Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance

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

1. 'project of common interest' means any project carried out pursuant to the requirements and in compliance with the provisions of this Regulation;

2. 'neighbouring country' means a country falling within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy including the Strategic Partnership, the Enlargement Policy, and the European Economic Area or the European Free Trade Association;

3. 'third country' means any neighbouring country or any other country with which the Union may cooperate to achieve the objectives pursued by this Regulation;

4. 'European added value' means the value of a project which, in addition to the potential value for the respective Member State alone, leads to a significant improvement of either transport connections or transport flows between the Member States which can be demonstrated by reference to improvements in efficiency, sustainability, competitiveness or cohesion, in line with the objectives set out in Article 4;

5. 'infrastructure manager' means any body or undertaking that is responsible, in particular, for establishing or maintaining transport infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems;

6. 'telematic applications' means systems using information, communication, navigation or positioning/localisation technologies in order to manage infrastructure, mobility and traffic on the trans-European transport network effectively and to provide value-added services to citizens and operators, including systems for safe, secure, environmentally sound and capacity-efficient use of the network. They may also include onboard devices, provided they form an indivisible system with corresponding infrastructure components. They include systems, technologies and services referred to in points (g) to (l);

7. 'intelligent transport system' (ITS) means a system as specified in Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽¹⁾;

8. 'air traffic management system' means a system as specified in Regulation (EC) No 552/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽²⁾ and in the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) Master Plan as specified in Council Regulation (EC) No 219/2007⁽³⁾;

9. 'Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information Systems' (VTMIS) means systems deployed to monitor and manage traffic and maritime transport, using information from Automatic Identification Systems of Ships (AIS), Long-Range Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT) and coastal radar systems and radio communications as provided for in Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁴⁾, and includes the integration of the national maritime information systems through SafeSeaNet;

10. 'River Information Services (RIS)' means information and communication technologies on inland waterways as specified in Directive 2005/44/EC of the Parliament and of the Council⁽⁵⁾;

11. 'e -Maritime services' means services using advanced and interoperable information technologies in the maritime transport sector to simplify administrative procedures and to facilitate the throughput of cargo at sea and in port areas, including single-window services such as the integrated maritime single window provided for in Directive 2010/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁶⁾, port community systems and relevant customs information systems;

12. 'European Rail Traffic Management System' (ERTMS) means the system defined in Commission Decision 2006/679/EC⁽⁷⁾ and Commission Decision 2006/860/EC⁽⁸⁾;

13. 'cross-border section' means the section which ensures the continuity of a project of common interest between the nearest urban nodes on both sides of the border of two Member States or between a Member State and a neighbouring country;

14. 'multimodal transport' means the carriage of passengers or freight, or both, using two or more modes of transport;

15. 'interoperability' means the ability, including all the regulatory, technical and operational conditions, of the infrastructure in a transport mode to allow safe and uninterrupted traffic flows which achieve the required levels of performance for that infrastructure or mode;

16. 'urban node' means an urban area where the transport infrastructure of the trans-European transport network, such as ports including passenger terminals, airports, railway stations, logistic platforms and freight terminals located in and around an urban area, is connected with other parts of that infrastructure and with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic;

17. 'bottleneck' means a physical, technical or functional barrier which leads to a system break affecting the continuity of long-distance or cross-border flows and which can be surmounted by creating new infrastructure or substantially upgrading existing infrastructure that could bring significant improvements which will solve the bottleneck constraints;

18. 'logistic platform' means an area which is directly linked to the transport infrastructure of the trans-European transport network including at least one freight terminal, and which enables logistics activities to be carried out;

19. '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 ports, inland ports, airports and rail-road terminals;

20. '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, climate-related and environmental benefits and costs. The analysis of climate-related and environmental costs and benefits shall be based on the environmental impact assessment carried out pursuant to Directive 2011/92/EU;

21. 'isolated network' means the rail network of a Member State, or a part thereof, with a track gauge different from that of the European standard nominal track gauge (1 435 mm), for which certain major infrastructure investments cannot be justified in economic cost-benefit terms by virtue of the specificities of that network arising from its geographic detachment or peripheral location;

22. 'NUTS region' means a region as defined in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics;

23. 'alternative clean fuels' means fuels such as electricity, hydrogen, biofuels (liquids), synthetic fuels, methane (natural gas (CNG and LNG) and biomethane) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) which serve, at least partly, as a substitute for fossil oil sources in the supply of energy to transport, contribute to its decarbonisation and enhance the environmental performance of the transport sector.

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 efficient and sustainable, increases the benefits for its users and supports inclusive growth. It shall demonstrate European added value by contributing to the objectives laid down in the following four categories:

1. cohesion through:

   1. accessibility and connectivity of all regions of the Union, including remote, outermost, insular, peripheral and mountainous regions, as well as sparsely populated areas;

   2. reduction of infrastructure quality gaps between Member States;

   3. for both passenger and freight traffic, interconnection between transport infrastructure for, on the one hand, long-distance traffic and, on the other, regional and local traffic;

   4. a transport infrastructure that reflects the specific situations in different parts of the Union and provides for a balanced coverage of all European regions;

2. efficiency through:

   1. the removal of bottlenecks and the bridging of missing links, both within the transport infrastructures and at connecting points between these, within Member States' territories and between them;

   2. the interconnection and interoperability of national transport networks;

   3. optimal integration and interconnection of all transport modes;

   4. the promotion of economically efficient, high-quality transport contributing to further economic growth and competitiveness;

   5. efficient use of new and existing infrastructure;

   6. cost-efficient application of innovative technological and operational concepts;

3. sustainability through:

   1. development of all transport modes in a manner consistent with ensuring transport that is sustainable and economically efficient in the long term;

   2. contribution to the objectives of low greenhouse gas emissions, low-carbon and clean transport, fuel security, reduction of external costs and environmental protection;

   3. promotion of low-carbon transport with the aim of achieving by 2050 a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, in line with the relevant Union CO2 reduction targets;

4. increasing the benefits for its users through:

   1. meeting the mobility and transport needs of its users within the Union and in relations with third countries;

   2. ensuring safe, secure and high-quality standards, for both passenger and freight transport;

   3. supporting mobility even in the event of natural or man-made disasters, and ensuring accessibility to emergency and rescue services;

   4. the establishment of infrastructure requirements, in particular in the field of interoperability, safety and security, which will ensure quality, efficiency and sustainability of transport services;

   5. accessibility for elderly people, persons of reduced mobility and disabled passengers.