Rail Services Market

Rail services market is a market where the infrastructure manager or operator of a service facility provides rail services to applicants for infrastructure capacity (railway undertaking or international group, shipping companies, freight forwarders and combined transport operators, having an interest in public service performance or business interest in infrastructure capacity allocation, etc.).

In the Republic of Croatia, the manager of railway infrastructure is the Croatian Railway Infrastructure Ltd. The management of railway infrastructure is an activity of public interest. The basic functions of the infrastructure manager are: the railway track allocation, including the determination and assessment of infrastructure capacity availability and determination of infrastructure charges, including the imposing the charges.

The infrastructure manager shall manage the railway infrastructure (railway infrastructure map) for which the Network Report is published and available on the official website of the HŽ infrastruktura is published.

In accordance with the Railway Act OG 32/19 a railway undertaking is any legal person authorised to carry out rail transport services issued by the competent authority whose principal activity is to carry out rail freight and/or passenger services provided that legal person ensures train traction; this also includes legal persons engaged only in train traction.

Rail services are:

a) Minimum access package
b) Access to service facilities and services provided in those facilities, including track access to service facilities
c) Additional services
d) Ancillary services

The minimum access package consists of:

the handling of requests for railway infrastructure capacity;
the right to utilise the capacity allocated;
the use of railway infrastructure, including points and junctions;
the management of rail traffic, including signalling, regulation, reception and dispatch, as well as the communication of and provision of information concerning train movements;
the use of electrical supply equipment necessary for traction current, where such equipment is available;
the provision of all other information required for the performance and provision of the services for which capacity has been allocated.

Service facilities includes:

passenger stations, together with their buildings and other facilities, including travel information displays and suitable locations for the provision of ticketing services;
freight terminals;
marshalling yards and train formation facilities, including shunting facilities;
storage sidings;
maintenance facilities, with the exception of routine maintenance facilities specifically designed for high-speed trains or other types of rolling stock requiring specialised facilities;
other technical facilities, including cleaning and washing facilities;
maritime and inland port facilities connected to rail operations;
auxiliary facilities;
fuel supply facilities and refuelling services, the charges for which shall be shown separately on invoices.

Additional services may comprise:

the supply of electricity required for train haulage, with the corresponding fees accounted for separately from the charges for the use of electricity supply equipment;
the pre-heating of passenger trains;
the conclusion of specific contracts relating to:

1. the supervision of the transport of dangerous goods;
2. assistance in the transport of exceptional consignments.

Ancillary services may comprise:

access to telecommunication networks;
the provision of supplementary information;
the technical inspection of rolling stock;
the provision of ticketing services in passenger stations;
the provision of routine maintenance services in maintenance facilities specifically designed for high-speed rolling stock or for other categories of rolling stock requiring specialised facilities

Economic Balance of Public Passenger Transport Services Contract

Pursuant to Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Act on the Regulation of the Railway Services Market and the Protection of Passengers’ Rights in Railway Transport (OG 104/17), an applicant intending to request infrastructure capacity for the provision of rail passenger transport services on routes where one or more public passenger transport contracts cover the same or alternative routes between a designated starting point and a specific destination, and where such provision would jeopardise the economic balance of those contracts, shall notify the infrastructure manager and the regulatory body at least 18 months prior to the entry into force of the timetable to which the capacity request relates.

The regulatory body shall be informed by means of a standard notification form on the planned new rail passenger service that can be found here.

Notification of Planned New Rail Passenger Transport Services

The Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries, pursuant to Article 4(4) and Article 15 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1795 of 20 November 2018 laying down the procedure and criteria for the application of the economic equilibrium test in accordance with Article 11 of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Article 19(2) of the Act on the Regulation of the Railway Services Market and the Protection of Passengers’ Rights in Railway Transport (OG No. 104/17), hereby publishes the notices submitted by HŽ Putnički prijevoz d.o.o., Zagreb, concerning planned new rail passenger transport services.

The said notices concern the following services: