Activities of João PIMENTA LOPES related to 2022/2022(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail (short presentation)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the action plan to boost long-distance and cross-border passenger rail
Amendments (35)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas important legislative steps have been taken towards the completion of the single European railway areathe four railway packages designed by the European Union to complete a single European railway area – advocating the liberalisation and commercialisation of the sector – have resulted in the closure of around 6 000 km of track (not just in the EU, but also in the UK, Norway and Switzerland), disinvestment in the railways (compared with other transport sectors), withdrawal of most night trains, loss of passengers and job destruction in the sector;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the opinion issued by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in March 2021 concluded that three decades of liberalisation in the European Union railway sector have ‘not yielded the sought overall results’, and that an analysis of the results of the single European railway area should not be ‘limited to the implementation of the EU legal framework and a measuring of the degree of market opening’, but should also include ‘environmental aspects and … the role of rail as a Service of General Interest’;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the completion of TEN-T is crucial to advancing towards more sustainable modes of transport, in particular rail transport; it is vital, in order to advance towards more sustainable modes of transport, in particular rail transport, not only to establish the key infrastructure, but also the capacity to develop secondary networks, connecting towns and cities, manufacturing facilities and logistics centres, which will help to boost the productive systems of the Member States, as well as territorial and socio-economic cohesion; whereas the TEN-T is essentially aimed at liberalising and concentrating the rail sector, consolidating the ‘single market’, and delivering savings, supported by public funding, for private businesses in strategic sectors in certain larger countries;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the European Year of Rail 2021 was an opportunity to foster a shift towards mak, by failing to mention that it is EU policies that are responsible for the decline of the rail sector, publicised an image not correctly reflecting the situation in the sector; it should instead have been an opportunity to foster investment ing rail the backbone of passenger transport across the Unionand in its potential key role as a method of passenger transport better serving the people and development strategies of each country;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point a
Paragraph 2 – point a
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point c
Paragraph 2 – point c
c) improving the eofficiencyer and quality of transporthe public rail transport service, while reducing travel times and ticket prices;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point d
Paragraph 2 – point d
d) ensuring fair comopetiration and interoperability among rail operators and authorities and between different modes of transport;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – point e
Paragraph 2 – point e
e) ensuring the protection of passengers’ rights, guaranteeing equal access for all and fostering the attractiveness of rail transport, in particular for young people;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the acceleration of the work to ensure the full implementation of the 4th Railway Package and the Technical Specifications for InteroperabilityEmphasises the need to reverse the measures recommended in the railway packages, by re-focusing on public interest and service, restoring the vertical links between infrastructure management, and operation and maintenance of services, and ensuring public investment in the expansion of the network and renewal of rolling stock, which will guarantee a modern, interoperable, accessible and high-quality rail service;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the full deployment of the ERTMS will help to create a digital single European railway areae need for strict cooperation between network operators and managers across the various Member States, ensuring the development of safe, secure and efficient rail transport services for long- distance and cross-border connections;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that boosting long- distance rail transport must also improve the connection of regional, urban and peripheral areas to TEN-T, and that European funding in this respect must cover investment in secondary transport networks, with particular emphasis on rail;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses the importance of ensuring the synchronised deployment ofat the trackside system and on-board units and the need for improved ERTMS governance to ensure such asystem is effective so that connections can be monitored and synchronised deployment at both national and EUinternational level;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Emphasises the need to ensure increased, appropriate, quick and efficient financing to support the investments;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that the timely completion of the multimodal, seamless TEN-T core network corridors by 2030 is imperative and must involve the elimination of bottlenecks and missing links, as well as the restructuring of connected transport networks and the completion of cross-border sections; supports the planned high-speed rail connections in the extended core network, to be realised by 2040;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that in order for TEN-T to play its role in fostering territorial and socio-economic cohesion in the EU internal market, appropriat, appropriate, regular and reliable multimodal transport and smartcomprehensive connectivity to the TEN-T core network must be developed, in particular for remote, insular, peripheral and other disadvantaged areas, many of which have considerable room fo in order to aid their socio-economic improvedevelopment;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Supports the Commission’s focus on theEmphasises the need to completion ofe first/last mile multimodal hubs in cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants, thereby strengthening rail connectivity with air, sea and road transport, manufacturing facilities and logistics centres in the Member States;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the clarificrelaxation of State aid rules on the public funding of interoperable rolling stock for cross- border services in the revised Railway Guidelinin the rail sector, including for the improvement of cross- border services;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Emphasises the need for clear interoperable standards and furtherfurther investments in rolling stock, bearing in mind the long-standing lack of national investments in rolling stockthis area;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Considers that investment is urgently needed in national capacities to build and repair rolling stock;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Considers that, where rail operators and authorities responsible for cross-border connections identify the need for language training for workers in the sector, it must be free for workers to acquire those skills, which must be strictly proportional to operational needs and technical and safety standards;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Stresses that cross-border operations must not contribute to social dumping; emphasises that the mobility of cross-border staff must not be used as a way of downgrading working conditions, particularly through subcontracting; calls, therefore, for the upskilling of workers in the rail sector, and for improvements in their wages and labour protection, in particular by using open- ended contracts and promoting collective labour agreements;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 6
Subheading 6
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the Commission’s upcoming plans to publish guiStresses that infrastructure must be managed in line with criteria delfines for setting track access chargesd by the Member States, including with regard to track use and the need for investment in infrastructure;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 162 #
19a. Calls for an assessment of the impact of liberalising and vertically separating rail management and operation, as promoted by EU policies, which should particularly focus on the reduction in rail networks and services, and the decline in the rail offer and its quality;
Amendment 170 #
20. Acknowledges that making long- distance rail passenger services more attractive requires more accessible, simpler and smart ticketing and appropriate protection for passengers in the event of delays or missed connections for single options and through tickets, ensuring, as a minimum, journey continuation;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Takes note of the Commission’s upcoming proposal for a regulation on multimodal digital mobility services to enhance secure data exchange and facilitate the conclusion of fair commercial agreementagreements between rail operators and authorities on cross-border connections;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Stresses the importance of ensuring fair and advantageous ticket prices for all categories of passengers, includingparticularly the most vulnerable;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the Commission’s willingness to monitor compliance with the new Rail Passengers’ Rights RegulationCalls for rail passengers’ rights to be strengthened by extending existing rights to multimodal journeys involving different operators and different countries;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8
Subheading 8
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers that all possible avenues should be explored to ensure a level playing field with other transport modes, including the possibility of an EU-wide VAT exemption for international train services, and with regard to prioritising investment in rail and in the promotion of rail services that complement and connect with other transport modes and logistics centres in the Member States; notes that it is vital to develop a quick, efficient, interoperable and high-quality rail network that can play this central role, which therefore necessarily entails promoting and increasing public investment, ensuring work withe revision and simplification ofights and combating dumping, and relaxing State aid; rules;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Stresses that public service contracts canmust play a decisive role in supporting the continuity of services and connections to interesting destinations, such as tourist and historical destinations, by providing rail services that help to maintain a dense network of railway links, including to less attractive destinationrail services, by helping to maintain a dense network of regular, reliable and high-quality railway links;
Amendment 213 #
27. Believes that public service obligations canmust promote the use of rail, including in long-distance passenger transport, in particular in the case of market failures in cross-border and last- mile routes, perhaps in combination with other profitable segments of the network;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Commission to sustain the momentum of the 2021 European Year of Rail in the 2022 European Year of Youth, by encouraging and helping young people to travel by train, and attracting them toby improving the image of professions in the rail sector, which is facing skill shortages driven by innovation and digitalisation, in particular by increasing wages and by improving working conditions and labour and social protection;