The EU Council and Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on new rules for capacity management on the European railway network. The aim is to make more efficient use of the infrastructure through common EU-wide guidelines, a Europe-wide framework for capacity and disruption management and better coordination of national infrastructure managers within the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM). The regulations include long-term and short-term planning processes as well as common criteria for capacity conflicts. Member states are given strategic leeway, but must coordinate their specifications with neighbouring countries. The agreements aim to make rail transport more reliable, cheaper and easier to plan for freight and passenger transport. The agreement still has to be formally confirmed by the Council and Parliament.
