Today, the European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), represented by its President Miguel Cruz, CEO of Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), took part in the first High-Level Implementation Dialogue on high-speed rail, hosted by EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas in Brussels.

This roundtable gathered Presidents of key transport associations to provide strategic input for the European Commission’s upcoming Communication on measures to connect Europe through high-speed rail.

High-speed rail is more than a transport solution – it is a European integration and security project. To meet Europe’s geopolitical and logistical challenges, including military mobility, genuine cooperation between all stakeholders is essential – with infrastructure managers at the heart of this effort.

Miguel Cruz confirms, that “EIM highly welcomes the initiative of Transport Commissioner Tzitzikostas. The Implementation Dialogue is an important step towards reaching the ambitious EU objectives to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and triple it by 2050. Rail infrastructure managers are keen in contributing to this important European project. To do so, we need a strong enabling framework and long-term and flexible funding instruments including a reinforced Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), and an European approach to skills in the rail sector”.