Introduction
The redesigned capacity management process consists of several components to cover advance as well as short-term planning, and provides products for stable as well as variable market needs. The process starts five years before the respective timetable period commences and ends with the conclusion of that period.
Four Advance Planning Components
Advance planning allows to identify capacity shortages, e.g. during high-demand times, on a origin-destination basis across Europe. The following four main components constitute the central building blocks of the process:
- Capacity Strategy
International alignment on events with a large impact on capacity availability (such as extended track closures, intended increase of commuter services or newly opened lines, etc.).
- Capacity Model (with capacity partitioning)
A long-term capacity planning tool in which capacity volumes are assigned according to the identified market needs.
- Capacity Planning & Publication of Capacity Supply
Following the Capacity Model, in the Capacity Planning phase all objects (TCRs and commercial parts) will be displayed in a 365-day capacity diagram. This diagram, also known as Capacity Supply, is published at the end of this phase and shows the capacity available for booking.
- Temporary Capacity Restrictions (TCRs)
Better coordination of planned temporary capacity restrictions so that traffic can flow despite necessary track works.
Find more details on individual components HERE.
Three request methods to meet market needs
Different request methods ensure that the various market needs are covered with the right products and allocation processes. These are clustered as three distinct request methods:
- The Annual Request
A request method for the stable market to provide capacity early for commercial use (e.g. early sale of tickets)
- The Rolling Planning Request
An innovative and flexible method to allow capacity requests to be placed much closer to operation and over several timetabling periods
- Short Term Request
Traffic needs to be planned continuously and often at short notice. In TTR, IMs and Applicants have the possibility to request, update, improve, and change capacities on an ongoing basis. This can be achieved with ad hoc requests, requests for modification/alteration of already allocated capacity, optimisation of already allocated capacity, and cancellation.
More detailed information on the three requests methods is available HERE.
General Process Components
Some general process components will be introduced as well to ensure smooth execution and continuous improvement of TTR:
- International Leading Entities (ILEs)
To effectively ensure progress in, and control over, the process, as well as keeping the origin-destination view at all times, responsibility for certain process steps will be assigned to specific stakeholders. These ILEs shall ensure the quality of the outcome in each process step, including allocated capacity.
- Allocation rules
Common rules will apply to determine where priority should be given in case of conflicts in capacity planning.
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
TTR is intended as a living process that adapts to evolving market needs through continuous evaluation and improvement. To achieve this, KPIs will be defined in the relevant working groups.
When implemented, these components will provide the market with the stability of reliable planning parameters on the one hand, and sufficiently flexible capacity products on the other hand.
Framework Conditions
- IT (TTR aims for a digitalised capacity management process, with fast and easy communication across all European capacity planning systems, and short response times for Applicants)
- Legal framework (adaptations of the legal framework are needed to prevent a heterogenous patchwork of prerequisites across Europe, enforce relevant process components and to ensure the same process standards in all countries)
- Commercial conditions (needed to effectively steer the process, enforce capacity-friendly behaviour in all steps and promote the efficient use of capacity and resources).