Rail industry urges road tolls before track charges

Date: 24/09/1998

By Renée Cordes

RAIL companies are calling on the European Commission to delay proposals to increase track charges until road users pay a 'fair' price.

“It is counterproductive if, as a first step, you impose charges on rail and not on road,” said Patrick Jeanne, spokesman for the Community of European Railways (CER), representing the EU's rail operators.

“It is silly to first impose fees on the most environmentally friendly mode and leave charges on the most polluting modes until last,” he added.

The CER's position paper is the first official response to Kinnock's 'fair and efficient pricing' proposals which were adopted by the Commission in July.

The organisation says that while it supports the introduction of extra fees as a general principle, it would oppose any proposed legislation to boost rail charges while road pricing remains “so inefficient”.

The CER is calling on the Commission to develop a charging system based on environmental and other costs incurred by the use of cars.