Several Infrastructure Managers (IMs) across Europe have published their Capacity Models for Timetable 2028 (TT2028). This marks a significant milestone in the transition towards the new European framework for railway capacity management.
The Capacity Models published in the European Capacity Management Tool (ECMT) provide a basis for strategic capacity planning. They show both the progress made and the remaining challenges ahead of the mandatory implementation of the new EU Regulation on Railway Capacity.
The regulation is intended to improve coordination, transparency, and harmonisation of capacity planning across the European rail network.
What Are Capacity Models?
Based on the principles defined in the preceding Capacity Strategies, IMs consolidate known and expected capacity volumes in their Capacity Models.
These models are essential for an efficient use of the rail network and help to improve timetable accuracy. Key benefits include:
- A clear overview of planned capacity volumes for freight and passenger transport.
- The provision of Intended Capacity Usage Values , based on Intended Capacity Usage Lines (ICLs), which indicate how much capacity is available on a specific line without extraordinary capacity planning or traffic management measures. This provides a clear picture of the expected capacity situation and helps identify potential pressure points requiring additional planning. It also shows the number of unplanned capacities, which would be available for ad hoc requests during the concerned timetable period.
- Support for rail network optimisation, including reduction of congestions.
Capacity Models support rail operators and planners in managing track capacity fairly and effectively. Capacity Models follow a standardised structure: To identify railway lines, Primary Location Codes (PLCs) are used. Based on these codes, Capacity Model Objects (CMOs) show the expected hourly volumes of capacity consumed by each commercial market segment.
Harmonised Capacity Models support IMs to allocate resources more efficiently and mitigate potential bottlenecks.
A new platform for Capacity Model publication and coordination
To support alignment across borders, Capacity Models are currently published in a central IT tool, the European Capacity Management Tool (ECMT). The ECMT is a web-based application providing a common visual overview of planned Capacity Models along railway lines and routes.
TT2028 marks the final publication cycle using ECMT. From TT2029 onwards, Capacity Models will be coordinated and published through RNE’s Capacity Planning Tool (CPT).
The CPT will bring key capacity planning functions together on a single platform, thus supporting smooth capacity planning processes. By integrating these processes into one platform, the tool will help IMs and Railway Undertakings (RUs) plan capacity in a structured and coordinated way.
The CPT will include workflows for:
- consultation and harmonisation of Capacity Models,
- planning and coordination of Temporary Capacity Restrictions (TCRs),
- pre-planned coordinated paths through the Capacity Supply function.
Preparing for the TT2031 legal requirements
The current preparation and publication of Capacity Models, ahead of the mandatory publication requirements of the EU Regulation on Railway Capacity, enables RNE, IMs, RUs and other rail-sector stakeholders to test processes and IT tools. It also allows organisations to prepare their staff for the new requirements before the full legal implementation for TT2031.
The TT2028 publication cycle of Capacity Models provided IMs with practical experience and highlighted areas for improvement, particularly regarding data quality and technical interoperability.
The lessons learned will support further process harmonisation and the continued development of IT tools ahead of the legal implementation requirements for TT2031.
RNE’s contribution to the Capacity Models TT2028
For the latest published Capacity Models (TT2028), RNE analysed their content and scope.
The high-level qualitative analysis revealed considerable variation in both content and geographical coverage across IMs. The published models covered between 9% and 88% of each IMs’ primary locations and contained between a few hundred and more than 20,000 Capacity Model Objects (CMOs).
All IMs included both freight and passenger capacity in their models, although the relative coverage of the two market segments varied. The models varied in their coverage of international and national traffic while others covered mainly national traffic.
