2024-09-25 15:06:28
Increased competition in the EU rail market has led to significant reductions in passenger ticket prices and freight costs. This is according to the data of a study presented today by the European Commission and quoted by BTA.
The competition is said to have led to a 31 per cent drop in prices in Italy and a 41 per cent increase in service frequency in Austria. EU countries where the budget supports rail companies to provide essential services have seen increases in train frequency, with France as an example, where growth has been as high as 110 percent on some lines.
In freight rail transport, competition leads to a reduction in prices and operating costs, and an increase in demand, especially in intermodal transport, as indicated by the data for Germany, adds the EC.
According to the report, infrastructure development is essential to improve interoperability, and in ticketing it is important that all operators have access to the point of sale systems. Equal access to the infrastructure must be ensured so that all operators can work under the same conditions, the text adds.
The Commission recalls that in July it selected 134 transport infrastructure projects to receive over 7 billion euros from the EU budget. A total of 81 percent (over EUR 5.7 billion) of these investments are earmarked for rail projects.