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Designation of initial freight corridors
The Member States referred to in the Annex shall make operational by the dates set out therein the initial freight corridors set out in the Annex. The Member States concerned shall inform the Commission about the establishment of the freight corridors.
Criteria for further freight corridors
The selection of further freight corridors referred to in Article 5 and the modification of freight corridors referred to in Article 6 shall take account of the following criteria: (a) the crossing by the freight corridor of the territory of at least three Member States, or of two Member States if the distance between the terminals served by the freight corridor is greater than 500 km; (b) the consistency of the freight corridor with the TEN-T, the ERTMS corridors and/or the corridors defined by RNE; (c) the integration of TEN-T priority projects ( 7 ) into the freight corridor; (d) the balance between the socio-economic costs and benefits stemming from the establishment of the freight corridor; (e) the consistency of all of the freight corridors proposed by the Member States in order to set up a European rail network for competitive freight; (f) the development of rail freight traffic and major trade flows and goods traffic along the freight corridor; (g) if appropriate, better interconnections between Member States and European third countries; (h) the interest of the applicants in the freight corridor; (i) the existence of good interconnections with other modes of transport, in particular due to an adequate network of terminals, including in maritime and inland ports.
Selection of further freight corridors
1. Each Member State with a rail border with another Member State shall participate in the establishment of at least one freight corridor, unless this obligation has already been met under Article 3. 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States shall, upon request from a Member State, participate in the establishment of the freight corridor as referred to in that paragraph or the prolongation of an existing corridor, in order to allow a neighbouring Member State to fulfil its obligation under that paragraph. 3. Without prejudice to the obligations of Member States under Article 7 of Directive 91/440/EEC, where a Member State considers, after having provided a socio-economic analysis, that the establishment of a freight corridor would not be in the interest of the applicants likely to use the freight corridor or would not bring significant socio-economic benefits or would cause a disproportionate burden, the Member State concerned shall not be obliged to participate as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, subject to a decision of the Commission acting in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 21(2). 4. A Member State shall not be obliged to participate as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 if it has a rail network which has a track gauge which is different from that of the main rail network within the Union. 5. The establishment of a freight corridor shall be proposed by the Member States concerned. For this purpose they shall send jointly to the Commission a letter of intent including a proposal drawn up after consultation of the infrastructure managers and applicants concerned, taking into account the criteria set out in Article 4. In order to meet the obligation under paragraphs 1 and 2, the Member States concerned shall send jointly to the Commission a letter of intent by 10 November 2012. 6. The Commission shall examine the proposals for the establishment of a freight corridor as referred to in paragraph 5 and, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(3), adopt a decision on the compliance of such a proposal with this Article at the latest 9 months after submission of the proposal. 7. The Member States concerned shall establish the freight corridor at the latest two years after the decision of the Commission referred to in paragraph 6.
Modification of further freight corridors
1. The freight corridors referred to in Article 5 may be modified on the basis of a joint proposal by the Member States concerned to the Commission after consulting the infrastructure managers and applicants concerned. 2. The Commission shall, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(3), adopt a decision on the proposal taking into account the criteria set out in Article 4.
Reconciliation
When two or more Member States concerned do not agree on the establishment or modification of a freight corridor, and with regard to the railway infrastructure located on their territory, the Commission, at the request of one of the Member States concerned, shall consult the Committee referred to in Article 21 on this matter. The opinion of the Commission shall be sent to the Member States concerned. The Member States concerned shall take this opinion into account in order to find a solution and shall take a decision on the basis of mutual consent.
Governance of freight corridors
1. For each freight corridor, Member States concerned shall establish an executive board responsible for defining the general objectives of the freight corridor, supervising and taking the measures as expressly provided for in paragraph 7 of this Article, and in Articles 9 and 11, Article 14(1) and Article 22. The executive board shall be composed of representatives of the authorities of the Member States concerned. 2. For each freight corridor, the infrastructure managers concerned and, where relevant, the allocation bodies as referred to in Article 14(2) of Directive 2001/14/EC, shall establish a management board responsible for taking the measures as expressly provided for in paragraphs 5, 7, 8 and 9 of this Article, and in Articles 9 to 12, Article 13(1), Article 14(2), (6) and (9), Article 16(1), Article 17(1) and Articles 18 and 19 of this Regulation. The management board shall be composed of the representatives of the infrastructure managers. 3. The Member States and infrastructure managers concerned by a freight corridor shall cooperate within the boards referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 to ensure the development of the freight corridor in accordance with its implementation plan. 4. The executive board shall take its decisions on the basis of mutual consent of the representatives of the authorities of the Member States concerned. 5. The management board shall take its decisions, including decisions regarding its legal status, the establishment of its organisational structure, resources and staffing, on the basis of mutual consent of the infrastructure managers concerned. The management board may be an independent legal entity. It may take the form of a European economic interest grouping within the meaning of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2137/85 of 25 July 1985 on the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) ( 8 ) . 6. The responsibilities of the executive and management boards shall be without prejudice to the independence of infrastructure managers as provided for in Article 4(2) of Directive 91/440/EEC. 7. The management board shall set up an advisory group made up of managers and owners of the terminals of the freight corridor including, where necessary, sea and inland waterway ports. This advisory group may issue an opinion on any proposal by the management board which has direct consequences for investment and the management of terminals. It may also issue own-initiative opinions. The management board shall take any of these opinions into account. In the event of disagreement between the management board and the advisory group, the latter may refer the matter to the executive board. The executive board shall act as an intermediary and provide its opinion in due time. The final decision however shall be taken by the management board. 8. The management board shall set up a further advisory group made up of railway undertakings interested in the use of the freight corridor. This advisory group may issue an opinion on any proposal by the management board which has consequences for these undertakings. It may also issue own-initiative opinions. The management board shall take any of these opinions into account. 9. The management board shall coordinate in accordance with national and European deployment plans the use of interoperable IT applications or alternative solutions that may become available in the future to handle requests for international train paths and the operation of international traffic on the freight corridor.
Measures for implementing the freight corridor plan
1. The management board shall draw up an implementation plan at the latest 6 months before making the freight corridor operational and shall submit it for approval to the executive board. This plan shall include: (a) a description of the characteristics of the freight corridor, including bottlenecks, and the programme of measures necessary for creating the freight corridor; (b) the essential elements of the study referred to in paragraph 3; (c) the objectives for the freight corridors, in particular in terms of performance of the freight corridor expressed as the quality of the service and the capacity of the freight corridor in accordance with the provisions of Article 19; (d) the investment plan referred to in Article 11; and (e) the measures to implement the provisions of Articles 12 to 19. 2. The management board shall periodically review the implementation plan taking into account progress made in its implementation, the rail freight market on the freight corridor and performance measured in accordance with the objectives referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1. 3. The management board shall carry out and periodically update a transport market study relating to the observed and expected changes in the traffic on the freight corridor, as a consequence of its being established, covering the different types of traffic, both regarding the transport of freight and the transport of passengers. This study shall also review, where necessary, the socio-economic costs and benefits stemming from the establishment of the freight corridor. 4. The implementation plan shall take into account the development of terminals to meet the needs of rail freight running on the freight corridor, in particular by acting as intermodal nodes along the freight corridors. 5. The management board shall, as appropriate, take measures to cooperate with regional and/or local administrations in respect of the implementation plan.
Consulting applicants
The management board shall introduce consultation mechanisms with a view to the proper participation of the applicants likely to use the freight corridor. In particular, it shall ensure that applicants are consulted before the implementation plan referred to in Article 9 is submitted to the executive board.
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Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.