European rail sector applauds full adoption of Fourth Railway Package Technical Pillar
Today, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the Council Common Position on the Technical Pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, as agreed during the trialogue negotiations that came to an end in June 2015. The text will now undergo some further procedural steps in order to be published in the EU Official Journal in the coming months.
CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies), UIP (International Union of Wagon Keepers) and UNIFE (European Rail Industry Association) enthusiastically welcome this progress towards the entry into force of the revised Directives on Safety and Interoperability and of the revised Regulation on a European Railway Agency (ERA). This new legal framework will deeply reform the EU rail sector by fostering competition and encouraging innovation in railway markets, and is a major step towards the achievement of a Single European Railway Area. The long awaited final adoption of the Technical Pillar will cut the time and cost necessary to obtain authorisation for locomotives and rolling stock for use on the European rail network.