Seventh Report of Session 2008-09 - European Scrutiny Committee Contents


1 Freight transport


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17324/08

+ ADD 6

COM(08) 852

Draft Regulation concerning a European rail network for competitive freight

Legal baseArticle 71(1) EC; co-decision; QMV
Document originated11 December 2008
Deposited in Parliament9 January 2009
DepartmentTransport
Basis of considerationEM of 26 January 2009
Previous Committee ReportNone
To be discussed in CouncilPossibly 11-12 June 2009
Committee's assessmentPolitically important
Committee's decisionNot cleared; further information awaited

Background

1.1 In October 2007 the Commission published a Communication Towards a rail network giving priority to freight, as part of a "freight package". The package was debated in European Committee in February 2008.[1]

The document

1.2 This draft Regulation is concerned with the selection of trans-European routes to be designated as international rail freight corridors and their governance. It provides for:

  • Member States to select routes for designation as such corridors;
  • all Member States to participate in at least one, two or three international rail freight corridors (dependant on the volume of the Member State's annual rail freight tonnage) at most three years after entry into force of the Regulation;
  • criteria for the selection of such corridors, which includes that corridors should be part of the Trans-European Transport Network;
  • infrastructure managers of Member States along corridors to form themselves into a governance body, with independent legal status, to have a steering role in relation to the implementation, investment planning and organisation of the corridor;
  • the governance body to set up a "one-stop shop" to provide a single point at which applicants can request train paths along its freight corridor;
  • the introduction of at least two categories of freight traffic for each corridor, one of which must be "priority freight" for goods requiring efficient transport time and guaranteed punctuality;
  • train paths allocated to priority freight not to be cancelled, reallocated or modified with less than three months notice without the consent of the path holder, except in cases of force majeure; and
  • the Commission, assisted by a comitology[2] committee, to decide on Member States' applications for a derogation from the provisions of the Regulation.

1.3 The draft Regulation is accompanied by the Commission's summary impact assessment (the impact assessment itself and its four annexes have been published in French only).

The Government's view

1.4 The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis), says, in his Explanatory Memorandum of 26 January 2009, that:

  • the Government's assessment of the measures proposed and its position with regard to them remains subject to further analysis and clarification to be provided by the Commission;
  • we will be sent a more advanced evaluation as soon as possible; and
  • there will be also a full impact assessment with a robust evaluation of options, costs, benefits and the wider effects of the proposals as soon as possible.

1.5 Meanwhile the Minister tells us that:

  • the Government is already developing a Strategic Freight Network, which will provide a core network of trunk freight routes, capable of accommodating more and longer freight trains, with a selective ability to handle wagons with higher axle loads and greater loading gauge, integrated with and complementing the UK's existing mixed traffic network;
  • the draft Regulation's objectives are consistent with the aspiration in the Strategic Freight Network to develop a European gauge cleared rail freight route through the Channel Tunnel via the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to the Midlands or beyond;
  • the exact scope and extent of the proposed powers of the governance bodies proposed in the draft Regulation is not clear;
  • however, the Government considers that governance bodies making joint investment and funding decisions, and with executive powers affecting the UK network, would be unacceptable as this would go against Government policy and mechanisms for rail infrastructure funding and corridor management;
  • if governance bodies did have some form of executive powers over the operations of individual members, that is the relevant infrastructure mangers of the designated freight corridors, for example the powers to direct how they should allocate train paths or target investment, then this would raise the issue of compatibility of such powers with members proprietary rights and their freedom to conduct their businesses and their freedom of contract and how far it would be legitimate to restrict those rights;
  • the Commission's concept of priority freight must balance the interests of such freight flows with those of domestic and international passenger traffic — stakeholders will be consulted on this issue;
  • as the UK moves around 20 billion tonne-kilometres of rail freight each year it would have to participate in at least one international rail freight corridor within three years of entry into force of the Regulation;
  • in relation to the possibility of derogation from the Regulation, the Commission would take into consideration a Member State's geographical situation and its development of rail freight transport services when making a decision on derogation;
  • in relation to the requirement that rail freight corridors be set up in a manner consistent with the Trans-European Transport Network and for integration into that network and to provision of Trans-European Transport Network funding for development of corridors (including rail), it is likely that a Commission Green Paper on the Trans-European Transport Network, expected in February 2009, will seek to identify new corridors;
  • therefore it is important that the objectives of this proposal and the Trans-European Transport Network are consistent in order to maximise the benefits of Community intervention.

1.6 In relation to assessing the impact and the financial implications of the proposal the Minister says that:

  • it is not possible yet to comment on the Commission's impact assessment on the methodology or robustness of the appraisal;
  • the summary of the impact assessment covers the net present value (the sum of the benefits minus the costs over the appraisal period) for the whole of the European Rail Infrastructure Master Plan network;[3]
  • the total net present value of the chosen option at the societal level, for example including environmental and economic impacts, across the European Rail Infrastructure Master Plan network is given as €547,471 million (£521,416 million). Most of this consists of environmental impacts of €541,886 million (£516,128 million) of which the majority result from reduced congestion;
  • there are also net benefits arising from technical harmonisation of infrastructure (reduced waiting times at borders and a reduction in the cost of rail freight), rules for allocating train paths and managing traffic (additional capacity and reduced journey times for freight, although with some increase to passenger journey times) and changes to terminals (including reduced waiting and transfer times);
  • the Government anticipates that the major benefits to the UK would derive from decreased journey times and greater journey time reliability for rail freight, greater efficiencies through the co-ordination of the freight corridor and fewer distortions to competition through reduced "border penalties". This would reduce the cost of rail freight making it more attractive relative to road and, all other things being equal, encourage modal shift of freight from road to rail, along with its environmental and road congestion benefits;
  • the costs to the UK would be the necessary investment in infrastructure, for example extending sidings and transfer tracks, and a possible increase in passenger journey times resulting from a network which gives greater priority to freight. The magnitude of these costs and benefits would depend on which corridors were designated in the UK and the nature of existing and future traffic on them.

1.7 On consultation the Minister tells us that:

  • the Government previously sought the views of rail industry stakeholders on the Commission Communication Towards a rail network giving priority to freight;
  • a stakeholder consultation on the draft Regulation will be launched as soon as possible to help inform the Government's policy stance; and
  • it is likely that the Government may need to shorten the length of the consultation (usually three months) to ensure stakeholders' views can be sufficiently taken into account during Council negotiations.

Conclusion

1.8 Although enhancing freight transport by rail may be a laudable objective, the Minister's preliminary comments show that this draft Regulation may need significant amendment. So before we consider the matter further we will await the promised fuller evaluation and impact assessment. We will also wish to see, in due course, the outcome of the consultation with stakeholders.

1.9 Meanwhile the document remains under scrutiny.




1   (29039) 14277/07 + ADDs 1-2 (29017) 14165/07 + ADD 3 (29019) 14175/07 ADDs 1-2 (29035) 14266/07 + ADDs 1-2; see HC 16-iv (2007-08), chapters 4,5,6 and 7 (28 November 2007) and Stg Co Deb, European Committee, 4 February 2008, cols. 3-28. Back

2   Comitology is the system of committees which oversees the exercise by the Commission of legislative powers delegated to it by the Council and the European Parliament. Comitology committees are made up of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the Commission. There are three types of procedure (advisory, management and regulatory), an important difference between which is the degree of involvement and power of Member States' representatives. So-called "Regulatory with Scrutiny", introduced in July 2006, gives a scrutiny role to the European Parliament in most applications of comitology. Back

3   The plan established by the International Union of Railways (UIC): see http://www.uic.asso.fr/infra/ERIM,73.html and http://www.uic.asso.fr/infra/IMG/jpg/erim_corridors.jpg.  Back


 
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