In the same week where the Combined Transport Directive was abandoned, another piece of the Greening Freight Package is taking a step closer to implementation. The TRAN Committee of the European Parliament voted in favour of the provisional agreement of the Capacity Management Regulation. Now all that’s left is the approval from the Council and the final seal from the Parliament.
The Regulation, led by Tilly Metz MEP, will introduce a new way of assigning capacity that should favour international rail freight, but also give more power to infrastructure managers, which is what it initially wanted to avoid. The TRAN voting session was held on Tuesday, 26 January and saw 35 votes in favour and five votes against.
The new way of allocating rail capacity will entail three phases. First, there will be a five-year programme to set out strategic plans, followed by annual scheduling and, finally, short-term adaptation. This should provide more predictable timetables but still leave some room for flexibility, a vital factor for the success of rail freight.
More power to IMs
On the other hand, these plans will be overseen by the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM). ENIM will include one representative from the infrastructure managers in each Member State, a move that might increase the already strong power they hold over Railway Undertakings. Initially, Metz’s proposal included a counterpart to ENIM, the European Railway Undertaking Platform, but the Council removed it from its draft.