Revision of Regulation (EU) 913/2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight

Boosting rail freight transport is an essential pillar of the European Union's long-term policy to make transport more sustainable by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonising the sector. However, rail freight transport has faced numerous barriers in its development, and its growth is held back by its lack of competitiveness with other modes of transport such as road transport. Regulation (EU) 913/2010 was designed to facilitate rail freight transport across the EU rail network, through the creation of rail freight corridors, but the potential of those corridors has not been fully exploited. While the regulation was conducive to enhanced cooperation across borders, its implementation did not lead to an increase in rail freight transport along the corridors, with insufficient coordination on traffic management and infrastructure works. Against this backdrop, the Commission has launched a two-step revision process for Regulation (EU) 913/2010. The first step consists of a limited revision, in conjunction with a revision of the Trans-European Transport Network Regulation, focused on aspects of geographical alignment, governance and investment planning. The second step will be a wider revision leading to a recast proposal scheduled for the last quarter of 2022.