The liberalisation of the European Union passenger rail market: New challenges for future public service contracts

The process of European Union(EU) rail market liberalisation is now at a tipping point, with the fourth railway package approved by the European Parliament and Commission and the Member States that have to embed its mandates and provisions into their national legislation. To a large extent, this has already been achieved. The railway package is structured in two main pillars – market pillar and technical pillar – with specific objectives. My paper will focus on the market pillar, particularly on the new challenges that the liberalisation of the EU passenger rail market will generate on public service contracts in effect as of 2023. The establishment of the single European railway area requires common rules on the award of public service contracts in this sector, while taking into account the specific circumstances of each Member State. Public service contracts for public passenger transport services by rail should be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure. Procedures for competitive tendering of public service contracts should be open to all operators, should be fair and should respect the principles of transparency and non-discrimination. This paper will analyse the new legal challenges that public service contracts in railway transport will encounter and what their impact will be on the process of liberalisation or the EU passenger rail market.