a single European railway area

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

Directive 2012/34/EU aims to clarify the legal rules that apply to the European Union’s (EU) rail sector in order to:

improve quality through stimulating competition;
strengthen market supervision; and
improve conditions for investment.

The directive merges and repeals the three directives from the ‘first railway package’. These directives concern:

the development of the EU’s railways (Directive 2001/12/EC);
the licensing of railway companies (Directive 2001/13/EC); and
the management of railway infrastructure (Directive 2001/14/EC).

Directive (EU) 2016/2370 amends Directive 2012/34/EU with regard to the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services and the governance of railway infrastructure.

KEY POINTS

Increased quality through competition

Directive 2012/34/EU:

permits greater transparency as regards the conditions of access to the rail market;
improves the access for operators to rail-related services such as:
- railway stations,
- freight terminals, and
- maintenance facilities.

Infrastructure managers*

When infrastructure is operated by railway companies that have historically had a dominant position on the market, it must:
- be independent in terms of organisation and decision-making; and
- have separate accounting systems.
Subject to appropriate safeguards being in place to ensure the independence of the infrastructure manager as regards essential functions*, traffic management and maintenance planning, amending Directive (EU) 2016/2370 allows EU Member States to choose between different organisational models. These models range from full structural separation to vertical integration.
Amending Directive (EU) 2016/2370 introduces rules on loans, dividends to railway company owners and financial flows into vertically integrated companies. These rules are designed to prevent the distortion of competition, in particular the risk of cross-subsidisation in integrated structures.

Domestic passenger services

Amending Directive (EU) 2016/2370 ensures that all railway companies have equal access to tracks and stations. However, Member States may limit the right of access to passenger services between a given place of departure and a given destination when one or more public service contracts cover the same route. This also applies when one or more public service contracts cover an alternative route, if exercising this right were to compromise the economic equilibrium of the contract or contracts in question.

Regulatory control

Directive 2012/34/EU strengthens the independence of national regulatory bodies that oversee the national rail market. These bodies may impose fines in the case of inappropriate conduct or may carry out audits. Regulatory control is strengthened by means of close cooperation between the regulatory bodies and the national authorities responsible for rail safety and licensing.
Amending Directive (EU) 2016/2370 gives regulatory bodies the power to monitor:
- traffic management;
- renewal planning; and
- scheduled and unscheduled maintenance works.

Rail financing

The competent public authorities must prepare longer-term investment strategies to offer more stability to the infrastructure manager, in taking investment decisions and in planning works, and more certainty to investors, in order to encourage companies to invest in modernising infrastructure. These strategies should cover a period of at least 5 years and should be renewable.

Adoption of implementing and delegated acts

The European Commission has adopted a series of implementing acts that supplement Directive 2012/34/EU and concern the following.

An economic equilibrium test, to be carried out in the case of new rail passenger services (Implementing Regulation (EU) No 869/2014). From 12 December 2020, Regulation (EU) No 869/2014 will be repealed and replaced by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1795, which ensures that the same criteria and procedures apply to all new rail passenger services, regardless of whether they are domestic or international.
Criteria for applicants for railway infrastructure capacity (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/10).
Certain aspects of the procedure of licensing railway companies (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/171).
The modalities to be followed for applying the charges of the cost of noise effects (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/429).
The calculation of direct costs for use of railway infrastructure (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/909).
Reporting obligations of the Member States regarding rail market monitoring (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1100).
Procedures and criteria concerning framework agreements for the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/545).
Access to service facilities and rail-related services (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2177).

In 2017, the Commission adopted Delegated Decision (EU) 2017/2075 replacing Annex VII to Directive 2012/34/EU. This concerns the schedule for the infrastructure capacity-allocation process.

COVID-19 pandemic

Regulation (EU) 2020/698 introduces temporary flexibility concerning the renewal or extension of certain certificates, licences and authorisations, and the postponement of certain periodic checks and periodic training in certain areas of EU transport legislation in order to help companies and authorities deal with the exceptional circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulation extends by 6 months the time limits for carrying out the regular review of licences and the validity of temporary licences as laid down in Directive 2012/34/EU. Its Article 13 also contains rules on the treatment of licences of railway companies in the event of non-compliance with financial fitness requirements.
Regulation (EU) 2020/1429 lays down temporary rules on the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure so as to allow national authorities and infrastructure managers to deal more easily with a number of negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, for as long as those consequences persist. It applies to the use of infrastructure for both domestic and international rail services covered by Directive 2012/34/EU for the reference period of 1 March 2020 until 31 December 2020. It allows infrastructure managers to reduce, waive or defer the minimum-access-package charges and the reservation charges. Regulation (EU) 2022/312 extends the reference period of temporary measures introduced by Regulation (EU) 2020/1429 until 30 June 2022.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

Directive 2012/34/EU had to be transposed into national law by 16 June 2015.
The application of many of the rules introduced by amending Directive (EU) 2016/2370 was phased in over a period between 1 January 2019 and 14 December 2020 (as set out in Article 3(2) of the directive).

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

Railway packages (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Infrastructure manager. Any body or firm responsible for operating, maintaining and renewing railway infrastructure on a network, and for participating in its development as determined by a Member State as part of its general policy on developing and financing its infrastructure.

Essential functions. Decision-making concerning: train path allocation, including both defining and assessing the availability and allocation of individual train paths; and infrastructure charging, including determining and collecting charges.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area (OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, pp. 32–77).

Successive amendments to Directive 2012/34/EU have been incorporated in the basic text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.