Despite significant developments in establishing a European market for rail transport services, domestic passenger transport remains largely closed to competition. Furthermore, domestic urban, suburban and regional services, and in a large number of Member States also inter-city services, are often provided on the basis of a public service contract (PSC) which defines certain service quality requirements in exchange against granting of an exclusive right and/or compensation payments. The rules on the provision of services in the framework of public service obligations (PSO) in inland transport however exclude the rail sector from the obligation to award PSCs through an open tendering procedure.
Therefore, to ensure high quality and customer oriented domestic rail passenger services with the best va-lue for money for society and contribution to creation of a true internal market for rail services, the Commission has planned an initiative organising and implementing the opening of domestic passenger rail markets, harmonise regulatory regimes across the EU and creating framework conditions for allowing equal access to rail related services.
Domestic rail passenger services suffer from a low level of quality and efficiency which leads to poor intermodal perfor-mance. This situation can be attributed to the presence of several barriers and patchwork of regulatory regimes, which hamper market access of new entrants, create network inefficiencies and market distortions.
For the public authorities awarding PSC, the power to negotiate with railway undertakings prices and the quality level of domestic passenger services depends on the existence of supply alternatives, i.e. the level of competition. While the Member States should have the choice in determining how their public rail transport market is organised, achieving a maximum of competition in the market organisation should be supported at the EU level so that public authorities get the highest value in terms of socially desirable transport services for public money.
One of the provisions to be formulated in the new Fourth Railway Package refers to the mandatory character of negotiating public transport obligations in open tender.
“To remedy the situation, the 4th Railway Package proposes the evaluation of options such as no legislative changes, but continued progressive implementation of existing legislation (this being option 0), then the first option will be open access competition for domestic services. The second option comprises the first one plus mandatory competitive tendering of PSC for domestic rail; the third option cumulates option 2 plus introduction of framework conditions potentially having a favourable impact on market access and quality of service e.g. full independence of infrastructure managers, better access to facilities and stations, through ticketing, inter-availability of tickets”, pointed out Vicenc Pedret – Cusco, Economic Advisor, DG MOVE, at the conference “Railway passenger transport on the sustainable mobility agenda”, organised by Club Feroviar and the Romanian Railway Industry Association (AIF) at Sibiu in March 2012.
“The Fourth Railway Package will be introduced at first reading in 2012. The document is currently under the public consultancy of interested parties. The most important provisions of the Fourth Railway Package include the structural separation of railway activities, the liberalisation of the domestic railway passenger market, the reinforcement of the European Railway Agency’s attributions and the mandatory character of setting up an independent Regulatory Body. Moreover, the Fourth Railway Package could introduce the mandatory negotiation of the public service obligations in domestic rail passenger transport”, pointed out Carmen Filipescu, International Affairs Manager, CFR Călători, International Affairs Manager, CFR Călători.
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