The numbers for the first semester of 2021 keep looking sombre for rail freight in Europe. The COVID-19 impact is still visible, and the situation has worsened compared to the second half of 2020. Rail...Read more
A provisional agreement between the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) makes rail more accessible to women. On 30 June, CER and ETF came to a...Read more
A provisional agreement has been reached on the amendment of the Eurovignette Directive. This means that one more step has been taken towards a more equal playing field for rail and road transport. In practice,...Read more
Many countries in Europe have enabled access to rail at a reduced or even nullified rate in order to support railways during the pandemic. This is great news for the railway undertakings, but not all...Read more
European policy makers should find a way of charging for infrastructure that incentivises the greenest possible choice of modality. This requires a multimodal approach, rather than an isolated policy for a single transport sector, say...Read more
Railway associations want to prolong the regulation allowing to waive, reduce or defer track access charges in the face of Covid-19. The regulation would last until the end of June, but they asked for it...Read more
The route for the Connecting Europe Express was announced on Europe Day (9 May), as Europe celebrates peace and unity. The train begins its journey on 2 September in Lisbon and stops in more than...Read more
Hyperloop technology, which enables travel speeds of 1,200 km/h, holds massive potential for the railway industry. At the same time, there are areas of potential conflict between railways and hyperloop. In a recently published position...Read more
The pandemic and the consequent lockdowns continue to impact heavily on rail freight. Compared to 2019 figures, revenues from rail freight have gone down from -3 per cent in December 2020 to 10 per cent...Read more
CER, EIM and UNIFE – among the main rail associations in Brussels – have asked for an extension of the European Year of Rail, as the pandemic hinders the full potential it could have in...Read more
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) launched on 31 March its new rail transport-oriented initiative under the title ‘Future is Rail’. Following the official kick-off of the European Year of Rail and...Read more
A special train is set to travel across European tracks as of the coming September. The ‘Connecting Europe Express’ will be the flagship project for celebrating the European Year of Rail. It will crisscross the...Read more
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) have addressed a letter to all EU Ministers of Transport to outline the priority needs of rail. The initiative comes ahead of a key gathering of...Read more
European railway services seem to face financial hurdles during the beginning of 2021. The year started ominously since Covid-related losses for passenger and freight services do not guarantee any improvement window for the following months....Read more
The 8th of March is International Women’s Day, and during the European Year of Rail, there is no better day to emphasise the role of women in rail. This role is increasing, but there is...Read more
The EU railway industry has lost 26 billion euros in revenue last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These figures are based on data collected among the members of the Community of European Railway and...Read more
For the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the year 2021 marks a change of leadership. The new Executive Director, Alberto Mazzola, has officially entered office. He was unanimously elected by the CER...Read more
The rail sector is concerned about last week’s announcements regarding the upgrade of the European Climate Law. CER, ERFA, and UIRR believe that the Eurovignette Directive reform undermines rail freight’s competition, and focuses more on...Read more
