Tasks

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is a competition, market monitoring, supervisory and complaints body in the railway sector.

About the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's tasks

In this capacity, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body monitors the competitive situation in the markets for rail transport services, including the market for rail freight transport, with a view to avoiding inappropriate developments in these markets.

As part of its activities, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body, among other things, takes up cases on its own initiative, makes verdicts and decisions in appeals, supervises and carries out audits, etc.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body's overall tasks are determined by the Railway Act and the Executive Order on the Danish Rail Regulatory Body.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is also the national supervisory body according to, among other things, Directive 2012/34/EU on the establishment of a common railway area and rules for its implementation.

The Board is also the national enforcement body under the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation.

The board is also a complaint and supervisory body in accordance with a number of other regulations, including the rail goods regulation, and is also responsible for a number of administrative functions associated with current legislation in the railway area.

Obligation to provide information

As part of its administration, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body can order railway companies, infrastructure managers and other companies in the railway area to provide information that is of importance to the board's operations. In this connection, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body can impose weekly compulsory fines on those who fail to provide information to the board within the deadline given by the chairman.

Independence

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is an independent board and is organizationally independent of the ministry and the minister.

The chairman of the board is a judge, and the board's other members are appointed by the Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs.

The secretariat's employees work exclusively for the board and are only subject to the authority of instruction from the chairman of the board.

The board is also independent of any railway undertaking, infrastructure manager and applicant and any taxing body, as well as functionally independent of any authority dealing with the award of a public service contract.

Cooperation with the Danish Transport Agency

Every year The Danish Rail Regulatory Body and the Danish Transport Agency exchange information and cooperate to prevent a harmful impact on competition or safety on the railway market.

In this connection, by 15 January at the latest, in connection with the board's annual submission of an annual report, the board makes recommendations to the Danish Transport Agency regarding issues that may affect competition on the railway market.

At the same time, the Danish Transport Agency makes recommendations to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body regarding issues that may affect safety.

Recommendations are examined by the recipient of the recommendations. If the Danish Rail Regulatory Body or the Danish Transport Agency decide not to follow these recommendations, the decision must be followed by a justification.

Annual reports

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body publishes a report on the board's work once a year. The board's annual reports are collected in the board's publication database.

See more in Danish

Legal basis

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body's tasks, organization and composition, etc. is determined by law, which is compiled in the board's statutory database.

See more in Danish

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body as appeal body

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body handles complaint functions in the railway area, cf. Section 103, subsection of the Railway Act. 1.

Powers of the Danish Rail Regulatory Body

The board is independent and is not subject to instructional powers from the Minister of Transport, cf. section 103, subsection of the Railway Act. 2, 1st point

The board is also independent of any railway company, infrastructure manager, applicant and any taxing body, as well as functionally independent of any competent authority that deals with the awarding of a public service contract, cf. Section 103, subsection of the Railway Act. 2, 2nd point

Decision-making competence

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body can only make decisions in its capacity as an administrative appeal body to the extent that there is special legal authority for this.

Among other things, the board deals with complaints about decisions and resolutions that have been made in accordance with Sections 4-8, Sections 17-18 and Section 21 of the Railway Act and rules laid down pursuant thereto, or when rules on appeals have been laid down by law to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body.

The Minister of Transport also lays down rules that decisions and resolutions can be appealed to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body, cf. section 113(1) of the Railway Act. 4.

In accordance with this provision, it appears from several executive orders that a number of different authority decisions in the railway area can be appealed to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body.

Likewise, a number of decisions taken by, for example, private service facility managers can be appealed to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body.

The legal basis for the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's decisions are the Railways Act's rules and notices issued pursuant to the Act, as well as the relevant EU legal regulation, which largely affects the Danish regulations in the railway area.

To the extent that the special regulation in the railway area does not stipulate otherwise, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's decisions are otherwise made in accordance with the general administrative law rules and legal principles applicable in Danish law. Verdicts and decisions that can be appealed to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body cannot first be appealed to another administrative authority.

Verdicts and decisions taken by the Danish Rail Regulatory Body cannot be appealed to another administrative authority.

Lawsuits for review of the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's decisions must be brought before the courts no later than 8 weeks after the verdict or decision has reached the complainant. If submission to the courts does not take place within the deadline, the verdict or decision in question is final.

The board can order railway companies, infrastructure managers and other companies in the railway area to provide the information that is important for the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's activities, cf. Section 105 of the Railway Act.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body can also impose weekly compulsory fines on anyone who fails to provide information within the deadline given by the board, or fails to comply with a decision made by the Danish Rail Regulatory Body as part of its performance of the complaints and supervisory functions that the board carries out, cf. Section 107 of the Railway Act, subsection 1, No. 1 and 2.

The board's verdicts

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body has collected its decisions, resolutions, etc. in a publication database.

See more in Danish

Guidance on filing complaints

Those entitled to appeal can find guidance for appeals in the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's guidance on filing complaints.

Complaint processing

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body makes decisions in appeals within the railway area.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body makes decisions in complaints regarding, among other things:

  • Complaints about decisions and resolutions that have been made pursuant to Sections 4-8, Sections 17-18 and Section 21 of the Railway Act and rules laid down pursuant thereto, or when, pursuant to law, rules have been laid down regarding access to appeals to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body
  • Complaints regarding access to service facilities and rail-related services
  • Complaints regarding the parts of the rail passenger rights regulation that fall outside the jurisdiction of the Appeals Board for Bus, Train and Metro
  • Complaints regarding Art. 5 pieces. 6.6a of the PSO regulation (regulation 1370/2007)
  • Complaints regarding the freight corridor regulation
  • Complaints about decisions and decisions made pursuant to the Executive Order on Banedanmark's tasks and powers, and the Executive Order on the independence and impartiality of infrastructure managers.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body does not deal with complaints regarding civil disputes in connection with the Railway Passenger Rights Regulation. These complaints must be addressed to the Appeals Board for Bus, Train and Metro.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body's guidance on filing complaints

According to the Public Administration Act, the authorities are obliged to provide written guidance on the right to appeal in connection with decisions that can be appealed to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body.

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The Danish Rail Regulatory Body as supervisory authority

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body carries out supervisory functions in the railway area, cf. section 103, subsection of the Railway Act. 1.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body monitors the competitive situation in the markets for rail transport services, including the market for rail freight transport, with a view to avoiding an inappropriate development in these markets, cf. Section 103, subsection of the Railway Act. 3.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body also oversees compliance with Directive 2012/34/EU on the establishment of a common railway area and the rules for its implementation.

The board is also a supervisory authority according to the rail passenger rights regulation and supervises a number of other regulations, the rail goods regulation, the Commission's implementing regulation on new rail passenger routes, the Commission's implementing regulation on the calculation of costs, the Commission's implementing regulation on the issuance of licenses and the Commission's implementing regulation on requirements for applicants for rail infrastructure capacity.

As part of its activities, the board can order railway companies, infrastructure managers and other companies in the railway area to provide the information that is important to the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's business, cf. Section 105 of the Railway Act.

In this connection, the board can impose weekly compulsory fines on anyone who fails to provide information as requested by the board within the deadline given by the Danish Rail Regulatory Body, cf. Section 107, subsection of the Railway Act. 1, No. 1.

The supervisory obligation implies that the Danish Rail Regulatory Body can issue an advisory opinion containing the board's legal opinion, and at the same time remind the obligee (e.g. the infrastructure manager) of what, in the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's opinion, he is obliged to do on the basis of applicable law.

Revisions

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body can carry out audits or initiate external audits of infrastructure managers, managers of service facilities and railway companies to check whether the rules on separation of accounts in Directive 2012/34/EU on the establishment of a common European railway area have been complied with.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body must also carry out audits or initiate external audits in relation to railway companies with public service contracts that have not been awarded following a tender.

International cooperation

In accordance with current railway legislation, the Danish Rail Regulatory Body cooperates with corresponding supervisory bodies within the EU in the area of principles, practice and decision-making.

As part of the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's international activities, the board is part of, among other things, a network of similar supervisory bodies (IRG-Rail), the EU Commission's group National Enforcement Bodies (NEB) and the EU Commission's European Network of Rail Regulatory Bodies (ENRRB).

The European Commission

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is part of the EU Commission's European Network of Rail Regulatory Bodies (ENRRB) and the EU Commission's group National Enforcement Bodies (NEB).

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body cooperates with the EU Commission (DG MOVE) on, among other things, reporting on the board's work, including on complaint and supervisory cases, information on market development and drafting of legislation, etc.

The railway area comes under the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport.

IRG-Rail

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is part of working groups and decision-making bodies under IRG-Rail, which is an association of similar supervisory bodies from Europe.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is a member of the Independent Regulators' Group – Rail (IRG-Rail). The group consists of similar supervisory bodies from a large number of European countries.

The group works for the dissemination of the members' common interests within the international market for railways. Read more about IRG-Rail here, where you can also download various working papers, best practice documentation, etc. produced by the group. See, among other things, Plenary Assembly and Public Documents.

There are several working groups under IRG-Rail. The Danish Rail Regulatory Body is included in all of them.

Agreement, publication date 22/11/2019

Memordandum of Cooperation between the members Rail Regulartory Bodies of IRG-rail

International cooperation between the regulartory bodies of IRG-Rail builds the basis. The purpose of this Memorandum is to set out guidance for the cooperation as a part of a coordinated and efficient approach to regulation.

Hent

Consultation of users

The purpose of the hearings is to give the industry the opportunity to present their views on the subjects covered by the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's supervisory activities. Thereby, the board obtains a better basis for carrying out its supervisory activities.

The Danish Rail Regulatory Body's secretariat conducts hearings every two years of representatives of the users and providers (actors) of freight and passenger transport by rail. The requirement that the Danish Rail Regulatory Body must carry out the hearings stems from the EU's desire to, among other things, create efficient, well-functioning and non-discriminatory railway markets. The requirement is formulated in Article 56 (7) of Directive 2012/34/EU and has been implemented in national legislation by executive order on the Danish Rail Regulatory Body § 20.

The purpose of the hearings is to give the actors the opportunity to express their views, for example if someone experiences discrimination, illegal conditions or something else, after which the Danish Rail Regulatory Body, as a supervisory authority, has the opportunity to step in and ensure that the applicable rules are complied with.

The hearings take place using electronic questionnaires which are sent out to the actors, e.g. operators and users. The responses are anonymised and summarized by the Danish Rail Regulatory Body's secretariat in a memo which is described in the annual report.

Updated on 10-11-2023