Key Benefits:
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Transport, Equipment, Tourism and the Sea,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1108/70 of 4 June 1970 establishing an accounting of the costs of railway, road and water transport infrastructure, together with Commission Regulation No. 2598/70 of 18 December 1970 on the fixing of the contents of the different positions of the accounting schemes of its annex I;
In light of the amended Directive 2001/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2001 on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacities and the pricing of railway infrastructure;
Having regard to Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the safety of community railways and amending Council Directive 95/18/EC on railway licences as well as Directive 2001/14/EC on the distribution of railway infrastructure capacity, railway infrastructure pricing and security certification ("rail safety directive");
Considering the general code of public ownership;
Considering the code of expropriation because of public utility;
Considering the amended Act of 15 July 1845 on the railway police;
Having regard to Act No. 82-1153 of 30 December 1982 amended inland transport orientation;
Having regard to Act No. 85-704 of 12 July 1985 amended on the mastery of public works and its relationship with the mastery of private works;
Having regard to Act No. 93-122 of 29 January 1993 amended on the prevention of corruption and transparency of economic life and public procedures;
Having regard to Act No. 97-135 of 13 February 1997, as amended, establishing the public establishment " Réseau ferré de France" for the renewal of railway transport, including articles 1-1 and 1-2;
Having regard to Act No. 2006-10 of 5 January 2006 on transport safety and development, including its article 22;
Having regard to Order No. 2004-559 of 17 June 2004 on partnership contracts;
Having regard to amended Decree No. 97-444 of 5 May 1997 on the missions and status of Réseau ferré de France;
Having regard to Decree No. 97-446 of 5 May 1997 on royalties for the use of the national railway network, as amended by Decree No. 2003-194 of 7 March 2003;
Having regard to Decree No. 2003-194 of 7 March 2003 on the use of the national grid, as amended by Decree No. 2005-1633 of 20 December 2005;
The State Council (section of public works) heard,
Decrete:
For the purpose of this decree, the following means:
- "contract": any partnership contract or any public service delegation agreement referred to in articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the law of 13 February 1997 referred to and concluded either with Réseau ferré de France, hereinafter referred to as RFF, or with the State;
- "holder": the contracting partner of RFF or the State;
- "delegate": the co-contractor of RFF or the State, signatory to a public service delegation agreement referred to in Articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above;
- "rail infrastructure": any element or set of elements listed in A of Schedule I to Regulation (EEC) No 2598/70 of the Commission of 18 December 1970 referred to in the contract.
The holder of a contract entered into pursuant to sections 1-1 and 1-2 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997 as long as he is responsible, inter alia, for the establishment and maintenance of railway infrastructure, has the capacity of infrastructure manager.
In accordance with the objectives and principles defined by RFF pursuant to Article 7 of Decree No. 97-444 of 5 May 1997 referred to above, the Société nationale des chemins de fer français, hereinafter referred to as SNCF, shall exercise on the railway infrastructure the tasks defined in the fourth and fifth paragraphs of Article 11 of the same Decree in the manner specified in the convention referred to in Article 7 of this Decree.
The safety facilities referred to in section 1-1 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997 are:
- signalling installations, including devices for their control and control;
- the control and control installations of track equipment;
- the triggers and detectors required for traffic safety, including those related to crossings.
In accordance with the objectives and principles defined by RFF pursuant to Article 7 of Decree No. 97-444 of 5 May 1997 referred to above, the licensee shall define the periodicity and conditions of implementation by the SNCF of the maintenance operations of the security facilities referred to in Article 4 of this Order.
As such, the SNCF ensures the proper operation of these facilities and ensures their regular maintenance and repairs, repairs and other measures necessary for their operation. It freely accesses the railway infrastructure to the extent that such access is necessary for the implementation of the maintenance operations referred to in the first paragraph of this article. It is responsible for the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure affected by its interventions.
The modalities for the implementation by the SNCF of maintenance operations for security facilities are specified in the convention referred to in Article 7 of this Order.
The licensee shall decide on the renewal of the above-mentioned security facilities and shall assume the responsibility for it.
Renewal or replacement programs or programs are defined by the licensee in coordination with RFF to ensure consistency in the operation of their respective facilities and programming of interventions.
The licensee concludes with the SNCF a convention that specifies the conditions and procedures for the exercise of their respective missions and competencies under sections 3, 5 and 6 of this Order.
This Convention establishes, inter alia:
- the assumptions made in terms of circulation and evolution of the characteristics of the network and infrastructure;
- the level of service, quality and performance objectives set at the SNCF;
- the modalities under which the SNCF and the licensee shall exchange the information necessary for the coordination and good performance of their respective missions in order to ensure the availability of infrastructure for users and traffic safety;
- the procedures for monitoring the execution of these missions, including regular performance reports accompanied by performance and quality indicators;
- the conditions of pay of the SNCF for these missions;
- the consequences of possible breaches by the parties to the obligations defined in the convention.
Prerequisitely for its signature, this convention is subject to RFF, which ensures that its stipulations are compatible with the objectives and principles of the management of the national grid. If there is no reasoned opposition from RFF within one month of this submission, the agreement is deemed to be approved. The final agreement is forwarded to RFF after signature.
The remuneration of the SNCF for the performance of the missions referred to in sections 3 and 5 is defined for each category of missions and by type of benefits. This remuneration may be adjusted based on the observed changes in network and infrastructure characteristics, as well as quality and performance indicators in relation to the objectives set out in the convention.
The convention provides the conditions under which certain interventions may result in an adjustment of remuneration, in particular those required by the occurrence of exceptional and unpredictable events.
RFF pays the SNCF for the exercise of the missions referred to in Articles 3 and 5 of this Order. To this end, the licensee certifies the service done and transmits to RFF the necessary documents and justifications for the execution of the payment by RFF. A specific agreement between the licensee and RFF specifies the terms and conditions under which the licensee reimburses RFF for the amounts paid to the SNCF under this section.
The licensee shall, for the performance of the assignments entrusted to it by the contract, benefit from the expropriation procedure for public use, under the conditions defined by the code of expropriation for public use.
The contract with the State or RFF shall prevail to the holder of the public domain of the State or of RFF, as the case may be, and shall be authorized to occupy this domain for its duration.
The licensee shall, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, enjoy real rights over the works and equipment carried out under the contract in accordance with the terms set out in the general code of public ownership.
The contract may give the licensee jurisdiction to grant authorizations to occupy or use the public domain referred to in the first paragraph.
Offences to the integrity and preservation of the property of the railway infrastructure are found by the officers designated for this purpose by the licensee and sworn in in in accordance with the provisions of section 23 of the Act of 15 July 1845 referred to above.
The contract imposes on the licensee the obligation to make all or part of its facilities available to the State when national defence, security, safety or public order requires it.
Expenses borne by the holder under this article shall be subject to a fair compensation from the State which benefits from the provision.
The line or section of line subject to the contract shall be incorporated into the national grid as soon as it is operational.
The partnership contracts entered into pursuant to sections 1-1 and 1-2 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997 include clauses defining the nature and modalities of the transmission of the information required to RFF for the production of the national grid reference document. These clauses also specify the licensee's responsibility for the accuracy of this information to users of the national railway network.
The contract sets out the terms and conditions under which the licensee informs the SNCF of the interventions it plans to carry out on the under-road railway infrastructure or that are likely to have an impact on the proper operation of the safety facilities.
The SNCF assists in these interventions whenever it considers it useful.
The contract may provide that the costs incurred by the State, including those resulting from the application of Article 30 of this decree, or by RFF for the realization of the infrastructure, the contracting and the control of its execution shall be borne by the holder.
Partnership contracts and public service delegation agreements concluded pursuant to articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997 are approved by decree in the Council of State.
The delegate shall ensure that any railway undertaking or international grouping of railway undertakings referred to in Article 2 of the decree of 7 March 2003 referred to as meeting the conditions set out in Article 4 of the said decree shall have access, without discrimination, to the railway infrastructure, including, where applicable, to the access lines to the terminals serving or capable of serving more than one final customer, including the connecting lines to the harbour tracks.
It may conclude, where applicable, any agreement to guarantee the provision, in terminals and ports that serve or may serve more than one final customer, of services related to railway activities carried out by railways and international groupings referred to in the preceding paragraph.
I. - The right of access to railway infrastructure includes, for any railway company or any international grouping of railway companies referred to in Article 2 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003, the right to the following benefits: the processing of its requests for infrastructure capacities, the right to use the capacities assigned to it, the use of trains and hands, the signalling, regulation, traffic management, communication and other supply
The right of access to railway infrastructure also includes the right of access to the following equipment: electric traction facilities, including the transport and distribution of traction electricity, fuel supply infrastructure, passenger stations including their buildings and other infrastructure, freight terminals, yards, training stations, retraining stations, maintenance centres and other technical infrastructure.
The delegate, RFF and SNCF are responsible, each with respect to it, to meet without discrimination any claims relating to the benefits listed in I.
II. - Any railway company or any international grouping of railway companies referred to in Article 2 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003 may apply for the following additional benefits: the provision of the traction current, the preheating of cars, the provision of fuel, manoeuvring services and all other services provided to facilities whose access is provided in I, specific contracts for the control of the transport of dangerous goods or assistance to the movement of special convoys.
Any railway company or international grouping of railway companies referred to in Article 2 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003 may also apply for related benefits including access to the telecommunications network, the provision of additional information and the technical control of the rolling stock.
As long as the delegate provides one of these additional or related benefits, he must provide it without discrimination to any company or group that makes the request.
The delegate prepares a railway infrastructure reference document that contains all the information required to exercise the infrastructure access rights delegated to him.
This document includes:
(a) A presentation of the consistency and characteristics of the railway infrastructure made available to railway companies and the conditions of access to it;
(b) A presentation of the benefits referred to in Article 19;
(c) The rules for the distribution of infrastructure capacities for lines on which available links are limited; allocation tables setting by traffic type and per hourly slice the number of stalks likely to be assigned to the next service schedule as well as the intervals required for maintenance and work; for sections declared saturated, the applicable priority rules;
(d) Timeliness and procedures for submitting and investigating requests for allocation of capacities;
(e) The pricing principles and tariffs under section 26 below;
(f) The conditions under which companies that use rail infrastructure implement the regulations relating to the use of infrastructure.
The delegate forwards his draft reference document to RFF.
In order to collect the notices referred to in Article 17 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003, RFF incorporates in its draft reference document of the national ferre network, making it distinct, the information transmitted by the delegate. The public service delegation agreement determines the terms and conditions under which the notices collected by RFF are communicated to the delegate.
The delegator shall determine the railway infrastructure reference document and shall forward it to RFF, in due time and under his responsibility, for inclusion in the national railway reference document for the publication provided for in Article 17 of the aforementioned Decree of 7 March 2003.
The railway infrastructure reference document is updated in the same forms.
I. - The delegate is responsible for distributing the capacity of railway infrastructure. It ensures the best use of this infrastructure. To this end, the delegate:
(a) Defines and assesses the available capacity on rail infrastructure, where applicable in cooperation with other infrastructure managers for an effective allocation of capacity involving several of them;
(b) Takes into account the infrastructure capacities required for the defence in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 (b) of the aforementioned Decree of 7 March 2003;
(c) Provides the whistle to the claimants and collects associated royalties, without prejudice to the provisions of section 24 of this Order. The requests for links are addressed to the Committee in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in its reference document.
In order to ensure the coherence of the distribution of infrastructure capacities across the entire national grid, RFF carries out, on behalf of and on behalf of the delegate, the tasks set out in the d and e of Article 18 of the aforementioned Decree of 7 March 2003. These are carried out under the conditions laid down in articles 21 and 22 of the aforementioned decree and those of article 23 of this decree.
II. - RFF also instructs on behalf of and on behalf of the delegate the requests for links that are addressed to him after the publication of the service schedule to obtain the allocation of links during the period covered by this schedule when they relate to railway infrastructure under the conditions provided for in Article 23 of the decree of 7 March 2003 referred to above.
III. - The delegate shall exercise on rail infrastructure the powers and prerogatives vested in RFF under Articles 24 to 26 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003.
The delegate may enter into framework agreements according to the provisions of Article 20 of the aforementioned Decree of 7 March 2003. These framework agreements can be concluded jointly with RFF to, among other things, contribute to the financing of railway infrastructure.
RFF and the delegate conclude an agreement to coordinate the distribution of infrastructure capacity to ensure the efficient operation of railway services using their respective infrastructure.
In particular, the agreement determines, where appropriate in the form of capacity allocation tables, the nature, volume and characteristics of railway infrastructure capabilities by distinguishing the nature of traffic. It may also contain provisions relating to the conditions of access and use of the infrastructure capabilities considered. It specifies the terms and conditions under which RFF and the delegate make decisions on the distribution of capacities that have a significant impact on the activity of one or the other, including in the cases provided for in Articles 22, 25 and 26 of the aforementioned Decree of 7 March 2003.
In the event that the priority rules set out in section 22 of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003 do not permit the establishment of the order that it must be met with requests for competing links within the competence of several infrastructure managers, the Minister responsible for transport defines by order the criteria for the allocation of the links after notice of the railway activity control mission established by section 29 of the Order of 7 March 2003
The delegate may also entrust RFF with all or part of the functions of:
(a) Inform and advise applicants on the products and services offered;
(b) Provide applicants with all information required to access infrastructure;
(c) Offer a unique point of contact for sillon applicants;
(d) Instruct requests for a framework agreement when they relate to both RFF-managed infrastructure capabilities and delegated infrastructure capabilities;
(e) Charge and recover for its account the royalties provided for in Article 26.
The provisions of Title V of the above-mentioned Decree of 7 March 2003 relating to administrative remedies open to stalkers and the competence of the railway monitoring mission are applicable to the railway infrastructure managed by a delegate.
Disputes between the delegate to RFF or the SNCF for the purposes of the provisions set out in sections 18 to 24 above may be brought, at the initiative of one of them, to the Minister for Transport. The Minister shall take the task of monitoring railway activities for advice. Within one month of its referral, the mission shall forward its reasoned notice to the Minister, who shall promptly communicate it to the parties to the dispute.
Access, booking and the effective use of railway infrastructure result in the collection of royalties for the benefit of the delegate. The conditions for fixing, exigibility and modulation of these royalties are identical to those set out in articles 4 to 7 of Decree No. 97-446 of 5 May 1997.
Additional or related benefits referred to in Article 19 II of this Order shall be subject, if any, to supplementary royalties.
The public service delegation agreement sets the tariff for each fee.
The proceeds of the royalties provided for in the first and second paragraphs shall not exceed the amount necessary for the coverage of the expenses of all kinds related to the design, construction, operation, maintenance, renewal or extension of the infrastructure, as well as the amortization and fair remuneration of the capital invested by the delegate.
Where the residual duration of the public service delegation agreement is insufficient to allow for the normal depreciation of additional investments to modernize existing infrastructure requested by the delegating public, including when this period may be extended pursuant to section 40 of the law of 29 January 1993 referred to above, the parties may agree on the conditions for compensation of the delegate for investments that would not be depreciated at the end. The public person may be reimbursed all or part of the amount of this compensation by the new contracting partner designated to continue the operation of the infrastructure.
The Minister for Transport shall inform RFF of the decision of the State to use the procedure provided for in section 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above for the realization or continuation of a railway infrastructure project of national or international interest.
The contracts entered into pursuant to section 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 are signed on behalf of the State by the Minister for Transport.
The terms and conditions in which RFF assists the State for any mission of a technical, administrative, legal or financial nature relevant to the preparation, negotiation, conclusion and execution of contracts entered into pursuant to Article 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 are fixed by agreement between the institution and the Minister responsible for transport. This Convention also sets out the terms and conditions of compensation for RFF.
The access, reservation and effective use of railway infrastructure and, where appropriate, the additional or related benefits referred to in the II of Article 19 of this Decree made available under a partnership contract entered into pursuant to Article 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 give rise to the collection for the benefit of the State of the royalties provided for in Article 26 of this Decree and under the same conditions. Their tariff and modulation are set by a joint order of Ministers in charge of transport, economy and budget.
The establishment on the public domain of the State of public service lines and lines is regulated by agreement between the person holding one of the contracts referred to in Article 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 and the applicant in accordance with the specific legislative and regulatory provisions in force, after the opinion of the SNCF.
Decree No. 97-444 of 5 May 1997 referred to above is amended as follows:
1° Article 1 is supplemented by a paragraph to read:
"The rights and obligations conferred on RFF by this decree with respect to the national ferre network do not prejudice the rights and obligations conferred on RFF by Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006 to persons holding one of the contracts referred to in Articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above. » ;
2° At the beginning of article 3 are inserted the words:
“Subject to the provisions of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006,”;
3° The last sentence of the first paragraph of Article 4 is deleted;
4° Section 6 is replaced by the following:
“Art. 6. - I. - RFF exercises control over investment operations on the national railway network or entrusts it to a third party in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 85-704 of 12 July 1985 amended on the mastery of public works and its relationship with the mastery of private works.
II. - RFF may also, pursuant to the fourth paragraph of section 1 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997, entrust to the SNCF mandates relating to sets of operations falling within the same category of works or meeting the same objective of the development or development of the national grid. These mandates specify the category of works or the objective of the development or development of this network established by RFF and the overall financial envelope by nature of operations, without specifying the program and the forecast financial envelope of each operation.
These terms of reference may require the SNCF to approve for RFF the choice of holders of contracts for supplies, works or services in an amount not exceeding EUR 100,000.
III. - RFF confides to the SNCF, for investment operations carried out on the network in operation:
- a master's task to ensure that traffic and people's safety objectives are taken into account on the national grid in the design and implementation of work on the network in operation;
- the definition and implementation of specific operational traffic management and security facilities management measures necessary to carry out work on the network in operation;
- the establishment of the necessary safety instructions and instructions for their commissioning.
It pays it for this purpose, for those of those tasks which exceed the obligations of the convention provided for in Article 14.
IV. - Pursuant to the fourth paragraph of Article 1 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997, RFF may also, for the investment operations carried out on the network in operation, entrust the SNCF with the terms of reference for the master's work that includes any master's work and entrust it with the completion of the work of modifying existing security facilities under these operations. » ;
5° In Article 9, the words: "RFF is obliged to make all or part of its facilities available to the State" are replaced by the words: "RFF is obliged to put all or part of the facilities it manages at the disposal of the State";
6° At the beginning of article 17 are inserted the words:
" Subject to the rights and obligations set out in Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006 for persons holding one of the contracts referred to in Article 1st-1 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above,"
7° Section 31 is supplemented by a paragraph to read:
"He deliberates on the principle of using a contract referred to in Article 1-1 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above for a national or international infrastructure project. He authorizes the signature of the contract. » ;
8° Article 53 is supplemented by the words: "and those provided for in Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006 for persons holding one of the contracts referred to in Article 1-1 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above. » ;
9° Section 54 is replaced by the following:
“Art. 54. - The establishment on the public domain of RFF of public service lines and pipelines, other than telecommunications, is regulated by agreement between RFF or the person holding one of the contracts referred to in section 1st-1 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above and the applicant in accordance with the specific legislative and regulatory provisions in force, after notice of the SNCF. »
10° In the first paragraph of section 55, after the word "RFF", the words "or the person holding one of the contracts referred to in section 1-1 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above shall be inserted."
Decree No. 97-446 of 5 May 1997 referred to above is amended as follows:
1° The title of the decree is supplemented by the words: " perceived for the benefit of Réseau ferré de France".
2° The first paragraph of section 1 shall be replaced by the following provisions:
"The purpose of this decree is to define the terms and conditions under which Réseau ferré de France receives for its benefit, pursuant to section 13 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997, and, when it has entered into a partnership contract, pursuant to section 1st-1 of the same Act, royalties in return for the granting and use of infrastructure capacities and complementary benefits made on the national ferre network. The royalty regime for the public service delegation conventions concluded on the basis of articles 1st-1 and 1st-2 of the above-mentioned law and the contracts of partnerships entered into by the State on the basis of article 1st-2 of the same law is set out in articles 26 and 31 of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006. »
The above-mentioned decree of 7 March 2003 is amended as follows:
1° Article 1, first paragraph:
- the words: "to the national grid" are replaced by the words: "to the infrastructure that it manages or where the infrastructure manager is the holder of a partnership contract entered into pursuant to sections 1st-1 and 1st-2 of the aforementioned Act of 13 February 1997;
- the words "Article 3" are replaced by the words "Article 4";
2° After article 1st, an article 1st-1 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 1-1. - The right of access to railway infrastructure under a public service delegation agreement concluded pursuant to Articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above shall be governed by the provisions of Articles 2 and 4 of this Decree and Articles 18 to 25 of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006;
3° At the beginning of Article 3, a paragraph is inserted as follows:
"The right to access the infrastructure of the national ferre network managed by Réseau ferré de France or by the holder of a partnership contract entered into pursuant to Articles 1-1 and 1-2 of the Act of 13 February 1997 referred to above shall be governed by the following provisions:"
4° Article 17:
- in the first sentence, the words "national ferret" are added after the word "network";
- the first paragraph is supplemented by the following sentence: "The reference document of the national railway network incorporates the reference documents prepared by the holders of a public service delegation agreement under the conditions provided for in Article 20 of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006, as well as the information provided by the holders of a partnership contract under the conditions provided for in Article 14 of the aforementioned decree. » ;
5° The first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 18 is replaced by the following sentence: " Réseau ferré de France is responsible for distributing the infrastructure capacities of the national railway network on the infrastructure it manages or whose infrastructure manager is the holder of a partnership contract entered into pursuant to sections 1er-1 and 1er-2 of the law of 13 February 1997 referred to above, in accordance with the terms set out in sections 18 to 27 of this Order. » ;
6° After Article 18, an article 18-1 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 18-1. - On the railway infrastructure subject to a public service delegation agreement concluded pursuant to sections 1-1 and 1-2 of the above-mentioned Act of 13 February 1997, the holder of the agreement is responsible for distributing infrastructure capacities in accordance with the terms set out in sections 21 to 24 of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006;
7° In Article 27, after the words: "Decree No. 97-446 of 5 May 1997" are inserted the words: ", of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006";
8° After the third paragraph of Article 29, a sub-item reads as follows:
"It is also responsible for instructing requests to the Minister under the provisions set out in the second paragraph of section 25 of Decree No. 2006-1534 of 6 December 2006. »
The Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, the Minister of Transport, Equipment, Tourism and the Sea, and the Minister for Budget and Reform of the State, spokesperson for the Government, are responsible, each with regard to it, for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done in Paris, December 6, 2006.
Dominique de Villepin
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Transport, Equipment,
tourism and the sea,
Dominica Perben
Minister of Economy,
finance and industry,
Thierry Breton
Minister for Budget
and the reform of the state,
Government spokesperson,
Jean-François Copé
