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| Railway Directive (1991) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Railway Directive (1991) |
| Official name | Directive 91/440/EEC |
| Adopted | 1991 |
| Institution | European Commission |
| Territory | European Union |
| Status | amended |
Railway Directive (1991) The 1991 Railway Directive, formally Directive 91/440/EEC, reformed rail sector regulation across the European Community, initiating structural separation and market liberalisation measures affecting national operators such as SNCF, Deutsche Bahn, British Rail, Ferrovie dello Stato, and RENFE. It emerged amid policy debates involving the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and stakeholders including International Union of Railways, Union des Transports Publics, and national ministries in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain.
The Directive was adopted against a backdrop of earlier transport initiatives like the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, and the single market agenda championed by figures such as Jacques Delors and institutions including the European Economic Community and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Influential reports from bodies such as the European Commission Directorate-General for Transport, the World Bank, and the International Transport Forum highlighted inefficiencies in incumbents like SNCF, Deutsche Bahn, and Ferrovie dello Stato, while notable events such as the Channel Tunnel project and the expansion of Trans-European Networks amplified pressure for cross-border interoperability, competition, and alignment with standards promoted by the International Union of Railways.
Directive 91/440 aimed to separate infrastructure management from transport operations to enable access for new entrants including private operators like National Express, Arriva, and consortiums involving Siemens and Alstom. It sought compatibility with technical frameworks advanced by the European Committee for Standardization, the European Railway Agency, and the International Union of Railways to foster cross-border services such as those later provided by Eurostar and Thalys. The Directive targeted member states of the European Union and predecessor European Communities, impacting national incumbents in Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, and Portugal.
Core provisions mandated accounting separation and the establishment of distinct entities for infrastructure and operations, influenced by precedents from privatizations like British Rail and models used in Swedish Railways and Austrian Federal Railways. The text required non-discriminatory access for freight and passenger services, allocation of capacity and track access charges, and formalised licensing regimes akin to systems in Switzerland and Norway. It referenced technical harmonisation consistent with standards from International Union of Railways, safety oversight comparable to regimes in Finland and the United Kingdom's Rail Safety and Standards Board, and financial transparency measures reflecting guidance from the International Monetary Fund and European Investment Bank.
Implementation varied: United Kingdom pursued full privatisation and franchising along lines tested by British Rail restructuring and involvement by firms such as Stagecoach and Virgin Trains; Germany undertook corporatisation via the formation of Deutsche Bahn; France and Spain maintained stronger state control through entities like SNCF and RENFE while creating infrastructure managers similar to RFF. Responses also involved legal challenges and negotiations in national parliaments such as the Bundestag, Assemblée Nationale, and Cortes Generales, and interactions with social partners like Confédération Générale du Travail and Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund. Funding and investment decisions linked to projects supported by the European Investment Bank, the Trans-European Transport Network programme, and bilateral agreements with manufacturers including Bombardier and Siemens.
The Directive catalysed increased cross-border freight and passenger services, facilitated entry by operators such as DB Cargo, DB Fernverkehr, Mercitalia, and private intermodal firms, and contributed to market developments enabling high-speed services like TGV extensions and new international links similar to Eurostar expansions. It influenced modal shift debates involving TEN-T corridors, freight corridors across the Rhine–Alpine Corridor and North Sea–Mediterranean Corridor, and interoperability projects coordinated with the European Railway Agency and CER (Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies). Outcomes included improved accounting transparency, disputes over track access charges adjudicated in European Court of Justice cases, and divergent performance results between liberalised systems in the United Kingdom and corporatised systems in Germany and France.
Directive 91/440 was followed and amended by successive packages including the First Railway Package, the Second Railway Package, the Third Railway Package, and the Fourth Railway Package, and by subsequent instruments such as Directive 2001/12/EC, Directive 2001/13/EC, Directive 2001/14/EC, Regulation (EU) No 1370/2007, Regulation (EU) 913/2010, and Regulation (EU) 2016/796, with oversight and technical guidance increasingly provided by the European Union Agency for Railways and enforcement by the Court of Justice of the European Union. These measures intersected with policy areas and actors including the European Commission, member state ministries, infrastructure managers like Network Rail and Infrabel, and private operators such as Veolia Transport and DB Schenker.
Category:European Union transport law