Chapter III, Section 1, Article 17 · Regulation (EU) 2024/1679

Contents

Article 17European standard nominal track gauge for rail#

1.Member States shall ensure that any new railway line of the core network and the extended core network, including connections referred to in Article 14(1), point (d), provides for the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm. That requirement is considered to be met when 1435 mm track gauge trains can circulate on the infrastructure by 31 December 2030 for the core network and by 31 December 2040 for the extended core network. For the purposes of this Article, new railway line means any line for which construction works have not started by 18 July 2024.

2.By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, the Member States on the territory of which, on 18 July 2024, no new railway line is planned to be connected to the land border of another Member State according to Annex I, shall draw up a plan identifying the new railway line to be built in accordance with the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm. That plan shall take account of the impact on interoperability with the neighbouring Member State or Member States, by taking account of, notably, the possible migration of existing railway lines to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. The plan shall include a socio-economic cost-benefit analysis justifying the decision of the Member State, where relevant, not to build new railway infrastructure to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm and an assessment of the impact on interoperability. That plan shall be submitted to the Commission by 19 July 2026.

3.Member States with an existing rail network, or a part thereof, with a track gauge different from that of the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm shall carry out an assessment, by 19 July 2026, identifying the existing railway lines located on the European Transport Corridors in view of their possible migration to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm. The assessment shall be coordinated with the neighbouring Member State or Member States in the case of cross-border sections. The assessment shall include a socio-economic cost-benefit analysis on the viability of the possible migration to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm and an assessment of the impact on interoperability.Based on the assessment under the first subparagraph, Member States shall draw up a plan for migration to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm where relevant, at the latest one year following the completion of the assessment, identifying the existing railway lines located on the European Transport Corridors to be migrated to the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm and provide for an indication of the timeline of that migration.First and second subparagraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis to the railway lines for which construction works have started on 18 July 2024.

4.The priorities for infrastructure and investment planning resulting from the plans referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be included in the first work plan of the European Coordinator for a European Transport Corridor of which the freight railway lines with a track gauge different from that of the European standard nominal track gauge is part, in accordance with Article 54.

5.At the request of a Member State, in duly justified cases, the Commission shall adopt implementing acts granting a temporary exemption from the requirements referred to in paragraph 1 for new railway lines of the core network and extended core network, or for part thereof, on the ground of negative results of socio-economic cost-benefit analysis. Any request for exemption shall be based on sufficient justification. The requests for exemption shall be coordinated with the neighbouring Member State or Member States in the case of cross-border sections. The neighbouring Member States may provide an opinion to the Member State requesting the exemption. The Member State shall attach the opinions of the neighbouring Member States to its request. A Member State may request the granting of several exemptions in a single request.The Commission shall assess the request in the light of the justification provided as well as in terms of its significant impact on interoperability and continuity of the railway network, where relevant. The Commission shall take duly into account the opinions of the neighbouring Member States concerned.The Commission may ask for additional information from the Member State no later than 30 calendar days following the receipt of request pursuant to the first subparagraph. If the Commission considers that the information provided is insufficient, it may ask the Member State to supplement that additional information within 30 calendar days from the receipt of that additional information.The Commission shall take a decision on the requested exemption no later than six months following the receipt of the request pursuant to the first subparagraph or, in the event that further information has been provided by the Member States concerned pursuant to the third subparagraph, no later than four months following the latest receipt of such information, whichever is later. The decision shall indicate the period for which the exemption is granted.The Commission shall inform other Member States of the exemptions granted pursuant to this Article.

Defined terms · 39

Show every defined term

active mode
means the transport of people or goods, through non-motorised means, based on human physical activity, including vehicles with electric auxiliary propulsion as referred to in Article 2(2), point (h), of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
aircraft contact stand
means a stand in a designated area of the airport apron equipped with a passenger boarding bridge;
aircraft remote stand
means a stand in a designated area of the airport apron not equipped with a passenger boarding bridge;
alternative fuels
means ‘alternative fuels’, as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804;
bottleneck
means a physical, technical, functional, operational or administrative barrier which leads to a system break, including systematic congestion or standstill, affecting the continuity of traffic for long-distance or cross-border flows;
class B systems
means ‘class B systems’ as defined in point 3 of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695;
cross-border section
means the section which ensures the continuity of a project of common interest on both sides of a border, situated between the closest urban nodes to the border of two Member States or between a Member State and a neighbouring country;
eFTI
means the electronic ‘freight transport information’ as defined in Article 3, point (4) of Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
ERTMS
means ‘European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)’, as defined in point 2.2 of Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695, and in the context of implementation deadlines it refers to the Class A train protection system and any Class A radio system, referred to in that Regulation;
European ATM Master Plan
means the plan endorsed by Council Decision 2009/320/EC, and as subsequently amended;
European Coordinator
means the Coordinator referred to in Article 52 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1679.
freight corridor
means the freight railway lines of the European Transport Corridor as specified in Article 11(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and the Council of 13 July 2024 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and in Annex III to that Regulation, including the railway infrastructure and its equipment and relevant rail services in accordance with Directive 2012/34/EU;
implementation plan
means the document presenting the means, the strategy and the measures that the parties concerned intend to implement which are necessary and sufficient to organise and manage the freight corridor;
interoperability
means the ability, including in the light of all the regulatory, technical, administrative and operational conditions, of the infrastructure, including digital infrastructure in a transport mode or segment and between different transport modes, to allow safe and uninterrupted traffic and information flows which achieve the required levels of performance for that infrastructure mode or segment;
isolated network
means a rail network of a Member State, or part thereof, with a track gauge different from that of the European standard nominal track gauge of 1435 mm;
ITS
means ‘Intelligent Transport Systems’ as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Directive 2010/40/EU;
maintenance
means works intended to maintain the condition and capability of existing infrastructure in a way that it provides a level of service suited to the traffic flow and a high level of safety during its lifetime;
maritime port
means a ‘maritime port’ as defined in Article 2, point (16), of Regulation (EU) 2017/352 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
multimodal digital mobility service
means ‘multimodal digital mobility service’ as defined in Article 4, point (24), of Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;
multimodal freight terminal
means a structure equipped for transhipment between at least two transport modes, or between two different rail systems, and for temporary storage of freight, such as terminals in inland or maritime ports, along inland waterways and in airports, as well as rail road terminals;
multimodal passenger hub
means a connection point between at least two transport modes for passengers, where travel information, access to public transport and transfers between modes are ensured, such as park-and-ride stations, and which acts as an interface within and between urban nodes and between urban nodes and longer-distance transport networks;
multimodal transport
means the carriage of passengers or freight, or both, using two or more modes of transport;
neighbouring country
means a third country falling within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the Enlargement Policy, and the European Economic Area, the European Free Trade Association or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part;
project authorising decision
means a decision or a set of decisions, including of an administrative nature, taken simultaneously or successively, by an authority or authorities of a Member State, not including administrative and judicial appeal authorities, under a national legal system and administrative law that determines whether or not a project promoter is entitled to implement a project on the geographical area concerned on the core network, extended core network or comprehensive network, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative or judicial appeal procedure.
project of common interest
means any project carried out pursuant to this Regulation;
radio-based ERTMS
means the European Train Control System (ETCS) application level 2 that does not require lineside signals and uses a Class A radio system for the safety and non-safety related data exchange between track and train pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695;
rail freight governance
means the governance bodies referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010;
RIS
means ‘river information services (RIS)’ as defined in Article 3, point (a), of Directive 2005/44/EC of the Parliament and of the Council;
safe and secure parking area
means a parking area accessible to drivers engaged in the carriage of goods or passengers, meeting the requirements listed in Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council and which has been certified in accordance with Union standards and procedures, referred to in Article 8a(2) of that Regulation;
SES
means the systems established under Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 (EC) No 550/2004, (EC) No 551/2004, and (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council to reinforce air traffic safety standards, to contribute to the sustainable development of the air transport system and to improve the overall performance of air traffic management and air navigation services for general air traffic in Europe;
short-sea shipping
means the movement of cargo and passengers by sea between ports situated in geographical waters of one or several Member States or between a port situated in waters of Member States and a port situated in waters of an adjacent third country having a coastline on the seas bordering waters of one or several Member States;
socio-economic cost-benefit analysis
means a quantified ex-ante evaluation, based on a recognised methodology, of the value of a project, taking into account all the relevant social, economic, health, climate-related and environmental benefits and costs;
spaceport
means an installation for testing and launching space crafts;
SUMP
means a document for strategic mobility planning, aiming at improving, in a sustainable way, accessibility to and mobility within the functional urban area, including commuting zones in that urban area or in its vicinity), for people, businesses and goods in view in particular of a better quality of life;
terminal
means the installation provided along the freight corridor which has been specially arranged to allow either the loading or the unloading of goods onto or from freight trains, and the integration of rail freight services with road, maritime, river and air services, and either the forming or modification of the composition of freight trains;
urban node
means an urban area where elements of the transport infrastructure of the trans-European transport network for passengers and freight, such as ports, including passenger terminals, airports, railway stations, bus terminals and multimodal freight terminals, located in and around the urban area are connected with other elements of that infrastructure and with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic, including infrastructure for active modes;
vertiport
means an area used for the take-off and landing of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft;
VTMIS
means the ‘vessel traffic monitoring and information system’ established by Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
weigh in motion system
means an automatic system set up on the road infrastructure with the objective of identifying vehicles or vehicle combinations in circulation that are likely to have exceeded the relevant weight limits, in accordance with Directive 96/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;