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On 19 November, interinstitutional negotiations began between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the Rail Capacity Regulation. Introduced as part of the Greening Freight Package in July 2023, the proposal aims to optimise railway capacity, enhance cross-border coordination, improve punctuality and reliability, and attract more freight to rail.

Earlier this year, the European Parliament and the Council finalised their respective positions. Parliament’s Report advocates for granting the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM) more authority to coordinate cross-border capacity and traffic. In contrast, the Council’s general approach favours non-binding European rules or making them subject to national derogations, which risks perpetuating a fragmented rail freight system.

During the first trilogue, Parliament and Council agreed to focus discussions on four key themes: 1) Responsibilities and competences 2) Performance, penalties and funding 3) Governance 4) Digitisation and implementation timetable. Technical-level meetings are tentatively planned for December, while a second political trilogue has yet to be scheduled.