Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007 - (Page 3)

THE MAGAZINE FOR EUROPEAN RAIL DECISION MAKERS AND CUSTOMERS I T O Breaking down barriers in Europe EURAILmag is published by BLUE LINE & Bro 78, av. de la République 75011 - Paris - FRANCE RCS Paris B 449 620 657 Tel: +33 1 40 21 08 68 Fax: +33 1 40 21 09 61 Web: www.eurailmag.com Email: contact@eurailmag.com To contact the following departments, please dial +33 1 40 21, plus the extension number: Publication: Editorial: Advertising: Design: Promotions: Production: 48 42 05 77 48 48 48 44 48 43 48 45 IF WE WANT TO MAKE EUROPEAN RAILWAYS MORE COMPETITIVE, WE NEED TO CLARIFY AND REDUCE THE MANY RULES RAILWAY OPERATORS FACE BEFORE OBTAINING AUTHORIZATION TO USE NETWORKS IN THE UNION. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION RECENTLY ADOPTED A SERIES OF MEASURES TO DRIVE REVITALIZATION BY REMOVING BARRIERS TO TRAFFIC ON EUROPEAN RAIL NETWORKS. THESE INCLUDED A CALL TO MODIFY THE VARIOUS LEGAL TOOLS INVOLVED, AS PART OF THE STRATEGY TO STREAMLINE ACROSS-THE-BORDER ACCEPTANCE OF ROLLING STOCK. AND ANOTHER INITIATIVE AIMS TO SIMPLIFY CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR ROLLING STOCK BY INTRODUCING ACROSS-THE-BORDER TRIALS AND CONTROLS. ALSO TO OVERCOME THESE HURDLES, THE COMMUNITY HAS LAUNCHED AN AMBITIOUS PROGRAMME FOR DEVELOPING COLLECTIVELY SHARED NORMS. BUT JUST HOW QUICKLY THEY ARE INTRODUCED DEPENDS ON NEW INVESTMENT IN NETWORKS AND ROLLING STOCK. EUROPE’S RAIL INDUSTRY MUST ENCOURAGE THE RAPID UPTAKE OF SUCH COMMUNITY NORMS, AS WELL AS THE INTRODUCTION OF MEASURES TO RELIEVE THE COMPLICATIONS OF CROSS-BORDER OPERATIONS ON EXISTING NETWORKS TODAY. ANOTHER IMPORTANT STEP, TO FACILITATE ACROSS-THE-BORDER ACCEPTANCE OF ROLLING STOCK, IS TO REVISE THE DIRECTIVES ON EUROPEAN INTEROPERABILITY OF HIGH-SPEED AND STANDARD RAIL NETWORKS. BOTH SHARE THE SAME AIM - TO COORDINATE TECHNICAL NORMS FOR RAIL TRANSPORT BY OBLIGING THE COMMISSION TO DEFINE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR INTEROPERABILITY. AND CHANGES TO THE DIRECTIVE ON RAIL SECURITY MUST FOCUS ON THE ARTICLE DEFINING CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER ROLLING STOCK FROM ONE MEMBER STATE MAY CIRCULATE ON ANOTHER MEMBER’S NETWORK. THE REVISED ARTICLE WOULD PROVIDE FOR ACROSS-THE-BORDER ACCEPTANCE OF ROLLING STOCK IN OPERATION. THE EUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY COULD ENVISION DRAWING UP A COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE DOCUMENT ON NATIONAL RULES GOVERNING THE ENTRY INTO OPERATION OF ROLLING STOCK. THIS COULD THEN BE USED TO UNITE EQUIVALENT, OR PARALLEL, RULES USED BY SEVERAL MEMBER COUNTRIES, FOR THE SEAMLESS FLOW OF ROLLING STOCK ACROSS EUROPE. ORGANIZING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE NETWORK OF NATIONAL AUTHORITIES IN CHARGE OF SECURITY IS ANOTHER POSSIBLE TASK FOR THE AGENCY. THIS WOULD HELP REDUCE THE SHEER NUMBER OF NATIONAL SECURITY RULES IN FORCE, AS WELL AS PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE STOCK OF CONFORMITIES IN MEMBER COUNTRIES. AND FINALLY, MEMBER COUNTRIES OR THE COMMISSION COULD CALL UPON THE AGENCY FOR ITS OPINION AND ADVICE ON KEY TECHNICAL ISSUES. Jean-Yves JADOT Subscriptions:1 year/2 issues Europe €56 / Worldwide €64 Please send full contact details and payment to: EURAILmag subscriptions 78, avenue de la République 75011 - Paris - FRANCE abonnement@eurailmag.com Subscriber names and contact details are used internally and by organisations contractually linked to BLUE LINE & Bro. EURAILmag allows all scientific and technical opinions and views to be expressed. Authors remain responsible for articles published. The editor reserves the right to refuse any content containing statements or views contrary to the interests of the publication. Printed in France by Groupe RICCOBONO, 83490 Le Muy Cover photo by DB AG / Weber Issue 15 http://www.eurailmag.com http://www.eurailmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

SOMMAIRE
NOTICE BOARD
COATINGS
NEWS
SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIGH-SPEED LINES
TUNNELS
PEOPLE
ROLLING STOCK
WEBSITE DIRECTORY

Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

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