News
BackThe railway needs more competition; hence, more far-reaching liberalisation of railway transport than has taken place so far is necessary, informed EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas the audience at a European economic and social committee (EESC) on future EU railway legislation, which had been organised by the European Commission, this week. The publication of the so-called fourth railway package, which will outline details on new liberalisation steps, has been planned to already take place in December. As it is unfortunately always the case when EU transport issues are discussed, not a single word was dedicated to railway employees.
EU Commissioner Kallas: competition above all else
In his opening address, EU Commissioner Kallas outlined which changes he wants to see in the now fourth railway package: one idea is to turn the European Railway Agency into a “One Stop Shop”, which means that the Agency shall take all necessary decisions, which are required for the approval of rolling stock. The rail passenger market shall be opened further as, according to the Commissioner, there was too little competition in this sector. He also hinted at regulations for public transport, which are supposed to result in more competition. If it was according to the EU Commissioner, further steps should be taken to ensure that infrastructure management is fully independent from railway operations.
Mandatory tendering to operate public passenger transport services
During the course of the conference, one Commission official went into more detail concerning passenger transport services. According to him, the Commission is in favour of mandatory tendering to operate all passenger transport services; the contracting authorities shall no longer be granted any scope, with only a few exceptions from this general rule. This could ultimately mean that all tram and tube lines would have to be invited to tender.
Falling market shares in spite of three railway packages – who is to blame?
For some speakers it was obvious who was responsible for the fact that the liberalisation of the railway sector had not resulted in the desired success so far: the trade unions were to blame. MEP Dominique Riquet of the European People's Party pointed out that attempts had been made for 20 years to open the railway sector, but that this - due to the resistance shown by many - had brought little success. The liberal MEP Philippe de Backer also criticised the many obstacles that still existed in the railway market. For him, one hindrance concerning the opening of the railway sector was the trade union, which insisted on retaining old structures. He could see this in his own country, Belgium. Trade union representatives did not have the opportunity to defend themselves against these attacks. Even though more than two dozen speakers had been invited to the all-day conference, there was not a single labour representative among them. The invitation policy of the Commission showed that almost exclusively only supporters of the Commission’s policy had been invited to the conference.
Criticism from the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies CER
An absolute exception was the Chairman of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies CER, Mauro Moretti who at least indirectly criticised the European Commission: Moretti commented that during the past 20 years 3 liberalisation packages had already been adopted and that it was not conducive to change the framework every two or three years. This procedure would make it impossible to make the relevant adjustments. With regard to passenger markets, the CER chairman is against the option of awarding contracts directly; he would prefer a uniform legal framework on the basis of subsidiarity. Moretti also sharply criticised that compared to road transport, the rail sector would be burdened with high costs, which would mean that the latter would suffer serious competitive disadvantages. He rejected the separation that had been planned for the infrastructure manager because it would not result in more competition.
Promoting railway operating companies
During the course of the conference, several speakers of private railway operating companies had the opportunity to praise their enterprises: for example the First Great Western from Great Britain, which was able to record an increase in passengers carried of up to 50 percent on individual lines during the last 8 years, or the Italian Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, which advertised its new high speed trains or the provider Amadeus, which is specialised in IT transport solutions.
A representative of the Rumanian railway, who also got a chance to speak, told the audience of a network that had shrunk from 11,000 to 8,000 km resp. whose number of passengers over the past 10 years had been reduced by 15 %, not to mention a rolling stock, 50 % of which was between 21 and 40 years old; 10 % of the rolling stock was even almost 60 years old. However, the speaker supported the plans of the Commission because they would bring more competition; apart from that many trans-European networks would go via Rumania.
Disappointment about the Commission’s approach
Once again the Commission disappoints with regard to its approach concerning rail transport. Instead of tackling the question, why - in spite of three railway packages with plenty of Directives and Regulations - the rail market shares are in decline, the Commission stubbornly pursues its chosen path. Road transport is getting cheaper and cheaper whilst the rail sector is constantly confronted with new costs. Way down the ladder of priorities are probably also the needs of society. For example, the Commission does not give any thought to secondary lines that are not profitable. It is mainly concerned with lucrative main and high speed lines, which are highly interesting for private operators. The incarnation of cherry picking. And then right at the end are the employees. A speaker at the conference commented that the example of German train drivers would show that there was no social dumping in the rail sector; private operators would pay them between 85 and 95 % of the wages that state-owned train operators would pay. However, the fact that Europe is not Germany and that apart from that a large part of employees are not train drivers , is just ignored.
The Commission plans to publish its proposal on the fourth railway package at the end of the year. Unfortunately, given the opinions and speeches given at the conference, it will remain doubtful whether the package will bring any benefits to society and to employees of the railway sector.
In his opening address, EU Commissioner Kallas outlined which changes he wants to see in the now fourth railway package: one idea is to turn the European Railway Agency into a “One Stop Shop”, which means that the Agency shall take all necessary decisions, which are required for the approval of rolling stock. The rail passenger market shall be opened further as, according to the Commissioner, there was too little competition in this sector. He also hinted at regulations for public transport, which are supposed to result in more competition. If it was according to the EU Commissioner, further steps should be taken to ensure that infrastructure management is fully independent from railway operations.
Mandatory tendering to operate public passenger transport services
During the course of the conference, one Commission official went into more detail concerning passenger transport services. According to him, the Commission is in favour of mandatory tendering to operate all passenger transport services; the contracting authorities shall no longer be granted any scope, with only a few exceptions from this general rule. This could ultimately mean that all tram and tube lines would have to be invited to tender.
Falling market shares in spite of three railway packages – who is to blame?
For some speakers it was obvious who was responsible for the fact that the liberalisation of the railway sector had not resulted in the desired success so far: the trade unions were to blame. MEP Dominique Riquet of the European People's Party pointed out that attempts had been made for 20 years to open the railway sector, but that this - due to the resistance shown by many - had brought little success. The liberal MEP Philippe de Backer also criticised the many obstacles that still existed in the railway market. For him, one hindrance concerning the opening of the railway sector was the trade union, which insisted on retaining old structures. He could see this in his own country, Belgium. Trade union representatives did not have the opportunity to defend themselves against these attacks. Even though more than two dozen speakers had been invited to the all-day conference, there was not a single labour representative among them. The invitation policy of the Commission showed that almost exclusively only supporters of the Commission’s policy had been invited to the conference.
Criticism from the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies CER
An absolute exception was the Chairman of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies CER, Mauro Moretti who at least indirectly criticised the European Commission: Moretti commented that during the past 20 years 3 liberalisation packages had already been adopted and that it was not conducive to change the framework every two or three years. This procedure would make it impossible to make the relevant adjustments. With regard to passenger markets, the CER chairman is against the option of awarding contracts directly; he would prefer a uniform legal framework on the basis of subsidiarity. Moretti also sharply criticised that compared to road transport, the rail sector would be burdened with high costs, which would mean that the latter would suffer serious competitive disadvantages. He rejected the separation that had been planned for the infrastructure manager because it would not result in more competition.
Promoting railway operating companies
During the course of the conference, several speakers of private railway operating companies had the opportunity to praise their enterprises: for example the First Great Western from Great Britain, which was able to record an increase in passengers carried of up to 50 percent on individual lines during the last 8 years, or the Italian Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori, which advertised its new high speed trains or the provider Amadeus, which is specialised in IT transport solutions.
A representative of the Rumanian railway, who also got a chance to speak, told the audience of a network that had shrunk from 11,000 to 8,000 km resp. whose number of passengers over the past 10 years had been reduced by 15 %, not to mention a rolling stock, 50 % of which was between 21 and 40 years old; 10 % of the rolling stock was even almost 60 years old. However, the speaker supported the plans of the Commission because they would bring more competition; apart from that many trans-European networks would go via Rumania.
Disappointment about the Commission’s approach
Once again the Commission disappoints with regard to its approach concerning rail transport. Instead of tackling the question, why - in spite of three railway packages with plenty of Directives and Regulations - the rail market shares are in decline, the Commission stubbornly pursues its chosen path. Road transport is getting cheaper and cheaper whilst the rail sector is constantly confronted with new costs. Way down the ladder of priorities are probably also the needs of society. For example, the Commission does not give any thought to secondary lines that are not profitable. It is mainly concerned with lucrative main and high speed lines, which are highly interesting for private operators. The incarnation of cherry picking. And then right at the end are the employees. A speaker at the conference commented that the example of German train drivers would show that there was no social dumping in the rail sector; private operators would pay them between 85 and 95 % of the wages that state-owned train operators would pay. However, the fact that Europe is not Germany and that apart from that a large part of employees are not train drivers , is just ignored.
The Commission plans to publish its proposal on the fourth railway package at the end of the year. Unfortunately, given the opinions and speeches given at the conference, it will remain doubtful whether the package will bring any benefits to society and to employees of the railway sector.