The new TEN-T Regulation stresses that the difference in gauges in the EU “severely hampers the interoperability of the railway networks across the Union and even impacts the competitiveness of those isolated railway networks”. The document sets out the conditions for the gauge migration in Member States with a different gauge than 1435 mm.
Member States with a different rail gauge will have two years from the entry into force of the Regulation to identify the lines along the TEN-T map in their territories eligible for migration. One year after this assessment, these countries will draw up a plan with a timeline for the gauge change. However, if a Member State with a different gauge does not consider the shift to be beneficial, it needs to justify its choice to the European Commission. Moreover, islands and outermost regions with a different gauge will not have to migrate if they do not consider it advantageous.
Different standards for train length and dwelling times
Member States with a track gauge different than the standard one will also have different standards in the context of the new TEN-T Regulation. For example, the deployment of 740-metre freight trains in some of these areas might “ not always be justified in socio-economic terms”. Moreover, the TEN-T Regulation entails that “dwelling time of freight trains crossing a border between two Member States does not exceed 25 minutes on average”. However, this threshold will not apply to locations where a change of tracks is necessary, such as between Poland and Lithuania.
IM’s participation in corridor boards
Another difference for Member States equipped with a different track gauge concerns the participation of their infrastructure manager in the boards of the TEN-T corridors crossing them. “Such Member States should be allowed, for a maximum temporary period of 10 years, to decide that the infrastructure manager(s) responsible for the railway infrastructure on their territory do not participate in the management board of the freight corridors on their territory”, the Regulation stated. Originally, these countries were not obliged to participate in the establishment of the corridors and their prolongation, while now they will have to make a definitive decision 10 years from the entry into force of the Regulation.
