Consultation process: Competence to municipalities and regions to arrange passenger rail transport

The Ministry of Transport and Communications requests comments on the draft government proposal concerning the competent authorities in rail transport. Comments can be submitted until 14 March 2025.

The draft government proposal proposes amendments to the Act on Transport Services. The purpose of the amendments is to enable municipalities, joint municipal authorities and regions to arrange passenger rail transport in their areas. In addition, the proposal would clarify the setting of cross-border service obligations between EU Member States. This would enable, for example, publicly supported cross-border passenger train services from Finland to Haparanda.

One of the aims of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government Programme is to increase effective competition in the rail transport market and facilitate market access. Competitive tendering for publicly supported transport supports the creation of competition also in market-based passenger rail transport, as the opportunity to operate with a broad business model lowers the threshold for entry into the market.

Competence transferred to Traficom

The legislative amendments would transfer the competence over rail transport purchases from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. The transfer of competence would improve the efficiency of public transport and the coordination of different modes of transport. Traficom is currently responsible for air traffic purchases. The intention is to transfer State procurement of bus transport from the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment to Traficom in connection with the reform of regional administration. The regulatory body for the railway sector would be transferred from Traficom to the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority.

At the same time, the procurement procedures laid down in the Act on Transport Services would be updated to ensure the prerequisites for a competitively neutral passenger rail transport market in accordance with the Government Programme. The updates would provide competent authorities with clearer and more comprehensive procedural standards than now.

What’s next?

The deadline for comments on the draft act is 14 March 2025. All organisations and private individuals may submit comments online at www.lausuntopalvelu.fi. Following the consultation round, Ministry officials will continue the preparations for the Act.

Inquiries:

Tiia Orjasniemi, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 068, tiia.orjasniemi(at)gov.fi

Emmi Nykänen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 114, emmi.nykanen(at)gov.fi