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 of 2001. 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 amended 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, EU Member States may choose between different organisational models. These models range from full structural separation to vertical integration.
There are detailed financial transparency rules governing 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

Member States must ensure that all railway companies have equal access to tracks and stations. However, they 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 and 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.
Regulatory bodies have 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 relation to taking investment decisions and 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.

The details of the procedure and the criteria to be followed when determining whether the economic equilibrium of a public service contract for rail transport would be compromised by a new rail passenger service regardless of whether it is domestic or international (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1795).
The 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 calculation of direct costs for use of railway infrastructure (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/909).
The reporting obligations of the Member States regarding rail market monitoring (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1100).
The 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.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

Directive 2012/34/EU had to be transposed into national law by 16 June 2015. The rules contained in the directive should apply from the same date.

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 into the basic text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Choose the experimental features you want to try