According to the UIRR, the association representing the combined transport in Europe, the general approach on the Proposal for a European Commission Capacity Regulation of the railway infrastructure that was adopted yesterday by the Council of the EU is not sufficient to achieve the Stated Capacity Optimization Goals improving cross-border coordination, increased punctuality and reliability of the rail transport and, ultimately, to attract more freight to the railway.

For pairing, so that the rail freight transport is becoming more and more attractive to end-users, it is necessary to move away from a National Approach to Capacity Management towards a more coordinated approach to international level.

Bearing in mind that currently more than 50% of transport rail freight and almost 90% of rail transport crosses at least one national border and The railway infrastructure is operated on a national basis with lack of international coordination, the UIRR specified that a An internationally coordinated approach would not mean the abandonment of the current infrastructure management system for the allocation of capacity, which is largely built around the needs of passenger traffic. The Rail freight capacity requirements - explained the association - can be satisfied through an internationally agreed framework for the Capacity management that takes into account planning long-term continuation of international lines guaranteed for the transport of goods by rail.

For rail freight services to become more attractive to end-users - underlined the UIRR - It is necessary to acknowledge that the status quo is not and that the way in which capacity is managed needs to evolve into an international, digital and flexible.

For the UIRR, the general approach adopted by the Council "Unfortunately, it does not go in this direction. The the European standards proposed by the Commission non-binding European Union, or open to national derogations, he noted the association - will lead to a situation where the transport of rail freight will continue to operate under a a jumble of national systems. This will mean a persistent fragmentation and sub-optimal exploitation of the Available capacity of the European rail infrastructure and, above all, inadequate support for European supply chains."

According to the European Combined Transport Association, 'It is highly doubtful that the Council's proposal reduce the impact of temporary capacity constraints rail freight services. Today - highlighted the UIRR - in many European Member States, freight services on rail services are experiencing significant delays and cancellations due to poorly planned and unplanned capacity restrictions coordinates that lack the necessary attention to continuity of traffic. It is important that the new includes provisions to ensure that the transport of rail freight services become more predictable during the capacity restrictions. This should be supported real reciprocal incentives for infrastructure managers to plan capacity in a favorable way to the customer well in advance."

The UIRR then complains that 'the Council's proposal to delay the entry into force of this Regulation until 2029, and to 2032 for some provisions, will mean that this Regulation will have no impact on the objective of the European Commission to achieve a 50% growth in rail freight transport by 2030. This, he noted, The Association - sends the message that politicians are abandoning the agreed target for 2030'.

'In in view of the forthcoming trilogue negotiations, the association concluded - it is essential that the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council to arrive at an agreed text that sets out the greater emphasis on meeting the business needs of a a functioning European rail freight market, otherwise, there is a significant risk that the proposal will not be will have no real impact on increasing punctuality and the reliability of European rail transport of goods'.