On the 18th of June, the Council of the European Union adopted a General Approach to the Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on Railway Infrastructure Capacity (COM (2023) 443).
However, the adopted approach does not meet the goals of the regulation which are to optimise railway capacity, improve cross-border coordination, increase punctuality and reliability, and attract more freight to rail.
The Council’s approach prolongs the fragmented national system, undermining European rail freight by allowing for unbinding European rules, open to national derogations.
International coordination is fundamental for effective capacity management as opposed to the current fragmented infrastructure management.
UIP together with the rail freight associations ERFA, CLECAT, ESC and UIRR advocate ahead of the upcoming trilogue negotiations between the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council for a text that emphasizes meeting the business requirements of a functioning European Rail Freight Market.
You can find the joint statement to the right of the page.