The European Commission last week adopted three measures aimed at “supporting the revitalization of the railway sector by removing obstacles to the circulation of trains throughout the European rail network”. The three measures in question are a Communication on the simplification of certification of railway vehicles, a Proposal to recast the existing Railway Inter-operability Directives and a Proposal to modify both the Regulation establishing a European Railway Agency and the EU Railway Safety Directive. In essence, the aim is to harmonize the national regulations on rail safety (often different even between neighbouring states), simplify the procedures for certification and recognition of materials and reduce costs. According to the Commissioner for Transport Jacques Barrot the keyword is “competitiveness”: “the current lack of rail inter-operability in the EU obliges, for example, train operators to change locomotives and engines on crossing over the frontiers”. Lastly, apart from harmonising regulations and organization of activities linked to rail safety, the new regulatory framework proposed by the Executive would turn the European Railway Agency into a consultative organ for governments and EU institutions on questions of technical type.
