Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1153 and (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 (Text with EEA relevance)

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Article 1

Subject matter

Article 2

Scope

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘project of common interest’ means any project carried out pursuant to this Regulation;

(2) ‘neighbouring country’ means a third country falling within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy, the Enlargement Policy, and the European Economic Area, the European Free Trade Association or the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part (¹);

(3) ‘NUTS region’ means a region as established by Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (²) and classified in Annex I of that Regulation;

(4) ‘cross-border section’ means the section which ensures the continuity of a project of common interest on both sides of a border, situated between the closest urban nodes to the border of two Member States or between a Member State and a neighbouring country;

(5) ‘bottleneck’ means a physical, technical, functional, operational or administrative barrier which leads to a system break, including systematic congestion or standstill, affecting the continuity of traffic for long-distance or cross-border flows;

(6) ‘urban node’ means an urban area where elements of the transport infrastructure of the trans-European transport network for passengers and freight, such as ports, including passenger terminals, airports, railway stations, bus terminals and multimodal freight terminals, located in and around the urban area are connected with other elements of that infrastructure and with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic, including infrastructure for active modes;

(7) ‘isolated network’ means a rail network of a Member State, or part thereof, with a track gauge different from that of the European standard nominal track gauge of 1 435  mm;

(8) ‘multimodal transport’ means the carriage of passengers or freight, or both, using two or more modes of transport;

(9) ‘multimodal digital mobility service’ means ‘multimodal digital mobility service’ as defined in Article 4, point (24), of Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (³);

(10) ‘interoperability’ means the ability, including in the light of all the regulatory, technical, administrative and operational conditions, of the infrastructure, including digital infrastructure in a transport mode or segment and between different transport modes, to allow safe and uninterrupted traffic and information flows which achieve the required levels of performance for that infrastructure mode or segment;

(11) ‘multimodal passenger hub’ means a connection point between at least two transport modes for passengers, where travel information, access to public transport and transfers between modes are ensured, such as park-and-ride stations, and which acts as an interface within and between urban nodes and between urban nodes and longer-distance transport networks;

(12) ‘multimodal freight terminal’ means a structure equipped for transhipment between at least two transport modes, or between two different rail systems, and for temporary storage of freight, such as terminals in inland or maritime ports, along inland waterways and in airports, as well as rail road terminals;

(13) ‘sustainable urban mobility plan’ or ‘SUMP’ means a document for strategic mobility planning, aiming at improving, in a sustainable way, accessibility to and mobility within the functional urban area, including commuting zones in that urban area or in its vicinity), for people, businesses and goods in view in particular of a better quality of life;

(14) ‘active mode’ means the transport of people or goods, through non-motorised means, based on human physical activity, including vehicles with electric auxiliary propulsion as referred to in Article 2(2), point (h), of Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁴);

(15) ‘ICT systems for transport’ means information and communications technology systems and applications using information, communication, navigation or positioning or localisation technologies, including space based technologies, which make it possible to process, store and exchange the data and information needed to manage infrastructure, mobility and traffic on the trans-European transport network effectively, to report relevant information to authorities and to provide services to citizens, shippers and operators that add value, including systems for resilient, safe, secure, environmentally sound and capacity-efficient use of the network; they include systems, technologies and services referred to in points (16) to (22) and may also include on-board devices with corresponding infrastructure or digital components;

(16) ‘Intelligent Transport Systems’ or ‘ITS’ means ‘Intelligent Transport Systems’ as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Directive 2010/40/EU;

(17) ‘Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System’ or ‘VTMIS’ means the ‘vessel traffic monitoring and information system’ established by Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁵);

(18) ‘River Information Services’ or ‘RIS’ means ‘river information services (RIS)’ as defined in Article 3, point (a), of Directive 2005/44/EC of the Parliament and of the Council (⁶);

(19) ‘European Maritime Single Window environment’ or ‘EMSWe’ means ‘European Maritime Single Window environment’, as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁷);

(20) ‘Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Service System’ or ‘ATM/ANS System’ means an ‘ATM/ANS system’ as defined in Article 3, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁸);

(21) ‘European Rail Traffic Management System’ or ‘ERTMS’ means ‘European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)’, as defined in point 2.2 of Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695 (⁹), and in the context of implementation deadlines it refers to the Class A train protection system and any Class A radio system, referred to in that Regulation;

(22) ‘radio-based ERTMS’ means the European Train Control System (ETCS) application level 2 that does not require lineside signals and uses a Class A radio system for the safety and non-safety related data exchange between track and train pursuant to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695;

(23) ‘class B systems’ means ‘class B systems’ as defined in point 3 of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1695;

(24) ‘maritime port’ means a ‘maritime port’ as defined in Article 2, point (16), of Regulation (EU) 2017/352 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹⁰);

(25) ‘short-sea shipping’ means the movement of cargo and passengers by sea between ports situated in geographical waters of one or several Member States or between a port situated in waters of Member States and a port situated in waters of an adjacent third country having a coastline on the seas bordering waters of one or several Member States;

(26) ‘electronic freight transport information’ or ‘eFTI’ means the electronic ‘freight transport information’ as defined in Article 3, point (4) of Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹¹);

(27) ‘single European sky’ or ‘SES’ means the systems established under Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 (¹²) (EC) No 550/2004 (¹³), (EC) No 551/2004 (¹⁴), and (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council to reinforce air traffic safety standards, to contribute to the sustainable development of the air transport system and to improve the overall performance of air traffic management and air navigation services for general air traffic in Europe;

(28) ‘vertiport’ means an area used for the take-off and landing of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft;

(29) ‘aircraft contact stand’ means a stand in a designated area of the airport apron equipped with a passenger boarding bridge;

(30) ‘aircraft remote stand’ means a stand in a designated area of the airport apron not equipped with a passenger boarding bridge;

(31) ‘SESAR project’ means the project to modernise air traffic management in Europe, aimed at providing the Union with a high performance, standardised and interoperable air traffic management infrastructure, and consisting in an innovation cycle that includes the SESAR definition phase, the SESAR development phase and the SESAR deployment phase;

(32) ‘spaceport’ means an installation for testing and launching space crafts;

(33) ‘Europe’s Rail Project’ means a project of the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking established by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 (¹⁵), or its predecessor Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking;

(34) ‘European ATM Master Plan’ means the plan endorsed by Council Decision 2009/320/EC (¹⁶), and as subsequently amended;

(35) ‘rail freight governance’ means the governance bodies referred to in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 913/2010;

(36) ‘maintenance’ means works intended to maintain the condition and capability of existing infrastructure in a way that it provides a level of service suited to the traffic flow and a high level of safety during its lifetime;

(37) ‘socio-economic cost-benefit analysis’ means a quantified ex-ante evaluation, based on a recognised methodology, of the value of a project, taking into account all the relevant social, economic, health, climate-related and environmental benefits and costs; the analysis of climate-related and environmental costs and benefits is based on the environmental impact assessment carried out pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU;

(38) ‘alternative fuels’ means ‘alternative fuels’, as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804;

(39) ‘safe and secure parking area’ means a parking area accessible to drivers engaged in the carriage of goods or passengers, meeting the requirements listed in Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹⁷) and which has been certified in accordance with Union standards and procedures, referred to in Article 8a(2) of that Regulation;

(40) ‘weigh in motion system’ means an automatic system set up on the road infrastructure with the objective of identifying vehicles or vehicle combinations in circulation that are likely to have exceeded the relevant weight limits, in accordance with Directive 96/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹⁸);

(41) ‘project authorising decision’ means a decision or a set of decisions, including of an administrative nature, taken simultaneously or successively, by an authority or authorities of a Member State, not including administrative and judicial appeal authorities, under a national legal system and administrative law that determines whether or not a project promoter is entitled to implement a project on the geographical area concerned on the core network, extended core network or comprehensive network, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative or judicial appeal procedure.

Article 4

Objectives of the trans-European transport network

The trans-European transport network shall strengthen the social, economic and territorial cohesion of the Union and contribute to the creation of a single European transport area which is sustainable, safe, efficient and resilient and which increases the benefits for its users and supports inclusive growth. The trans-European transport network shall demonstrate European added value by contributing to the objectives laid down in the following four categories:

(a) sustainability through: (i) promotion of zero and low emission mobility in line with the relevant Union CO2 reduction targets; (ii) enabling greater use of more sustainable modes of transport, in particular by further developing an interoperable long-distance rail passenger network, including at high speed, and an interoperable rail freight network, a reliable inland waterway and short-sea shipping network for passengers and freight across the Union; (iii) increased environmental protection; (iv) reduction of negative externalities, including those related to the environment, climate, health, congestion and accidents, for instance by means of eco-incentives schemes; or (v) greater energy security;

(b) cohesion through: (i) accessibility and connectivity of all regions of the Union, paying particular attention to outermost regions and other remote, insular, peripheral and mountainous regions, as well as sparsely populated areas; (ii) reduction of infrastructure quality gaps, and the promotion of interoperability between digital systems of all transport modes, with adequate network capacity between regions and Member States; (iii) for both passenger and freight traffic, efficient coordination and interconnection between transport infrastructure for long-distance traffic and regional and local traffic in order to facilitate transport services, including in urban nodes; or (iv) a transport infrastructure that reflects the specific situations in different parts of the Union and provides for a balanced coverage of all European regions;

(c) efficiency through: (i) the removal of infrastructure bottlenecks and the bridging of missing links, both within transport infrastructures and at connecting points between them, within Member States’ territories and between them, in particular at cross-border sections, and connecting, where appropriate, to the trans-European transport network in third countries; (ii) the removal of interoperability bottlenecks, including gaps in digitalisation; (iii) the interoperability of national, regional and local transport networks; (iv) optimal integration and interconnection of all transport modes, including in urban nodes; (v) the promotion of economically efficient, high-quality transport contributing to further economic growth and competitiveness; (vi) more efficient use of new and existing infrastructure in operation, for example in the rail sector; (vii) cost-efficient application of interoperable, innovative technological and operational concepts and digital systems; or (viii) greater coordination of infrastructure works between Member States for cross-border projects;

(d) increasing the benefits for its users through: (i) ensuring the accessibility for users and meeting their mobility and transport needs, taking into account in particular the needs of people in situations of vulnerability, including persons with disabilities or reduced mobility and people living in remote regions, including the outermost regions and other remote, rural, insular, peripheral and mountainous regions, as well as sparsely populated areas; (ii) ensuring safe, secure and high-quality standards, including quality of services for all users, for both passenger and freight transport; (iii) supporting the quality, efficiency and sustainability of transport services, which are to be accessible and affordable; (iv) supporting a mobility that is fit for the changing climate and resilient to natural hazards and human-made disasters, and facilitates the efficient and fast deployment of emergency and rescue services, including for persons with disabilities or reduced mobility; (v) ensuring the resilience of infrastructure, in particular on cross-border sections; (vi) offering alternative transport solutions, including on other modes, in the event of network disturbances; (vii) supporting active modes of mobility by enhancing accessibility and quality of related infrastructure, thereby improving safety and health for active users of infrastructure and fostering the environmental benefits of those modes; (viii) supporting seamless mobility in the Union; or (ix) ensuring adequate maintenance intended to provide, for the existing infrastructure, a level of service suited to the traffic flow, and high level of safety during the lifetime of the infrastructure.

Article 5

Resource-efficient and resilient network and environmental protection

The trans-European transport network shall be planned, developed and operated in a resource-efficient way, and in accordance with the applicable Union and national environmental requirements, through:

(a) the development of new infrastructure, the improvement and maintenance of existing transport infrastructure, notably by including maintenance over the life-time of the infrastructure in the planning phase of construction or improvement of the infrastructure and by keeping the infrastructure operational;

(b) the optimisation of infrastructure integration and interconnection;

(c) the deployment of alternative fuels recharging and refuelling infrastructure, thereby contributing to the deployment of decarbonisation technologies;

(d) the deployment of new technologies and ICT systems for transport to preserve or improve the infrastructure performance, where such deployment is economically justified or required to improve safety and security;

(e) the optimisation of infrastructure use, in particular through efficient capacity and traffic management, fostering multimodality and the shift towards more sustainable mobility patterns, including the development of sustainable, attractive and efficient multimodal transport services;

(f) the taking into account and the optimisation of possible synergies with other networks, in particular the trans-European energy or telecommunication networks including, where relevant, the whole electric grid in order to ensure consistency between the recharging infrastructure planning and the respective grid planning, as well as the taking into account of possible synergies with the dual-use of infrastructure identified in the ‘Military Requirements for Military Mobility within and beyond the EU’ approved by the Council on 26 June 2023 and 23 October 2023 and in any subsequent document revising those requirements approved thereafter, as well as with cycling infrastructure, including long-distance cycle routes;

(g) the development of green, sustainable and climate resilient infrastructure, taking into account active modes, and the promotion of new technologies that aim to decarbonise the construction of transport infrastructure, including through the use of resource-efficient and climate-proof materials, designed to reduce as much as possible the negative impact on the health of citizens living around the network, the environment, including from air and noise pollution, and degradation of ecosystems; and