European Parliament approves rail capacity regulation

The European Parliament on May 19 gave final approval to a regulation that changes how railway infrastructure capacity will be planned, coordinated and allocated across the European Union. The measure covers the Single European Railway Area and is designed to reduce cross-border bottlenecks, improve punctuality and make better use of existing tracks. The law follows a political agreement between the Parliament and Council reached in November 2025 and stems from a European Commission proposal published in July 2023. The Commission said the new rules should improve cross-border coordination and attract more passengers and freight to rail. ### Why did Brussels rewrite the rail-capacity rulebook? The European Commission proposed the regulation on July 11, 2023 as part of its freight greening package. The draft law amends Directive 2012/34/EU and repeals Regulation (EU) No 913/2010, replacing older rules on how rail capacity is planned and managed across member states. The Commission said Europe’s rail network is expensive to expand and increasingly congested, making better use of existing infrastructure a policy priority. (railwaygazette.com) Its November 2025 statement said the regulation would optimise track use, improve cross-border coordination, and raise punctuality and reliability. (eur-lex.europa.eu) ### What changes for infrastructure managers and train operators? The regulation introduces a more standardised European approach to capacity planning and traffic management. Industry summaries said the new framework is meant to strengthen cross-border planning, make possessions more predictable and improve the quality of asset and network information used in timetable and works planning. (transport.ec.europa.eu) Railway Gazette reported that the measure targets both freight and passenger throughput by coordinating use of infrastructure capacity more closely across borders. The European Parliament’s legislative tracking page describes the file as being in the final stage before adoption after the April 23, 2026 Commission communication on the Council’s position. (railwaygazette.com) ### Where do the bottlenecks sit today? Cross-border corridors have been a recurring weak point in the EU rail system because national infrastructure managers still plan and allocate capacity through different procedures and timelines. The Parliament’s research service said the proposal aims to improve service quality, optimise network use, increase traffic capacity and support decarbonisation of transport. (railwaygazette.com) The Commission said passengers should benefit from additional and more frequent services as network capacity is used more efficiently, including across borders. Freight operators and infrastructure managers have backed the file as a way to cut delays and manage congestion more consistently. (europarl.europa.eu) ### Why are rail engineers and contractors watching this file? Railway Gazette said the regulation shifts attention toward network operability rather than isolated project delivery. That affects how adjacent works such as drainage, embankments, access roads, utility diversions and temporary possessions are planned, because those works must fit more tightly into coordinated operating windows. (transport.ec.europa.eu) Alberto Mazzola, executive director of the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Managers, said after Parliament’s approval that the regulation is “a key milestone for the rail sector to make existing capacity more efficient and increase it by 4%.” He said preparatory work was already under way for implementation. (railwaygazette.com) ### What happens next in the legislative process? The Council’s position was transmitted to Parliament before the final vote, and the Commission issued its Article 294(6) communication on April 23, 2026. With Parliament’s final approval now given, the regulation moves toward formal publication in the Official Journal and entry into force under the timetable set out in the law. (railwaygazette.com) The Community of European Railways said the first rail timetable under the new system is being prepared for 2031. That gives infrastructure managers, railway undertakings and EU bodies several years to build the common planning processes and data arrangements required by the regulation. (railfreight.com) (eur-lex.europa.eu)