1 Freight transport
| (30304)
17324/08
+ ADD 6
COM(08) 852
| Draft Regulation concerning a European rail network for competitive freight
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| Legal base | Article 71(1) EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 11 December 2008
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| Deposited in Parliament | 9 January 2009
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| Department | Transport |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 26 January 2009
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Possibly 11-12 June 2009
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
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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.
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