OBJECTIVES OF THE CONGRESS

Current state of the railway system

Due to the implementation of the fundamental concept of four freedoms (free movement of goods, services, persons and capital) the railway system of the European Union was developed and designed in order to to increase the efficiency of railway services. Uncontrollable growth of road transport has given rise to a difficult and complex problem, i.e. how to limit this development and stimulate alternative forms of transport.

The side effects of being able to chose among various transport services and of the gradually increasing mobility are the following:

• saturation of main roads and railway connections, cities and airports:
  • 10% of the entire road system (7500 km)
  • 20% of the entire railway system (16000 km)
  • 30% of all flights on main European airports have a delay of more than 15 minutes
• uneven growth of different transport modes
• isolation of some regions
• damaging effects of traffic to nature and health
• total expenditure in the field of transport in the EU amounts to1000 billion EURO, which is more than 10% of the total GDP in the EU, providing more than 10 million jobs
• 41000 fatalities each year = 2% GDP of the EU

Trends to be expected until 2010:

• 38% increase in freight transport
• 24% increase in passenger transport
  • 3 million new car registrations
• 50 % increase in heavy vehicles transport
• increased energy consumption due to traffic
• increased air pollution
• more climatic changes
• a higher level of noise

To avoid such negative trends, the European Commission issued a White Paper on ‘Common European Transport Policy for 2010’, comprising exact measures in the field of transport. These measures aim at decreasing the effects of economic growth on the increase of traffic, without restricting mobility and efficient use of different modes of transport.

In order to prevent discriminatory access to railway infrastructure and facilitate adjustment of the railway system to these new guidelines, the European Union issued following regulatory railway legislation, comprising different directives:

• Directive 91/440/EEC on railway development
• Directive 2001/12/EC amending Council Directive 91/440/EEC on railway development
• Directive 95/18/EC on the licensing of railway undertakings
• Directive 2001/13/EC amending Council Directive 95/440/EEC on the licensing of railway undertakings
• Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification
• Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high speed rail system
• Directive 2001/16/EC on interoperability of the trans-European conventional system

The Republic of Slovenia is striving towards the same objectives, and has demonstrated such by signing the association agreement The process of adjusting Slovene legislation in the field of railway transport has brought about a new Bill on Railway Transport (Zzel-UPB1), which is in full accordance with the demands of the EU. This new law is a milestone in the process of separating railway infrastructure management from transport service operation in Slovenia.

This means that the old notions of how these services should be organised and the consequent (exclusive) competence of railway companies are now changing dramatically. We have got two new business subjects , i.e. one with exclusive competence in the field of railway infrastructure management and the other in the field of transport service operation. Both share the same infrastructure and they form together the complete range of railway transport services.
Therefore, the level of technical quality of the existing railway infrastructure has to be improved. This will enhance the possibility of successfully integrating the railway system into the transport system as a whole, as this was done in other European countries. At the same time, this will enable a better utilisation of (environmentally friendly) railway transport, diminish the level of exhaust emissions, offer a more natural traffic development and improve the general quality of life.

The newly founded railway infrastructure managers are thus facing the challenge of defining and selecting the optimal management system for each transport system.

A contribution to the pursuit of these objectives

In order to contribute to the solution of the existing problems, we decided to organize the 1st Congress of Railway Infrastructure Managers. Together we shall discuss good and bad practices in railway infrastructure management, develop new ideas and concepts of management and establish new relationships between railway infrastructure managers from different European countries.

Aims and objectives of the congress

• to develop a railway infrastructure management system, comparable to the ones on a European level
• to introduce the role and importance of rail infrastructure managers to the general public
• to exchange experience in rail infrastructure management
• to introduce good practices of individual managers
• to introduce the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM)
• to introduce the Slovene Rail Infrastructure Manager (AŽP)
• to inform experts on the current state of affairs with the Slovenian as well as the European rail infrastructure managers