Evaluation of noise differentiated track access charges schemes

Evaluation of noise differentiated track access charges schemes: Support study to the evaluation of Implementing Regulation 2015/429

The Regulation 2015/429 establishes rules for Noise Differentiated Track Access Charge (NDTAC) schemes. The purpose of the study is to provide insight on the performance of the Regulation and its impacts in the EU. To that end, it answers 19 evaluation questions grouped under the evaluation criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, sustainability, coherence and EU added value.

The primary geographical scope of the evaluation is the three Member States were the Regulation has been applied (AT, DE, NL), along with Switzerland (the first country to create a NDTAC scheme aiming at reducing rail noise by incentivising the retrofitting of noisy wagons with composite brake blocks).

The wider EU is also considered, in order to understand the impacts that the NDTAC schemes in these four countries have had in countries that did not implement such schemes.

The analysis is based on data collected from a range of primary and secondary sources including data on the freight wagons fleet and direct input from relevant stakeholders collected using interviews and surveys with rail industry, authorities and a public consultation.