Freight liberalisation measures on right track but ‘don’t go far enough’

Date: 24/01/02

By Laurence Frost

PRIVATE train operators have welcomed new moves to liberalise EU freight markets but say the measures do not go far enough.

The proposals tabled yesterday (23 January) by Loyola de Palacio, the transport commissioner, would open all of the Union's freight routes to competition. But train companies want greater independence for the firms managing rail networks and allocating access to rival operators.

'We would, of course, have loved to see some further separation between infrastructure management and the old railway operators,' said Lars Braberg, director of EU affairs for IKEA Rail, the furniture giant's new freight division set up last year to supply its pan-European network of superstores.

The Union's old state railway monopolies are already required to separate their accounts for infrastructure and services, under the package of liberalisation measures that were adopted last year.

But the rules allow some, including France's SNCF and Germany's Deutsche Bahn, to keep the two functions under one roof - which private operators say is a recipe for unfairness when it comes to the allocation of infrastructure.

'My fear is that they might favour the old national companies which will still be part of the same group,' said Braberg. But he accepted that complete separation would be 'politically impossible' for the Commission to push through amid opposition led by Germany and France - where summer presidential elections are scheduled.

Deutsche Bahn, which handed its infrastructure to DBNetz under a common holding, insists that close ministerial supervision will ensure fairness.

'The interconnections between rolling stock and infrastructure should be in the same hands,' said Klaus Ebeling, its director of EU affairs. Imposing a complete split could lead to safety problems, Ebeling added.

Countries that have kept the involvement of state-owned operators in infrastructure point to the failed privatisation of Railtrack, the UK's network manager, to justify a more cautious approach.

From its 1996 launch until it was placed in administration last October, Railtrack has been blamed for a series of crashes and widespread emergency repairs, as well as chronic delays.

'This wouldn't happen under an integrated structure,' said Ebeling. 'We would have a closer eye on what's happening, and the network would be under constant pressure from other parts of the company.'

• The new measures unveiled complete the liberalisation of freight, which began with the Trans-European Freight Network. Accounting for 80 of the EU's total freight network, these cross-border routes are earmarked for open competition next year under the 2001 directive.

Under the new plan, 'cabotage' would also come in, allowing rail freight operators to compete with rival providers outside their own country.

A separate directive establishes a European Railway Agency to oversee compliance with new EU safety principles. It will also supervise work on interoperability - removing administrative and technical barriers to cross-border rail services.

Private train operators have welcomed new moves to liberalise EU freight markets but say the measures do not go far enough.

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/index_en.htm

---