This year CER/UIC High Level Passenger meeting was hosted by SŽ in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 5/6 June.

The meeting was preceded by a dinner in the famous Wine Cellar in Ljubljana during which Peter Verlič- Slovenia’s State Secretary and Tomaž Schara, SŽ Director General welcomed the guests and briefly presented the railway situation in Slovenia.

Distinguished guest speakers included Peter Verlič- Slovenia’s State Secretary for Transportation, Zoltán Kazatsay- Deputy Director General of DG TREN, Tomaž Schara, SŽ Director General, Mr. Yoshio Ishida –JR East Vice Chairman, and Marcel Verslype- ERA Executive Director and many more.

The meeting – attended by over 50 CEO’s and high level representatives of CER passenger rail companies – addressed Europe’s transport-related environment issues and the role of the passenger railway sector within Europe’s sustainable transportation scheme.

Mr. Verlič in his opening address introduced Slovenia’s national transport policy approved in 2006, which aims to – among others – create equal competitive conditions for the various modes of transport, an improved quality for public transport, and a harmonized transportation system based upon intermodality. The Slovenian government plans to spend altogether €9 billion on rail infrastructure investments (versus €6 billion earmarked for highway construction).

Mr. Kazatsay explained the European Commission’s energy policy goals by 2020, which are: 20% total energy consumption reduction, 20% CO2 emission reduction, and an increase of renewable energy alternatives of up to 20% (using 1990 as a base year). Talking about externalities he mentioned that total transportation related CO2 emission grew by 30% since 1990, while traffic congestion is estimated to reduce the EU’s GDP by 1.1%. Mr. Kazatsay mentioned that there are high expectations the high dependence of the EU on oil for transportation coupled with the exponential increase of the price of oil experienced recently will catalyze modal shift and legislative initiatives aiming at internalizing external costs. However, Mr. Kazatsay precised that unlike from other sectors, the Commission does not expect a 20% CO2 emission reduction from
transportation.

Four rail companies (Eurostar, NS, JR East of Japan and DSB) then gave account of their internal initiatives to turn their companies greener. In this process Eurostar managed to elevate its brand recognition to the TOP 20 list of Green Brands in the UK. Besides technology based solutions, on-board environmental consciousness was deemed important. DSB stressed investment in the use of green energy (in traction) as another top priority. NS, together with the other two European companies, emphasized the importance of public communication of environmental actions, especially since at least one in five passengers are responsive to environmental arguments. Mr Ishida from JR East presented the latest state of the art in Japan with regard to a greener approach to transport. He indicated that JR East rolling stock weight reduction constitutes one of the achievements contributing substantially to lower pro-rata energy use, while alternative propulsion systems under testing also promise reduced CO2 emissions. JR East is also advanced in its quest to reduce sonic wave shocks when its high speed Shinkansen trains enter tunnels using advanced aerodynamics.

The use of market based instruments was urged in the discussion covering uneven competitive conditions over the various competing modes of transport. VAT-free air tickets and the lack of (excise) tax on jet fuel were complained about the most when comparing with aviation, while less stringent refund rules on delays were mentioned in the case of both air and road passenger transportation (when compared with rail). In his response, Mr. Kazatsay cited historic reasons for the favorable tax position of aviation; however, he acknowledged the imbalanced aspect of the current regulation. Nevertheless claiming that several airlines are on the verge of bankruptcy, the Commission is not likely to propose radical actions. The pending regulation on cross-border bus travel on the other hand, will address the issues of bus passenger rights.

Marcel Verslype spoke of the ERA’s planned roadmap of unveiling of TAP TSI. Several RUs questioned the commercial merit of the planned TSI. Thalys gave account of its adverse experience with ERTMS in its operations covering four countries and eight ERTMS variations. Mr. Verslype promised a cost/benefit analysis to be included with the complete text of TAP TSI expected to be released for internal consultations by the end of July.

Jacques Zachman of the Internal Market and Competition Unit of DG TREN then introduced the new guidelines on state aid to be used, amongst others, when purchasing and/or renovating passenger rolling stock.

The next High Level Passenger Meeting will take place on December 2, 2008 in Brussels, while the meeting thereafter will be held in Italy on June 19, 2009.