Dennis Fancett. European Passenger Group Member Amongst its other activities, Railfuture’s European Passenger Group, a sub-committee of the Passenger Services Group, compares how the rail industry works in the UK with what happens in Europe, with a view to seeing what we can learn from our European neighbours about how to improve services here in…
Violeta Bulc: “My first priority is to ensure connectivity. The second one is efficiency – for citizens and businesses. Thirdly, we pay a lot of attention to lowering the negative externalities of transport, such as pollution, accidents and congestion.”
The European Committee of the Regions is currently preparing an own-initiative opinion on “The potential of the rail sector in delivering EU policy priorities”. The European Passengers’ Federation was invited to share its opinion. Despite its potential, the rail sector has largely failed to meet the goals set for it in the 2011 White Paper. If…
The discussion on climate change has in some countries led to the conclusion that there should be less travel by plane. The other conclusion is that people should use trains instead of planes on distances up to approximately 500 kilometres. In reality many flights are used on rather short distances. The railway companies point out…
Report from the Commission regarding exemptions granted by member states under regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport. The EC has just published a report in connection with the exemptions granted under this regulation which came into force on 1st March 2013 and contains a series of rights for…
On March 25., EPF was represented at the launch of the European Transport and Mobility Forum, a platform that intends to become a place for discussion and debate, providing a voice for users and fostering cross-fertilization of technologies and knowledge-transfer between modes and with stakeholders beyond transport.
The revisions of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability for Persons with Disabilities and with Reduced Mobility (PRM TSI) received a positive opinion in the European Commission’s Rail Interoperability and Safety Committee. ERA has started the development of an IT system containing data on how railway systems are equipped to support persons with disabilities or reduced mobility and how this information…
From February 11st, Spanish and French trains will be able to carry passengers, in Portbou and Cerbère, when coming back to their countries, in direction of Barcelona and Perpignan/Narbonne. This is a historical decision that breaks more than 100 years of blockage because of the absurd traffic bans, and normalizes the border links of public…
Every couple of years, the European Commission publishes a Rail Market Monitoring Report (RMMS). It gives an overview of the state of the European rail market in the context of the EU’s policy objectives – market opening, modal shift, improved safety, the development of high speed rail, etc. The latest edition of the RMMS came…
The HiReach project is organising a Multidisciplinary Ideation Workshop in Brussels on March 27 (afternoon) and 28 (full day) to address issues related to inclusive mobility and transport poverty. Both issues concern daily challenges stemming from a range of human, social and geographical limitations. Those most affected are persons with reduced mobility options, including children,…
EPF’s position paper, accepted 13.01.2019 The European Commission is preparing a revision of regulation 1073/2009 to liberalise and harmonise the long distance coach market in the European Union. Regulation 1073/2009 opened the long distance coach market with a cabotage possibility inside Member States only if the service is part of an international line. The European…
The European Commission is currently reviewing the EU law governing Computerised Reservation Systems (Regulation (EC) 80/2009). These are used for travel bookings, particularly for air travel, and usually allow users access to make their own bookings. The Regulation establishes a code of conduct that is designed to prevent abuse of competition and to ensure that…