Jointly organised by the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), the annual meetings between the heads of rail infrastructure companies provide a platform for exchanging information and experiences between rail infrastructure companies, with a view to finding common solutions to support rail traffic in Europe.

Today, the General Assembly of EIM unanimously elected as Vice-President Gorm Frimannslund, CEO of the Norwegian Infrastructure Manager Bane NOR. Pier Eringa, EIM President and CEO of the Dutch Infrastructure Manager ProRail, and his Vice-Presidents Lena Erixon, CEO of the Swedish Infrastructure Manager Trafikverket and Luc Lallemand, CEO of the Belgian Infrastructure Manager Infrabel, welcomed their new fellow board member.

On 6th June, the European Commission presented its proposal for the Connecting Europe Facility Regulation as part of the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the period of 2021-2027. The proposal foresees €12.8 billion for the general CEF Transport envelope, €11.3 billion for the contribution from the Cohesion Fund, and €6.5 billion for the military mobility.

European Parliament votes in favour of greening and digitalising transport CER – the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies, EIM – the Association representing Rail […]

For the fifth year in a row, the rail freight community gathered in Vienna for the annual Rail Freight Day. This year’s edition was organised by the European Commission (DG MOVE), RailNetEurope (RNE) and the Austrian Presidency of the Council.

Yesterday, the European Commission published its Communication ‘’A clean planet for all – A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy’ setting the long-term strategy for greenhouse Gas emissions reductions. The Communication, presented ahead of the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties, taking place in Katowice in December 2018, outlines the way forward for the EU climate, energy and transport policies and entails the EU strategy in line with the Paris Agreement that will bring forward a vision of a low carbon economy protecting the planet and its people.

On 22 November, the MEPs of the joint Committee on Transport and Tourism and Committee on Industry, Research and Energy voted their amendments on the report on Connecting Europe Facility Regulation. The TRAN-ITRE Committee adopted the EP report, coordinated under the rapporteurs Henna Virkkunen, Marian-Jean Marinescu and Pavel Teli?ka by 71 votes in favour, 19 votes against and 3 abstentions. The initial Commission’s proposal foresees €12.8 billion for the general CEF Transport envelope, €11.3 billion for the contribution from the Cohesion Fund, and €6.5 billion for the military mobility.

Last week, the Graz Declaration promoting a ‘green deal’ for Europe was adopted under the Austrian Presidency at the Informal Meeting of Transport and Environment Ministers. The rail sector associations CER, EIM, ERFA, UIP, UIRR and UNIFE jointly welcome the new political initiative pushing for environment friendly transportation in Europe.

Today, the Transport and Tourism Committee at the European Parliament has voted its amendments on the Recast Regulation 1371/2007 on Passengers’ Rights and Obligations. The proposal foresees strengthened rights for all rail passengers, including people with reduced mobility (PRMs), and provides amendments to the Regulation in terms of accessibility of information, rights in situation of delays, missed connections or train cancellations. The Regulation also enhances the complaints-handling procedure, the force-majeure scenarios and the assistance to PRMs.