Services
Your Fast Lane to Rail Freight Solutions
This is what we do every day – from our One-Stop-Shop that offers international train paths to train performance management and our Corridor Information Document, here you can find out what the work of our Rail Freight Corridor is all about.
Corridor One-Stop-Shop
A New Service Dimension for your International Rail Freight
The Corridor One Stop Shop (C-OSS) – facilitates train path management for international rail freight. It presents one single point of contact allowing applicants to request and receive answers regarding infrastructure capacity for international freight trains crossing at least one border along RFC Rhine-Alpine in one single operation.
PRE-ARRANGED PATHS
PaPs are a joint offer of the Infrastructure Managers/Allocation Bodies of the countries involved in the RFC which coordinate harmonised cross-border paths for the annual timetable and hand them over to the C-OSS as a single point of contact for publication and capacity allocation.
The PaPs constitute an off-the-shelf product for international rail freight capacity. They are protected from changes due to other capacity requests in the planning tools of the Infrastructure Managers and are published transparently via IT tool PCS. More information on the process of the PaP allocation is detailed in the Corridor Information Document, which can be found in the Resources ection.
In order to meet the applicants’ needs for flexibility and market demand on the Corridor, they are split up in several sections instead of entire PaPs to be requested in the context of international path applications to the C-OSS.
Find the current PaP Catalogue in the Resources section.
Train Performance Management
Punctuality. Efficiency. Performance.
The aim of the Corridor Train Performance Management (TPM) is to measure punctuality, analyse weak points and recommend corrective measures, thus managing the performance of international train services and improving punctuality across borders and handover points.
Furthermore, monthly KPI reports on punctuality will be published when the Corridor becomes operational in January 2026 in CIP/Information Documents/Key Performance Indicators/ RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean (CIP).
The Corridor’s Infrastructure Managers and Allocation Bodies have launched several initiatives to improve quality at border crossings, known as Quality Circle Operations (QCO). The aim of these initiatives is to improve punctuality by adapting operational procedures and to optimise the quality of service.
Corridor Information Document
All-in-One
The Corridor Information Document (Article 18 of the RFC Regulation), consisting of the sections 1-4, mainly describes the conditions of use of the Corridor.
This Implementation Plan is published separately and is included also as a link in section 1 of the CID. A common structure and common texts have been developed for all RFCs under the umbrella of RNE, to facilitate the consultation by applicants.
The first Corridor Information Document for RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean will be published in January 2026 (for TT2027).
International Contingency Management
Minimal Downtime, Maximum Movement
The goal of traffic management in case of disturbance is to ensure the safety of train traffic, while aiming to quickly restore the normal situation and/or minimise the impact of the disruption.
The overall aim should be to minimise the overall network recovery time. In order to reach the above-mentioned goals, traffic management in case of disturbance needs an efficient communication flow between all involved parties and a good degree of predictability, obtained by applying predefined operational scenarios at the border. In case of disturbances, IMs work together with the concerned RUs and neighbouring IMs in order to limit the impact as far as possible and to reduce the overall recovery time of the network. In case of disruptions lasting 3 days or longer with a high impact on international traffic (if equal to or more than 50% of the trains on the affected section that operate on more than one network need or are expected to need an operational treatment), the initiating IM shall declare a case of International Contingency Management (ICM).
To allow continuation of freight and passenger traffic flows at the highest possible level despite an international disruption and to ensure non-discriminatory treatment of the RUs, transparency of the status of the disruption and its impact on traffic flows for all relevant stakeholders across Europe, the IMs should apply the rules and procedures defined in the Handbook for International Contingency Management approved by the RNE General Assembly. According to the ICM Handbook, the Corridors act as facilitators with respect to the disruption management and the communication process. RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean will publish updated re-routing overviews in CIP including the most important parameters of those lines for different sections on the Corridor in line with the ICM Handbook.
In addition, RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean has a back-up organisation (SBB Infrastruktur) during night, at weekends and during public holidays.
Temporary Capacity Restrictions
Coordination is Key
In line with Article 12 of the RFC Regulation, the Management Board of the freight corridor shall coordinate and ensure in one place the publication of planned Temporary Capacity Restrictions (TCRs) that could impact the capacity on the Corridor.
TCRs are necessary to keep the infrastructure and its equipment in operational condition and to allow changes to the infrastructure necessary to cover market needs. The Corridor will publish twice a year a list of the already known TCRs for the three subsequent timetable years on this website under documents (Resources).
ERTMS
Europe’s Seamless Railway System
ERTMS, the European Rail Traffic Management System, is a major initiative aimed at harmonising signalling and control systems across Europe’s railways to enhance safety, increase efficiency, and facilitate seamless cross-border train operations.
At its core is ETCS, the European Train Control System, which provides standardized rail traffic management and signalling capabilities. It’s one of the two horizontal priorities of the TEN-T policy, the other being the European Maritime Space.
ETCS replaces national train protection systems with a uniform standard, ensuring trains can travel safely between countries without requiring different onboard equipment. It operates through a combination of onboard components and trackside infrastructure, communicating real-time data to manage train speeds, ensure safe distances between trains, and optimize rail network capacity.
The TEN-T Regulation defines in Article 19 that Member states shall ensure that ERTMS is implemented by 2050 on the comprehensive network, by 2040 on the extended core network, and by 2030 on the core network. Since the introduction of radio-based ERTMS also aids in eliminating national regulations that hinder operations, Member States should ensure that newly constructed lines starting from 2030, and the upgrading of signalling systems on existing routes starting from 2040, use radio-based ERTMS. Moreover, the entire Trans-European Transport Network should be equipped with radio-based ERTMS by 2050. The TEN-T Regulation also prescribes deadlines for the Class B decommissioning.
The ERTMS development is closely monitored by RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean on a voluntary basis. In addition to the National Implementation Plans provided to the European Coordinator for ERTMS, Matthias Ruete, RFC North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean has decided to publish a comprehensive document on the development of ERTMS on the Corridor on a voluntary basis. The corridor sections as well as some subsequent sections of adjacent corridors will be shown with their planned completion dates, ETCS deployment type, ETCS system version, the planned development of the radio systems, the expected availability of class B/A-systems and an overview on the border crossings, as well as the expected decommissioning of the Class B systems.
