Post date: Jun 20, 2013 2:13:17 PM
EU Commission requests France and Britain to lower charges on the high-speed Eurostar service, and wants Germany's Deutsche Bahn to end illegal cross-subsidies.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JUNE 20, 2013) (REUTERS) - The European Commission has given France and Britain two months to respond to a request to lower charges for passenger and freight trains to use theChannel Tunnel, or face possible court action, the Commission said on Thursday (June 20).
The Commission said the illegal high track access charges result in problems for both passengers of the high-speed Eurostar service and freight operators."The Commission has sent a formal request to France and the UK to take action to end excessive track access charging in the Channel Tunnel. These charges are against EU rules and operate the detriment of passengers and freight operators. Because of the excessive charges in the Channel Tunnel, passengers are paying over the odds for their tickets, freight operators and their customers are being overcharged and overall, the current regime is stifling growth in the rail sector," EU Commission spokeswoman Helen Kearns told a daily news conference inBrussels.
Tunnel operator Eurotunnel charges a reservation fee of 4,320 euros ($5,800) one way for Eurostar trains and 16.60 euros per passenger. EU officials said the charges should be roughly half that amount, and the excess meant only 43 percent of the tunnel's capacity is used.
In a separate case, the Commission said it may bring Germany to court if it does not change rules on cross subsidies.
"The Commission has sent a formal request to Germany to require Deutsche Bahnto end illegal cross-subsidies within the group. To do this, Germany must requireDeutsche Bahn to scrap certain profit transfer agreements. And secondly, Germanymust ensure that Deutsche Bahn has a full and transparent separation of accounts to ensure that Deutsche Bahn does not use cross-subsidies between transport services financed by the state, potentially which could be used for operations run on a more commercial basis," said Kearns.
Regulators said current rules allow railway operators who also manage infrastructure, namely Deutsche Bahn, to unfairly transfer money earned from track charges paid by competitors to subsidise its other divisions. EU officials said money earned from track charges should either be used on infrastructure or redistributed as dividend to the state.