Connecting Europe Express route revealed
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 should not cannibalise traditional railways’
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 moreRail continues to lose 30 million euros per week due to pandemic
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
‘EU Year of Rail should be extended in face of COVID-19’
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
‘Future is Rail’ campaign is here to enhance rail’s importance
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
Connecting Europe Express will celebrate the year of rail on tracks
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
Alberto Mazzola: we don’t want another white paper, but real actions
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 railways struggle to balance Covid-related losses
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
Women in rail: Yes, we still need International Women’s Day
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 moreEU railway industry loses 26 billion euro in revenue due to pandemic
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 moreCER begins European Year of Rail with new Executive Director
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
Rail sector demands equal treatment for infrastructure charges
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
EU’s mobility strategy: ‘rail freight traffic will double by 2050’
The European Commission announced its ‘sustainable and smart mobility strategy’ and ‘action plan’ with regards to the transformation of European transportation. Objectives concern the doubling of rail freight traffic by 2050, and the doubling of...Read more
Sigrid Nikutta: ‘Products should have green label when transported by rail’
Rail freight is synonymous with a sustainable European future. Grabbing the opportunities offered after the Covid-19 pandemic to improve the sector is of central importance. These are some of the insights provided at the event...Read more
This is what concerns the sector across all transport modes
Representatives from the road, air, maritime, rail, manufacturing and logistics sectors call on European decision makers to adopt an EU framework on the governance of business-to-business (B2B) data that ensures a level playing field for...Read more
‘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