One-stop shop for application for infrastructure capacity
1. The management board for a freight corridor shall designate or set up a joint body for applicants to request and to receive answers, in a single place and in a single operation, regarding infrastructure capacity for freight trains crossing at least one border along the freight corridor (hereinafter referred to as a ‘one-stop shop’).
2. The one-stop shop shall, as a coordination tool, also provide basic information concerning the allocation of the infrastructure capacity, including the information referred in Article 18. It shall display infrastructure capacity available at the time of request and its characteristics in accordance with pre-defined parameters, such as speed, length, loading gauge or axle load authorised for trains running on the freight corridor.
3. The one-stop shop shall take a decision with regard to applications for pre-arranged train paths specified in Article 14(3) and for the reserve capacity specified in Article 14(5). It shall allocate the capacity in line with rules regarding capacity allocation as set out in Directive 2001/14/EC. It shall inform the competent infrastructure managers of these applications and the decision taken without delay.
4. For any request of infrastructure capacity which cannot be met pursuant to paragraph 3, the one-stop shop shall forward the application for infrastructure capacity without any delay to the competent infrastructure managers and, where relevant, the allocation bodies as referred to in Article 14(2) of Directive 2001/14/EC, who shall take a decision on that application in accordance with Article 13 and Chapter III of that Directive and communicate this decision to the one-stop shop for further processing.
5. The activities of the one-stop shop shall be carried out in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner. To this end a register shall be kept which shall be made freely available to all interested parties. It shall contain the dates of the requests, names of the applicants, details of documentation supplied and of incidents which have occurred. These activities shall be subject to the control of the regulatory bodies in accordance with Article 20.
Capacity allocated to freight trains
1. The executive board shall define the framework for the allocation of the infrastructure capacity on the freight corridor in accordance with Article 14(1) of Directive 2001/14/EC.
2. The management board shall evaluate the need for capacity to be allocated to freight trains running on the freight corridor taking into account the transport market study referred to in Article 9(3) of this Regulation, the requests for infrastructure capacity relating to the past and present working timetables and the framework agreements.
3. On the basis of the evaluation specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, infrastructure managers of the freight corridor shall jointly define and organise international pre-arranged train paths for freight trains following the procedure referred to in Article 15 of Directive 2001/14/EC recognising the need for capacity of other types of transport, including passenger transport. They shall facilitate journey times, frequencies, times of departure and destination and routings suitable for freight transport services with a view to increasing the transport of goods by freight trains running on the freight corridor. These pre-arranged train paths shall be published not later than 3 months before the final date for receipt of requests for capacity referred to in Annex III to Directive 2001/14/EC. The infrastructure managers of several freight corridors may, if necessary, coordinate international prearranged train paths offering capacity on the freight corridors concerned.
4. These pre-arranged train paths shall be allocated first to freight trains which cross at least one border.
5. Infrastructure managers shall, if justified by market need and the evaluation as referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, jointly define the reserve capacity for international freight trains running on the freight corridors recognising the need for capacity of other types of transport, including passenger transport and keep this reserve available within their final working timetables to allow for a quick and appropriate response to ad hoc requests for capacity as referred to in Article 23 of Directive 2001/14/EC. This capacity shall be reserved until the time limit before its scheduled time as decided by the management board. This time limit shall not exceed 60 days.
6. The management board shall promote coordination of priority rules relating to capacity allocation on the freight corridor.
7. Infrastructure managers may include in their conditions of use a fee for train paths that are allocated but ultimately not used. The level of this fee shall be appropriate, dissuasive and effective.
8. Save in the case of force majeure, including urgent and unforeseeable safety-critical work, a train path allocated to a freight operation pursuant to this Article may not be cancelled less than 2 months before its scheduled time in the working timetable if the applicant concerned does not give its approval for such cancellation. In such a case the infrastructure manager concerned shall make an effort to propose to the applicant a train path of an equivalent quality and reliability which the applicant has the right to accept or refuse. This provision shall be without prejudice to any rights the applicant may have under an agreement as referred to in Article 19(1) of Directive 2001/14/EC. In any case, the applicant may refer the matter to the regulatory body referred to in Article 20 of this Regulation.
9. The management board of the freight corridor and the advisory group referred to in Article 8(7) shall put in place procedures to ensure optimal coordination of the allocation of capacity between infrastructure managers, both for requests as referred to in Article 13(1) and for requests received by infrastructure managers concerned. This shall also take account of access to terminals.
10. In paragraphs 4 and 9 of this Article, references to infrastructure managers shall include, where relevant, allocation bodies as referred to in Article 14(2) of Directive 2001/14/EC.
Authorised applicants
Notwithstanding Article 16(1) of Directive 2001/14/EC, applicants other than railway undertakings or the international groupings that they make up, such as shippers, freight forwarders and combined transport operators, may request international pre-arranged train paths specified in Article 14(3) and the reserve capacity specified in Article 14(5). In order to use such a train path for freight transport on the freight corridor these applicants shall appoint a railway undertaking to conclude an agreement with the infrastructure manager in accordance with Article 10(5) of Directive 91/440/EEC.
Traffic management
1. The management board of the freight corridor shall put in place procedures for coordinating traffic management along the freight corridor. The management boards of connected freight corridors shall put in place procedures for coordinating traffic along such freight corridors.
2. The infrastructure managers of the freight corridor and the advisory group referred to in Article 8(7) shall put in place procedures to ensure optimal coordination between the operation of the railway infrastructure and the terminals.
Traffic management in the event of disturbance
1. The management board shall adopt common targets for punctuality and/or guidelines for traffic management in the event of disturbance to train movements on the freight corridor.
2. Each infrastructure manager concerned shall draw up priority rules for the management between the different types of traffic in the part of the freight corridors within the responsibility of that infrastructure manager in accordance with the common targets and/or guidelines referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Those priority rules shall be published in the network statement referred to in Article 3 of Directive 2001/14/EC.
3. The principles for establishing the priority rules shall at least provide that the train path referred to in Article 14(3) and (4) allocated to freight trains which comply with their scheduled time in the working timetable shall not be modified, as far as possible. The principles for establishing the priority rules shall aim at minimising the overall network recovery time with regard to the needs of all types of transport. For this purpose, infrastructure managers may coordinate the management between the different types of traffic along several freight corridors.
Information on the conditions of use of the freight corridor
The management board shall draw up, regularly update and publish a document containing:
(a)
all the information contained in the network statement for national networks regarding the freight corridor, drawn up in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 3 of Directive 2001/14/EC;
(b)
the list and characteristics of terminals, in particular information concerning the conditions and methods of accessing the terminals;
(c)
the information concerning the procedures referred to in Articles 13 to 17 of this Regulation; and
(d)
the implementation plan.
Quality of service on the freight corridor
1. The management board of the freight corridor shall promote compatibility between the performance schemes along the freight corridor, as referred to in Article 11 of Directive 2001/14/EC.
2. The management board shall monitor the performance of rail freight services on the freight corridor and publish the results of this monitoring once a year.
3. The management board shall organise a satisfaction survey of the users of the freight corridor and shall publish the results of it once a year.
Regulatory bodies
1. The regulatory bodies referred to in Article 30 of Directive 2001/14/EC shall cooperate in monitoring the competition in the rail freight corridor. In particular, they shall ensure non-discriminatory access to the corridor and shall be the appeal bodies provided for under Article 30(2) of that Directive. They shall exchange the necessary information obtained from infrastructure managers and other relevant parties.
2. Member States, in order to foster free and fair competition on the freight corridors, shall endeavour to establish a comparable regulatory level. Regulatory bodies shall be easily accessible to the market players, and shall be able to take decisions independently and efficiently.
3. In the event of a complaint to a regulatory body from an applicant regarding international rail freight services, or within the framework of an own-initiative investigation by a regulatory body, this regulatory body shall consult the regulatory bodies of all other Member States through which the international train path for freight train concerned runs and request all necessary information from them before taking its decision.
4. The regulatory bodies consulted under paragraph 3 shall provide all the information that they themselves have the right to request under their national legislation to the regulatory body concerned. This information may only be used for the purpose of the handling of the complaint or the investigation referred to in paragraph 3.
5. The regulatory body receiving the complaint or having initiated the own-initiative investigation shall transfer relevant information to the regulatory body responsible in order for that body to take measures regarding the parties concerned.
6. Any associated representatives of infrastructure managers as referred to in Article 15(1) of Directive 2001/14/EC shall ensure provision, without delay, of all the information necessary for the purpose of the handling of the complaint or the investigation referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and requested by the regulatory body of the Member State in which the associated representative is located. This regulatory body shall be entitled to transfer such information regarding the international train path concerned to the regulatory bodies mentioned in paragraph 3 of this Article.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
