IMs, operators hand Commission agreed plan on temporary capacity restrictions

Infrastructure managers and operators have handed the European Commission a compromise on rescheduling paths hit by temporary capacity restrictions, as it drafts rules under the EU’s Capacity Management Regulation. A separate operators’ paper goes further, demanding replacement paths at least 120 days ahead, up from as little as one month for freight.

European infrastructure managers’ association RailNetEurope (RNE) and operators’ association Forum Train Europe (FTE) announced the joint input this week. RNE said it had the backing of both sides and had been shared with the Commission’s transport department, DG MOVE. DG MOVE must adopt detailed rules by 12 December 2027 on how booked paths are rescheduled around temporary capacity restrictions (TCRs), the closures and speed restrictions imposed for engineering works.

EU rules already set deadlines for announcing works, but rescheduling the paths they hit is left to each infrastructure manager, with only voluntary RailNetEurope handbooks to align them. On cross-border routes, operators often have to piece together alternatives from several networks themselves, and a train can be re-planned several times for the same day. The Commission’s rules would replace this with a binding European process.

For low-impact works, replacement paths must currently be offered four months ahead for passenger trains, but only one month ahead for freight, a sector running on thin margins that bears much of the cost of diversions. In August, the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) warned that last-minute closures and poor diversions had become “a threat to European supply chains”.

This story was originally published by RailFreight.com. Read the full story at RailFreight.com →