Introduction
In order to ensure the successful implementation of the new capacity management system under the TTR project, it became evident that certain measures were necessary to prevent the inefficient use of rail capacity by all involved stakeholders. Specifically, inefficiencies arise due to:
- Unstable or excessively short-term planning of infrastructure availability, leading to changes in already allocated capacity.
- Capacity being blocked but only partially used - or not used at all - by stakeholders.
Some sets of commercial conditions are already in use across Europe, but they remain subject to strict national rules and lack proper international harmonisation.
Harmonised Commercial Conditions
By introducing harmonised commercial conditions, stakeholders are encouraged to book and use capacity products as efficiently as possible and support effective capacity management. After an intense sector discussion, RNE's dedicated task force elaborated the first Guidelines for Harmonized Commercial Conditions, which were adopted by the RNE General Assembly in December 2023.
Although the document was developed by infrastructure management experts, input from Applicants and other stakeholders were considered throughout its creation and for the following related activities.
RNE is continuously promoting exchanges with all sector stakeholders, as well as the SERAF groups organised by the European Commission, to address challenges and ensure the successful and transparent implementation of commercial conditions across Europe.
Capacity Regulation and new requirements for penalties scheme
On July 2023, the European Commission published a new EU Regulation proposal for the use of rail infrastructure capacity. The draft proposal included specific requirements for Commercial Conditions, providing a strong legal basis for the creation of a harmonised set of rules on such incentive measures and will form part of the European Framework for Capacity Management.
Many elements of the draft Regulation were already reflected in the guidelines. The key elements of the Commission’s proposal include:
- Reciprocity of the mechanism
- National determination of economic incentives
- Respect for national railway network and traffic specifications
- Consideration of all capacity products, including multinational capacity
As Commercial Conditions Guidelines were subject to constant improvements, RNE worked on elaborating an updated version of the Guidelines, taking into account the new requirements of the upcoming Capacity Regulation. The updating process involved in 2025 also a stakeholder consultation of the draft document, but the final adoption by the RNE General Assembly was kept on hold due to significant changes of the requirements after the final trilogue of the draft Capacity Regulation in November 2025. The proposed update and the outcome of the consultation phase are available at the following link.
Next steps
RNE Commercial Conditions task force is working on the update of the document in line with the Regulation requirement and minimum content to be provided by ENIM/Network Coordinator for the European Framework for Capacity Management to support the implementation by Infrastructure Managers (IMs).
Update of the 2025 Guidelines proposal for Harmonised Commercial Conditions
The Commercial Conditions Guidelines are subject to constant improvements. In 2025, updates were planned to include new requirements of the upcoming Capacity Regulation. After the RNE task force elaborated the first draft updated proposal, other stakeholders – particularly applicants – were invited to provide their feedback on the draft.
Following the consultation phase, which concluded on 23 August 2025, the RNE task force analysed the inputs received and updated the Guidelines for Harmonised Commercial Conditions proposal. Moreover, the IMs’ experts elaborated a report providing an overview on the input received and assessments.
The updated Guidelines proposal in tracked changes mode and the Report are available for download:
On 6 November 2025, RNE organised a webinar to:
- Share the key input provided by participants of the Commercial Conditions Consultation and the feedback of the task force members.
- Present the resulting changes made to the Guidelines based on stakeholder input.
- Answer questions and foster open exchange between RNE and the sector.
Following the outcomes of the trilogue negotiations on the Capacity Management Regulation, the final updated Guidelines need further iteration in 2026 within the RNE Commercial Conditions task force to reflect the new requirements expected by the final Regulation text.
Contact
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the chair of the Commercial Conditions project, Daniele Imbriani.