Rail Freight: Infrastructure and Quality

Freight trains are a crucial component of the Road-Rail Combined Transport performed by UIRR members.  Crucial rail factors for Combined Transport:

• The physical capabilities and capacity of rail infrastructure from a freight perspective including traffic management, and

• The efficiency and punctuality of intermodal freight trains, including their traction service providers (railway undertakings).

Rail infrastructure: the physical parameters of the European rail network are defined in the Trans-European Network for Transportation (TEN-T) Guidelines Regulation, while the safety and interoperability rules concerning the infrastructure and its use are contained in the standards handled by the EU Agency for Railways a.k.a. Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs).

Infrastructure capacity allocation: infrastructure capacity is embodies in train paths that must be obtained by authorised applicants (railway undertakings or Combined Transport Operators) prior to the circulation of every train.  The train path embodies (i) the time on the tracks needed for the train to pass and (ii) the elaborate series of time-slots on the various lines to be used by the train. Should a train miss its time stamp at any junction of its route, it will lose the elaborate series of time-slots defined in its train path.  Capacity allocation is performed pursuant to the rules defined in the Single European Railway Area (SERA) Directive 

Rail traffic management: traffic management refers to the facilitation of train traffic on the tracks.  Traffic control is handled by signaling centres that are responsible for particular section(s) of line(s).  Besides operational circumstances, train circulation may be influenced by temporary capacity restrictions (TCRs) that may arise due to an event of vis maior, infrastructure restriction caused by the lack of maintenance or a man-made disruption caused by pre-planned works on the tracks.