Railway Horizons in EU Adhering Perspective

The current trends of the railway activity in Romania and on European plan show that the future railway will remain the main mode of transport for a great part of the population.
The profound transformations from the last years in the political-economical life of our country could only have an echo in the railway transport, the infrastructure and its juridical structure being aimed at, taking into consideration the creation of a functional market economy, complying with the principles, norms, mechanisms, institutions and policies of the European Union.
The national railway network of Romania provides the continuity of the European railway transport system and the most efficient links with the other transport systems from the countries of the Eastern Europe, Asia and Middle East.
The extension and the improvement of the railway system in all the developed countries are motivated by its undeniable advantages:
· transport convenience and the comfort - the railway wagons offer a generous space and an increased comfort for long journeys, including the sleeping possibilities;
· the safety traffic on the railways - translated by the smallest number of accidents at the thousand of passengers transported;
· reduced environment pollution - the volume of pollution issued in the atmosphere per transported unit represents only 1/10 in comparison to the other modes of transport;
· positive social implications - the fares applied are among the most accessible for the majority of the population;
· the optimal use of the field - the surface occupied by a double track line represent only 60% from the one necessary for a road with two traffic lanes;
· the superior energetic efficiency - the energy consumption on railway transport unit is six times smaller that at the auto vehicles.
The prejudices brought to the environment as a consequence of the unfolding of transport activities is permanently watched by the factors in charge. Road transports, generally, the especially the urban transport, have a negative impact on the ambient which also to be tends more and more appropriately perceived here in Romania. These negative consequences - pollution, noise -, as well as the risks of certain major technological accidents make railway transports more appreciated.
In comparison to this situation there is also implied the need of elaborating an orientation law of the transports by including certain dispositions meant to limit in time the negative effects on the environment, reason why there should be taken measures as:
· the provision of the tickets price stability;
· the use of the non-polluting transport means;
· the generalization of the track transport at urban and interurban level, as well as river one, in the detriment of the road transport, much more polluting.
An important role in this respect is played by the government, which has interfered in the diversification of the financing means, legally avowing the responsibility of the private sector to assume the expenses for the transport infrastructure. When the direct beneficiary of a project for the improvement of the transport services make their contribution to its achievement, in cash or in nature, they involve even more, fact that has as effect the increase of the efficiency of the project.
Starting with 2001, there have been initiated a few important projects of restructuring and modernization of the railway transport. Which have as purpose the rehabilitation of the main railway sections and of the railway transport, generally, the government understanding the importance of this activity sector in the development of the Romanian economy, as well as in the process for the alignment to the standards of the European Union, achieving major and significant progresses in the transposition and the implementation of the community aquis in the field of railway transport.
European Union has started to support the achievement of the rehabilitation programs of the trans-continental railway system, which is part of its major objectives. Starting with 2003, there will be proposed a series of measures allowing the railway transport the provision of a greater credibility with respect to the regularity and traffic punctuality.
There will be established a railway network exclusively meant for the railway transport, from the commercial point of view paying the same importance to the freight and passengers transport. There will be opened for traffic over 50,000 kilometers belonging to the freight trans-European network, providing a harmonized competition of the international railway freight transport. Starting with 2008, there will be opened the entire European network for international freight transport, as a consequence of the decision of the European Parliament.
Through the occurrence of new railway transport operators, which own a strong logistic base and a great force of modal integration, will increase the competitiveness of this sector, encouraging the restructuring of the big national companies, the restructuring that should include measures for the limitation to the maximum of the social impact. On large distances, the railway market has the potential of the most promising increase, the development scheduled and the progressive achievement of an interoperable trans-European network being an imperative necessity. Reason why there should be strived at national level to be achieved this objective, by putting into operation of new lines, allowing the taking over of a part of the traffic from the classical lines, as well as the achievement of a modern railway transport, able to handle the competition with other modes of transport.
The EU member states are free to grant to the other railway operators, which are members of EU with larger access rights than the ones of the railway operators activating in the combined railway transport, for the international groups that achieve the international freight transport services within the trans-European network for railway freight transport. The use of this larger access rights can be limited only to the railway operators that are licensed in the member states, where the access rights of a similar nature are avouched, so this limitation is complying with the provisions of the set up treaty of the European Community.
In order to promote an efficient administration of the infrastructure in public interest, the administrators of the infrastructure should be granted with an independent status towards the state, as well as freedom to warrant their own businesses, while the member state should take the necessary measures for the development and the safety use of the railway infrastructure.
The article 3 of the Directive of the European Council no. 91/440/CEE, modified through the Directive 2001/12/CEE of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe, from February 26, 2001, regarding the development of the community railway system, stipulates: "Infrastructure administrator represents any body or operator in charge especially with the set up and the maintenance of the railway infrastructure. This notion can also include the administration of the infrastructure safety and control systems. The functions of the infrastructure administrator in a network or parts of a network can be allocated to certain operators or various bodies."

drd. Florin Dobre
general director in MLPTL