EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Council of Ministers RAILWAY REFORM Summary of Principal Questions for Regulatory Reform and the Development of Rail Freight Markets

92410 Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format CEMT/CM(2000)19/FINAL 2 KEY ISSUES FOR DEBATE: The fundamental objective of regulatory reform for freight rail services is twofold: improvement of efficiency; and improvement of competitiveness in freight markets. Regulatory reform is intimately linked to structural reform to which there are two distinct elements in Europe: restructuring of railways nationally to create business units and financial relationships between them that provide incentives for improved control of costs and quality of service; and restructuring internationally to create business structures better adapted to serving markets in an increasingly integrated European and world economy. Progressive liberalisation of rail freight markets is being pursued, notably in the European Union, as an essential component of regulatory reform at the international level, with the introduction of competition between freight train operators. In this context, key current issues in the regulation of freight railways in ECMT countries can be summarised as follows. a) How should cooperation between railways be promoted in order to improve efficiency and quality of service in international operations? What forms of alliance are most effective? What should be the policy towards mergers and acquisitions? Under what circumstances should they be blocked and what actions should be required as conditions of their approval? b) How can adequate investment in infrastructure be ensured, whether from the public or private sector, when pricing infrastructure use at levels that do not drive freight traffic off the railways? c) How feasible is light touch regulation on multiuser networks where incumbent operators dominate the competition for access to infrastructure and to markets? d) How best can management independence from Government be guaranteed for rail freight companies. What role should privatisation have? e) How can appropriate priority be ensured for freight services competing for train paths with passenger services, reflecting the economic value of freight services? How can international timetabling be improved in this respect?