Railway infrastructure

Railway infrastructure is a term from the railway industry that serves to differentiate between the two relevant activities in the railway sector in accordance with the relevant European directives , namely

• Provision of rail transport services ( railway companies ) and
• Construction and operation of the necessary facilities ( railway infrastructure company ).

Section 2 (3) of the General Railway Act :

“The operation of a railway infrastructure includes the construction and maintenance of railways as well as the management of operations control and safety systems. The railway infrastructure also includes buildings used to manage the railway infrastructure, buildings in which there are sales and handling facilities for passenger and freight traffic, as well as fixed and mobile sales, handling and loading facilities, provided that they are available to every railway company . "

A comparable definition can also be found in Article 62 of the Swiss Railway Act .

In addition to the railway facilities , the railway infrastructure also includes their operational maintenance with corresponding personnel work.

The EU directives of the second railway package (directives 91/440 / EEC and 2001/14 / EC) stipulate an extensive mathematical and organizational separation of vertically integrated railway companies (i.e. companies that both provide rail transport services and operate railway infrastructure) . In Appendix II to Directive 2001/14 / EC, the services to be provided by the railway infrastructure company are specified in more detail.

See also

• Germany: Railway Regulation Act
• Switzerland: Railway Network Access Ordinance

literature

• Lothar Fendrich (Ed.): Railway Infrastructure Manual . Springer-Verlag , Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-540-29581-5 .