the European Rail Freight manifest Association worry for the tendencies of rimonopolizzazione of the railway market



The new represented railway operators from the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) have manifested worry for the found tendencies of rimonopolizzazione in the railway market and have denounced that the ERFA associates, that they represent 70 railway enterprises and 15.000 places of job, are more and more often discrimination victims because not fair conditions of market.

The companies of the ERFA have emphasized that "the development of a sustainable railway system is stopped, in fact, from the disposed monopolistic railway societies to stand one's ground dominant. The practical obstacles and the discriminatory ones faced by the members of ERFA in all Europe - they have found - reduce the dynamism, the innovation and the creativity of which the railway field it has much need, and undermine the widest interest than to promote the increase and the occupation in Europe". "If one affords to the dominant players to block the operating little ones, preventing in such a way the creation of new services - they have added - it is worked against the widest interest than to throw again the railway system in Europe".

ERFA has explained that "the operators of rail shipment more little ones need than adapted conditions in which they are not hindered and crushed by the historical railway operators. ERFA - it has emphasized the association - refuses to believe that the dominion of a fistful of powerful railway operators is of benefit for the customers, the passengers and for the atmosphere".

The operators of the association have remembered that the Fourth proposed Railway Package from the EU commission intends to establish fair conditions and has exhorted politics to get ahead this reform "that is indispensable so that the operators more independent little ones and can contribute to the increase of the field". "The pillar governance of the Fourth Railway Package - they have specified - removes the numerous discriminatory practical that the players more little ones must face on the market, undermining their ability to invest and to grow".

In particular, ERFA supports the proposal of the EU commission of the so-called Chinese walls, "able - it has observed the association - to guarantee the transparency of the money movements inside structures of holding in which the owner of the infrastructure and the historical railway enterprises finds himself under the same property. Until a tie financial between the manager of the infrastructure exists and the railway enterprise incumbent - it has found the association - the manager of the infrastructure will continue to having an interest to grant a treatment privileged to the historical railway enterprises to discapito of the other users and the entire railway system".

ERFA considers that the entity in charge of the management of the traces must not have interest to weaken or to block other railway users with which it does not have directed financial ties. "This type of treatment - the association has restated - is unwarrantable and is a sad truth lived in all Europe from members ERFA, endangering the same existence of new operators, discouraging the investments and going against all the serious attempts to promote the increase of the railway field".

In sight of the encounter of the minister of the European Transports Italian with parliamentarians programmed for next the 22 July, the ERFA has sped up the Commission transports of the European Parliament to maintain to the pressure on the Member States of the EU so that progresses on the political pillar of the Fourth Railway Package are completed. According to the association, "solos through the reforms of the political pillar can be guaranteed conditions picture transparent democratics and for all the players of the market". ERFA has evidenced that "to stop the potential one of the track it means to make a gift to less ecological modalities of transport" and has invited the States EU and the eurodeputati ones "to pick the opportunity in order to assure a positive future for the rail shipment in Europe, functional to the wider objectives, which increase and sustainability".