International Contingency Management (ICM) Plan - Rerouting Itineraries for the Atlantic Corridor

After the RasRastatt incident it was clear that the alternatives for rail freight traffic were not sufficient. Although diversion routes were provided by the IMs, capacity on these routes was limited and interoperability proved to be a major hurdle. Many locomotives were not equipped to operate on the railway network in neighbouring countries and train drivers with the language and technical skills to operate a train in another country were not sufficiently available.

Hence on 16th May 2018, the RNE General Assembly in Sopron unanimously approved the International Contingency Management Handbook and its implementation from Timetable period 2019. The purpose of this handbook is to describe the standards that allow the continuation of traffic flows at the highest possible level despite an international disruption and to assure transparency of the status of the disruption and its impact on traffic flows for all relevant stakeholders across Europe.

This handbook defines the necessary cooperation in case of international disruptions and describes:

• How to recognise and when to declare an internationally relevant disruption
• The process for international business continuity management
• The roles needed for the international cooperation
• Whom to contact
• Pre-defined procedures and best practices

RailNetEurope (RNE) with the support of the RFCs takes the responsibility of keeping this document up-to-date. The first revision of the handbook is planned in June 2019.

As such the Atlantic Corridor has produced its first ICM for the 2019 TT which can be downloaded here: International Contingency Management (ICM) Plan - Rerouting Itineraries for the Atlantic Corridor