The European Commission published the draft Fourth Railway
Package at the end of last month. This was described as a
"comprehensive package of measures to deliver better quality
and more choice in railway services". The draft Package
addresses the following.
Safety Authorisations: The Commission has taken
the view that it is possible to cut the costs of issuing safety
authorisations for both vehicles and operators if the European
Railway Agency becomes the EU wide authority for issuing such
authorisations. The Commission believes that this change could save
€500 million by 2025.
Opening of domestic passenger services: From
December 2019, public service rail contracts will be subject to
mandatory tendering and train operators will be entitled to offer
"competing commercial services". This would create
significant opportunities for train operators to run services in
parts of Europe where public sector train operation prevails. The
Commission estimates that services
