Brussels takes the Netherlands to court over railway rules

An Intercity train.
An Intercity train. Photo: Depositphotos.com

The European Commission has decided to take the Netherlands to court for failing to comply with EU legislation on rail services.

The Netherlands, the commission says, has failed to establish an independent rail safety body and an accident investigation body in line with EU rules.

In addition, the Netherlands has not met rules on achieving rail inter-operability in Europe, which would guarantee the compatibility of infrastructure, rolling stock, signalling and other rail subsystems across the EU network.

Competitive

‘This is essential to make the rail sector more competitive towards other transport modes,’ the commission said in a statement on Thursday.

Despite reminders in 2015 and 2014,  ‘no legislative steps have been taken’, prompting the court referrals, the commission said.

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