Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 1 6 Track Free for a Greener Europe - the European Green Deal and the Role of Railways 10 Development of the international railway market challenges and objectives for the technical regulations and dangerous goods provisions 14 Towards a sustainable rail freight transport system 20 Summarise experience in order to minimise the fragmentation of international law 21 Towards the single European rail area – A model for developing international rail law and standards 25 OTIF’s role in ensuring uniform and high quality railway law 30 Challenges and objectives for contractual law and organisation of efficient international traffic 32 20 years of COTIF. Quo vadis? 35 RNE’s vision for harmonisation of the contractual framework 44 For a paradigm shift in the rail sector: resolutely international and feminine 45 “Digitalisation: a future challenge for attractive international rail transport” 47 The Regulation concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail (RID): an example of intermodal and geographical interoperability Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 2 Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 3 Editorial In 1999, OTIF's 5th General Assembly was held in Vilnius, Lithuania. It adopted a protocol - the Vilnius Protocol - which was to constitute a major milestone for OTIF and the development of international railway law. 20 years later, on 29 October 2019, OTIF, together with the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Lithuanian Railways, jointly organised a symposium in Vilnius on the "20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol: OTIF's achievements and prospects". The symposium opened with speeches by Mr Gytis Mažeika, the Republic of Lithuania's Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Adamas Ilkevi�ius, Deputy CEO of JSC (Lithuanian Railways), Mr Michel Burgmann, former Director General of OCTI and Mr Wolfgang Küpper, Secretary General of OTIF. Participants, speakers and moderators then began the detailed work of the symposium. Sessions 1 and 3 dealt with future challenges and objectives in terms of achieving the efficient organisation of international rail traffic from the point of view of technical regulations, contract law and the provisions concerning dangerous goods. The discussion in session 2 focused on the fragmentation of international law in general and railway law in particular, and on the quality of the international regulations and their practical implementation. There were meaningful discussions throughout the day for the speakers and participants who were present in the conference room. The quality of the debate was very high. The symposium was a successful anniversary to mark the Vilnius Protocol. With this special edition of the Bulletin, the Secretariat’s aim is to preserve a written record of the speeches in addition to the videos. Thanks to the contributions from most of the speakers, this special edition provides a record of the discussions on 29 October 2019 and offers solutions that can be considered for a promising future. I hope you enjoy reading this special edition. Authors: Caroiline Bailleux Cesare Brand Maurizio Castelletti Christian Chavanel Josef Doppelbauer Jean-Georges Heintz Elisabeth Hochhold Wolfgang Küpper Christophe Le Borgne Clio Liégeois Joost Naessens Dr. Vytautas Naudužas Dr. Péter Rónai Ralf-Charley Schultze Publication, June 2020 Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 4 Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 5 SESSION 1 Evolution of international railway market: challenges and objectives for technical and dangerous goods regulations Josef DOPPELBAUER Christian CHAVANEL Joost NAESSENS ERA Executive Director UIC Director of Rail System CEFIC Director Transport & Logistics Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 6 Bulletin of International Carriage by Rail | 20th Anniversary of the Vilnius Protocol 1999 - 2019 7 Track Free for a Greener Europe - the European Green drastically reducing technical economies of scale. At the European wider European rail market, and and operational barriers Union Agency for Railways, it is in creating links to the economies Deal and the Role of Railways therefore our ambition to produce close to the European continent. 2. Increased frequency of a simplified set of rules that can be service – all too often there globally applied, while at the same When travelling by car between and trucks offered a cheap, safe, on Europe’s major routes with a are large gaps in the daily time ensuring safe and interoperable ROLE OF ERA AS European countries, it is not an and reliable way to fuel the global new cohort of environmentally- schedules operations. Our ambition is to be a REGULATOR AND uncommon experience that the economy, and the private car conscious travellers, the natural driving force for the globalisation of SYSTEM AUTHORITY quality of the motorway surface provided citizens with seemingly limits of the current rail system 3. Reduced travel times – in railways, together with our partners degrades more or less significantly endless options of individual come to light. The success of rail order to compete with road around the globe who follow the The European Union Agency for on the final leg connecting two movement. Despite considerable transport in Europe is still held and aviation, a faster service same ambition. Railways (ERA) has assumed a new countries. There are exceptions technical advancements, rail only back by a fragmented network, has to be provided for key role with the technical pillar of the to that rule, but in general those played a marginal role in the third and, consequently, expensive connections. In some cases, National thinking serves neither so-called 4th Railway Package as the roads leading to another country industrial age of globalisation, operations. National small-time night trains may be a viable the purpose of international European authority issuing single seem ever so slightly less frequently which started in the late sixties and thinking and planning hinder alternative railways, nor that of the New safety certificates, vehicle (type) maintained – probably because came to an end only a few years the true internationalisation of Green Deal - as is outlined in its authorisations and ERTMS trackside it is every good politician’s job to ago. As a result, the rail network in rail transport. As in international strategy document, the drivers of approvals that are valid in multiple take care of their own constituency Europe remains highly fragmented, aviation, standardised products ROLE OF LEAN climate change are global and not European countries. The legislation first, and concentrate resources more than 60 years after signing and international technical and REGULATION AND limited by national borders, and it entered into force in mid-2019, so and attention on the core national the Treaty of Rome. operational rules would lead INTERNATIONAL will take a concerted international the focus of Agency staff in previous network before taking care of the to drastic cost reductions, and COLLABORATION effort to deliver a greener world for years was to prepare to assume less voter-relevant international However, the fourth industrial hence to a much better service everybody. Rail freight, especially the new tasks. We have developed connection. This is not a big age – the emergence of which and price offering on behalf of Railways are the only mode of coming from neighbouring countries an IT system to handle requests issue for international road travel, we are witnessing today – brings the rail industry. transport without a global set of and regions close to the European for authorisation EU-wide and in all because generally the conditions with it huge opportunities for the binding rules. The international rail continent, will play an integral official EU languages, the one-stop of the connecting bits and pieces revitalisation of railways. People Taking the cost out of the system world is therefore colourful and full part in organising carbon-neutral shop (OSS). on the intra-European motorway today are looking to reduce the is one of the big challenges – of technically interesting variants and logistics that facilitate trade with our system are quite sound, and there carbon footprint of their travels, and becoming more innovative is another. solutions. From a purely business closest partners and allies. The role We had to re-organise the structure are no technical or administrative are more than ever ready to change In order to compete effectively with point of view, however, we should of OTIF as an intergovernmental of the Agency to cater for the new hurdles for car travellers moving behaviour. As an environmentally road transport, we need to create an strive for a common set of technical organisation for international tasks, and hire new high-calibre staff between European countries. friendly mode of transport, railways environment in which innovation can and operational rules, which allow carriage by rail therefore plays to perform the new duties, again Crossing borders by car is blissfully can once again become the most be swiftly absorbed, so the quality for full compatibility