Instituto Nacional do Transporte Ferroviário
The Instituto Nacional do Transporte Ferroviário, Instituto Público , abbreviated INTF, IP , mostly just INTF, was the Portuguese railway regulatory authority . She took over, compared for example with the German Federal Railway Authority , the licensing of the Portuguese railway network, forgave vehicle registrations and supervised the national railway infrastructure company REFER and the operating railway companies.
History and function
The European Union called for a liberalization of the railway sector, which the Portuguese government did not avoid. Therefore, the government under Prime Minister Guterres separated in April 1997 with the Legislative Decree 104/97 in addition to the infrastructure company Rede Ferroviária Nacional , a new railway regulatory authority with the name Instituto Nacional do Transporte Ferroviário , in German "National Institute for Railway Transport ". The carried out the required separation and distribution of duties of the Portuguese state railway company Caminhos-de-ferro Portugueses . From the beginning, INFT was under the responsibility of the Portuguese Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication. Political influence through this was not possible.
The INTF's area of responsibility was broad, so it monitored all rail transport in Portugal, such as rail, underground, light rail and tram, as well as the numerous traffic elevators, funiculars and cable cars. The INTF was responsible for their licensing and approval, for modifications to them and could also impose fines if they were violated. New buildings, whether new train stations, new track systems or level crossings, always had to be approved by the INTF before they were put into operation. In addition, the INTF announced competitions for new routes and rail systems, but only four tenders: once the operation and construction of the Eixo Norte-Sul railway line between Campolide via Pragal to Pinhal Novo and the light rail systems in the Margem Sul do Tejo , in Porto and in Coimbra room .
In order to strengthen the position and efficiency of the various regulatory authorities of the Portuguese means of transport, the government under Prime Minister Sócrates decided in May 2007 to merge three different authorities, including the INTF, the Direcção Geral dos Transportes Terrestres e Fluviais , (“General Directorate for Land and Sea Transport ") And the Direcção Geral de Viação (" General Directorate for Road Traffic ") to the newly founded Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes Terrestres . The new institute took over all tasks of the INTF, so that this was dissolved by the end of 2007.