Railway Markets

Notifications of Railway Undertakings

The further opening and integration of the European Railway Markets to other rail operators than the traditional incumbent operators requires clear procedures for new operators to enter the railway markets. Directive 95/18 on the licensing of railway undertakings provides a framework for the conditions under which railway undertakings can obtain a licence in a Member State to run freight services. This Directive 95/18 provides in its article 11(8) that 'When a licensing authority suspends, revokes or amends a licence, the Member State concerned shall immediately inform the Commission accordingly. The Commission shall inform the other Member States forthwith'. Directive 95/18 has been amended by Directive 2001/13, and by Directive 2004/49. The former had to be implemented by 15 March 2003 at the latest and provides -among others- that licences issued in one Member State will be valid throughout the European Union. With the adoption of the Second Railway Package, minor amendments were made to Directive 95/18 with the adoption of Directive 2004/49. The Regulation establishing a European Railway Agency (881/2004) though provides in its Article 11  that the Agency shall be responsible for keeping a public database of the licences issued in accordance with Directive 95/18/EC and the safety certificates issued in accordance with Article 10 of the Railway Safety Directive 2004/49.

The table below gives an overview of the number of issued licences per Member State. The names of the licences railway undertakings and the authorities responsible for issuing the licences and safety certificates can be found in the section 'Country Information'.

State: 21 March 2007.