The adoption of the draft directive establishing a single European railway area is closer following the agreement reached between the Council and the European Parliament negotiators. The compromise was endorsed on 19 of June by the within the Permanent  Representatives Committee. To enter into force, the text still needs to be formally approved by Parliament and the Council. The purpose of the draft directive is to increase competition, strengthen market supervision and improve conditions for investment in the Europe's railway sector.

The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal which paves the way for the adoption of the draft directive establishing a single European railway area. This compromise follows the political agreement reached in December 2011. The single European railway area draft directive is a recast of the three directives of the "first railway package" on the development of European railways, licensing of railway undertakings and management of railway infrastructure. In particular, the purpose of the recast is to simplify, clarify and modernise the regulatory framework for Europe's railway sector so as to increase competition, strengthen market supervision and improve conditions for investment in the sector.

The compromise text now approved by Permanent Representatives Committee includes amongst others the strengthening of the independence requirements for the regulatory bodies. In addition, the text also says that charges for the use of railway corridors will, in principle, be differentiated in order to encourage the introduction of the European Train Control System (ETCS). As regards the separation between infrastructure managers and railway undertakings, a clause has been added asking the Commission to report by the end of 2012 on the implementation of the relevant rules currently in force and on the development of the railway sector and to propose, if appropriate, legislative measures in order to ensure non-discriminatory access to infrastructure. Council and Parliament also agreed in the deadline for transposing the directive into national law. It has been set at 30 months after its entry into force.

The recast merges three directives, together with the amendments made to them over time, into a single text, and makes a number of other changes such as that competition between railway undertakings will be enhanced by making rail market; the independence of national regulatory bodies and their powers, for instance to impose sanctions or audits, will be strengthened; and financing of rail infrastructure will be improved by longer-term planning, offering more certainty to investors, and by adapting charging rules so as to give incentives to modernise infrastructure, including the reduction of noise emissions.