ECCE BRUSSELS BRIEF

ECCE BRUSSELS BRIEF – MARCH 2004

ANNEX ON RAILWAY PROPOSALS

1. Regulation on International Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations :

main elements of the Commission proposal

	Event
	Delay			Cancellation or missed connection due to delay	Accident
	Compensation			Reimbursement	Liability
Service type	Duration of service	50% compensation in case of	100% compensation in case of	Duty to inform + Assistance (meals, re-routing, hotel…) + Reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket for the part of the journey not made and for parts made if the journey no longer serves any purpose	Up to 220 000 € per passenger[1] (minimum insurance coverage 310 000 € per passenger)
International journeys on scheduled high speed service	Up to 2 hours	30-60 minutes delay	More than 60 minutes delay		Up to 1 800 € per passengers[2] for loss or damage of hand luggage
International journeys on scheduled high speed service	Exceeding 2 hours	60-120 minutes delay	More than 120 minutes delay		Up to 1 300 € per passenger for loss or damage of unaccompanied[3] luggage
International journeys on scheduled non- high speed services	Up to 4 hours	60-120 minutes delay	More than 120 minutes delay
	Exceeding 4 hours	120-240 minutes delay	More than 240 minutes delay

2. "Second railway package" agreed.

Texts to be confirmed by both Institutions in the coming weeks encompass:

· a proposal to amend Directive 91/440 in order to extend infrastructure access rights to freight services within a Member State and open up the market more quickly. The international rail freight market must be completed by 2006. The agreed date for the complete opening of the rail freight markets, including cabotage, is 1^st January 2007.

A proposal for a directive on railway safety concerning definition of essential features of safety systems for infrastructure managers and railway undertakings. The aim is to develop a common approach to safety and establish a common system for the issue, content and validity of safety certificates. The principle of independent technical investigation in the event of accidents is to be introduced, as in other sectors.
A proposal for a regulation establishing a European Railway Agency to provide technical support for the interoperability and safety work. The Agency’s remit would be,

1. to develop common safety standards and devise and manage a system for monitoring safety performance and,

2. secondly, to manage in the long-term the system for establishing, registering and monitoring the technical specifications for interoperability.

This agency, with approximately 100 staff, will have a pivotal role in moving forward the work on approximating the technical railway systems. It will be independent, but work closely with experts in the field. The agency would not have decision-making powers, but would make proposals to the Commission. These proposals would be adopted by the Commission through committee procedure, as happens in the context of interoperability.

Amendment of the interoperability directives 96/48/EC and 2001/16/EC. In addition to the adaptations to interoperability directives made necessary by the above proposals, this amendment is essentially designed to ensure consistency of scope between the network on which there will be open access and that subject to the interoperability rules, with a progressive extension of the field of application to the whole European network.

3. Council and Parliament will examine the "Third Railway Package" at an early date.

This package, proposed by the Commission on 3^rd March 2004, contains:

a proposal for a Directive on the certification of locomotive and train drivers engaged in the carriage of passengers and goods in the Community;
a proposal for a Regulation on international rail passengers' rights;
a proposal for a Directive on opening up the market for international rail passenger transport services by 1^st January 2010;
a proposal for a Regulation on the quality of rail freight services.

[1] Strict liability

[2] Strict liability if passenger injured otherwise liability for fault

[3] Liability for fault –covers also loss of unaccompanied luggage not in case of accident