‘I’ve been the railway man in Brussels for 15 years, it’s time for a change’
He has represented the railway industry in Brussels since 2006, and was involved with rail since he started working. After nine years as the Executive Director of CER, Libor Lochman decided that it is time...Read more
Alberto Mazzola elected as new CER executive director
Alberto Mazzola was unanimously elected as new executive eirector of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) by the CER General Assembly on 21 September. He will succeed the current Executive Director Libor...Read more
‘Help Europe recover with user-pays, polluter-pays principles’
Europe’s economic recovery after COVID-19 must be green, also in transport. Transport should help finance the recovery, through application of user-pays and polluter-pays principles. This is the suggestion in the new position paper put forward...Read more
European Green Deal impossible without longer trains
In order to implement the European Green Deal, the rail sector should develop standardisation and interoperability. Among other things, this means the necessity of introducing the 740-metre or even longer freight trains on the railway...Read more
European recovery plan welcome, but ‘not enough’
The long-term budget (MFF) and recovery plan for the transport sector presented by European Commission has been welcomed by the railway industry. But, it is not sufficient for an overall shift to green mobility, says...Read more
‘Place railways at the heart of the recovery of European mobility’
The Polish railway undertaking PKP SA has appealed the European Commission to support railway investments that will effectively help stimulate the EU economic recovery plan. CEO Krzysztof Mamiński called for special priority for railway support...Read more
‘Europe may face investment crisis in railway projects’
The European rail industry warns for an investment crisis in railway projects, if the existing EU funding legislation is not modified to suit the current corona crisis. Various lobby organisations made such statement in an...Read more
2021: the European year of rail
On 4 March, the European Commission proposed a European Climate Law. This paves the way for a legally binding EU commitment to climate neutrality by 2050. The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies has...Read more
Award winning Lineas CEO: Green Deal opportunity for modal shift
CEO Geert Pauwels of Lineas has won the European Railway Award 2020 on Tuesday evening in Brussels. The director received the award for the successful transformation of a loss-making division of the Belgian railways into...Read more
2019: the year of a much-needed reboot
Today is the last day of the year 2019, a good moment to look back at a very interesting year for rail freight in Europe. Four industry leaders look back, and share their ambitions for...Read more
Leaked EU Green Deal could suit the rail freight sector
Brussel’s draft plan for the European Green Deal was leaked last week. If all what is ambitioned will actually go through, the future for rail freight looks bright. The plan responds to many of the...Read more
CER: time-based road tolls hinder shift to rail
The modal shift to rail is impossible without fair competition. For that reason, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) is calling the EU Member States to introduce the distance-based tolls on all...Read more
Role of women in rail to be discussed at EU level
The employment of women in rail has become the topic of an ongoing agreement negotiation at EU level. Women account for less than 20 per cent of the railway workforce, much below the economy wide...Read more
New CER management elected
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has elected its new management committee at its General Assembly on 23 September in Gdańsk. The new chair of the Brussels-based group is Crister Fritzson, who...Read more
Heads of EU infrastructure discuss rail freight future
On 13 June in Bern, chief executives from rail infrastructure companies discussed measures for improving the operational environment of railway undertakings. There was a special focus on increasing the rail freight modal share to 30...Read more