The legal grounds of tariff regulation for railway transportation of goods in the Republic of Poland

Abstract

The article revolves around legal and organizational aspects of tariff regulation for freight rail transport in the Republic of Poland. A detailed characterization of the Polish legislation on tariff regulation of freight transportation by rail was carried out. Its correlation with the requirements of the Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 Establishing a single European railway area is highlighted. The main provisions of the Law of the Republic of Poland “On Railway Transport” in the part of the tariff regulation of railway freight transportation has been analysed. It has been stated, that this Law ensures the flexibility of railway transport tariffs and significantly contributes to liberalization of the national market of transport services in Poland. On the example of Poland, it has been proven that the liberalization of the tariff regulation of railway transportation ensures a reasonable balance between the economic interests of the state and private business. In general tariff regulation of railway transportation of goods in the Republic of Poland is characterized by high efficiency. It has been established that the development of the legal basis for the tariff regulation of rail freight transportation in the Republic of Poland is dominated by the trends towards the creation of a competitive rail freight transportation market; liberalization of tariff regulation of railway transportation; ensuring non-discriminatory access to railway transport infrastructure; inclusion of an investment component in tariffs for mandatory infrastructure access services. It was concluded that the outlined trends serve as a reliable reference point for the development of the legal basis for the tariff regulation of rail freight transportation in Ukraine, which is confidently moving towards integration into the EU economic system. Their consideration is an important step on the way of regulatory adaptation to the acquis communautaire of the European Union. Systematic consideration of these trends when updating industry legislation will significantly contribute to ensuring the stability, safety and economic return of rail freight transportation.

Keywords

• legal regulation
• railway transport
• railway transportation of goods
• transportation
• tariff regulation