Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. Fifth report on monitoring development of the rail market

The rail sector makes a substantial contribution to the EU economy, directly employing about 900,000 people. Rail transport is also critical to the EU strategy for improving environmental performance of the transport sector, economic and social cohesion and connectivity within and between Member States.

This report is the fifth edition of rail market monitoring reports submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council pursuant to Article 15(4) of Directive 2012/34/EU (‘the Recast Directive’). The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of main developments in rail markets in the context of EU rail market policy objectives. It covers a broad range of topics such as the evolution of the internal market in rail services and services to be supplied to railway undertakings, the framework conditions including for public passenger transport services by rail, the state of the Union railway network, the utilisation of access rights, barriers to more effective rail services, infrastructure limitations and the need for legislation. A full analysis is presented in the accompanying staff working document.

This report is based on data and contributions from various sources, including Member States’ responses to the rail market monitoring survey (RMMS), the statistical pocketbook ‘EU transport in Figures’, reports of the European Union Agency of Railways, Eurostat and various other resources. In July 2015, the Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation for rail market monitoring, establishing a new mandatory data collection mechanism which should lead to more consistent and coherent reporting in future.

EUR-Lex: SWD(2016)427: Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the report http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2016:427:FIN

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