The European Parliament adopted by 599 votes to 27 with 61 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 91/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail transport statistics, as regards the collection of data on goods, passengers and accidents.
Extension of data collection: Parliament took the view that data collection should be extended in relation to rail infrastructure, such as for example:
· the number of kilometres of rail infrastructure, equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System(ERTMS) system and the length in kilometres of the rail network continuously equipped with ERTMS (in the Member State);
· the number of cross-border rail infrastructure points, used more frequently for passenger transport than every hour, than every two hours and less frequently than every two hours;
· the number of cross-border rail points, abandoned for use of passengers or freight transport or dismantled rail infrastructure;
· the number of stations, barrier-free, accessible for persons with reduced mobility (PRMs) and disabled persons.
Parliament proposed adding some categories of data such as distance-based rail freight modal shares based on distance, in tonnes by kilometre, the number of locomotives equipped with the ERTMS system.
Data on accidents and incidents: the requirement to collect data on accidents should remain with Eurostat and the European Rail Agency. Eurostat should closely cooperate with the European Railway Agency in the collection of rail accident data in order to ensure that the data obtained are consistent and fully comparable. Moreover, a requirement to collect data on incidents is proposed, since this contributes to a higher level of rail safety.
Member States must take all measures necessary to ensure the quality of data transmitted.
Delegated powers: Members were of the opinion that there is a need for streamlining the powers delegated to the Commission to safeguard the Parliament’s prerogatives.
The power to adopt delegated acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years (renewable) from the date of the entry into force of the amending Regulation.
When preparing and drawing up delegated acts, the Commission should consult the rail sector.
Report: within three years after the date of entry into force of this Regulation and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report on the implementation of this Regulation. The report shall assess the quality of the statistics produced, especially with regards to data losses, resulting from the deletion of simplified reporting.