European Union Agency for Railways, 20 Years of ERA – Added value of the EU Agency for Railways to reach a sustainable and safe Single European Railway Area, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

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During its 20 years of work ERA delivered important benefits for the rail sector’s safety and interoperability as well as for society at large. The Agency supported the European Commission on technical matters to develop a common approach to safety in the Union and by enhancing interoperability of the rail system. Despite significant improvements, the cost of rail accidents is still estimated at 4 billion EUR per year while the cost of a noninteroperable rail system across countries is about 2 billion EUR annually. This report aims to provide an overview of the overall benefits and value-added that ERA produced for Europe, for the rail sector, for all stakeholders and for society at large vs the costs that the Agency entailed over its 20 years of existence.

European Union Agency for Railways, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

Transport should not be seen as an end in itself but as the means of delivering major policy objectives such as decarbonisation, economic growth, and social inclusion. To achieve these objectives, reflection must be done on how railways can play a major role in the future transport system. This document outlines the future paths towards the evolving target railway system. It has been compiled having taken account of inputs from sector stakeholders. Regular updates are foreseen to integrate those.

European Union Agency for Railways, Consolidated annual activity report of the European Union Agency for Railways 2023, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

The Consolidated Annual Activity Report (CAAR) 2023 of the EU Agency for Railways (ERA) is prepared in line with the provisions of the Agency Regulation (EU) No. 796/2016 and those of the Agency Financial Regulation (Management Board Decision no. 206/2019). The report describes the Agency’s performance, together with financial and management information for the year 2023. The above-mentioned regulations also require the Management Board to adopt the Annual Activity Report, and to forward it by 1 July 2024 to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Commission, the Court of Auditors, and to make it available to the general public. The Agency has aligned the content of the current report to the provisions of the Communication from the Commission on the strengthening of the governance of Union Bodies under Art. 70 of the Financial Regulation 2018/1046 and on the EC guidelines of the Consolidated Annual Activity Report, issued in April 2020 (C (2020) 2297).

European Union Institute for Security Studies, Ghanem, D. and Sánchez-Cacicedo, A., From hype to horizon – What the EU needs to know to bring IMEC to life, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is an ambitious proposal for a set of infrastructure projects that aims to connect Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Realising IMEC’s full potential will take time, as significant challenges lie ahead. Regional instability and competing interests could hamper progress, while the initiative will face financial and bureaucratic hurdles in its early stages due to a lack of concrete financial commitments as well as logistical challenges along the way. The EU’s primary interest in IMEC hinges on tapping into the economic and green hydrogen export potential of India and the GCC countries. However, fulfilling these ambitions will require substantial investment in green hydrogen infrastructure development and securing additional off-takers for the produced hydrogen.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, Brons, M., Dijkstra, L., et al., 2023.

This paper analyses rail speed on a set of 1 356 routes between medium and large EU cities located less than 500 km apart. On only 3 % of routes between these cities do rail speeds exceed 150 km/h and on 30 % of routes the speed is below 60 km/h. Rail speeds tend to be lower and more connections are missing in eastern EU Member States and on cross-border routes. Out of 297 routes, served by both rail and a direct flight, the rail trip is faster on 68 of the routes. Improving operating speed to 160 km/h on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core would increase this to 103. Operating speeds of around 175 km/h appear to be sufficient for rail-based trips to consistently outperform air trips on distances up to 500 km, but this is only necessary for longer trips. A switch of air passengers to rail on routes where rail is faster would lead to a 17 % reduction in the total amount of CO2 emissions from air trips on the 297 routes analysed, and a 4.2 % decrease in passenger travel time on these routes. If the speed on the TEN-T core network were to be improved, as proposed by the European Commission, such a modal switch would reduce CO2 emissions on these routes by 25 % and travel times would decrease by 6 %. Such a modal switch would, however, require more than improvements in travel time alone and should consider issues such as cost, convenience, comfort and connecting flights.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Competition, Gabriel, M., Glowicka, E., et al., 2023.

In the wake of stagnant modal share of the European rail freight sector, this support study provides market information for the revision of the Guidelines on State aid for railway undertakings. It addresses four areas of interest: status of rail infrastructure; accessibility and costs pertaining to rolling stock; profitability and demand elasticity of rail freight services; and effectiveness of State support measures. A novel dataset of costs and revenues of rail freight across Europe, compiled using both publicly available data and input from extensive stakeholder consultation was built for that purpose. The findings are as follows. The inadequacy of intermodal terminals, congested rail networks, and costliness of private sidings all restrict the capacity of European rail infrastructure. Access to rolling stock is characterised by high costs and a lack of technical standardisation across Member States. We find that rail freight sectors in many countries are loss-making, with some segments being profitable. Efficient transshipment and transport of high freight volumes over long distances improves profitability of intermodal operations. The study shows that price sensitivity of rail freight services differs depending on the level of competition faced by road transport. The study also highlights to what extent higher thresholds for proportionate State aid and improved flexibility of schemes could be considered.

European Parliamentary Research Service, Soone,J., 2023.

The Commission Green Deal sets as a goal to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. In July 2023, the Commission tabled a package of proposals for the greening of freight transport. Among the three proposals is one on improving the use of rail infrastructure capacity. The proposed text includes changes to the rules on the planning and allocation of railway infrastructure capacity, currently covered by Directive 2012/34/EU and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Weinlinger, P. and Montalvo Rojo, A., Partnership evaluation report – Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking – Horizon Europe and the Green Transition – Interim evaluation support study, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This evaluation report is part of the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe activities related to the Green Transition. It presents the assessment of the Institutionalised European Partnership Europe’s Rail (EU-Rail) against the evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, EU added value, additionality, directionality, international positioning and visibility, transparency and openness as well as phasing out preparedness. The evaluation of the partnership is based upon a mixed-method approach including quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, 2023.

The study provides an assessment of the foreseeable demand and supply of rolling stock up to the year 2030 and highlights the obstacles to the provision of rolling stock that may potentially hinder the attainment of EU goals in rail transport. The study provides the basis to consider whether or not there is a necessity to incentivise rolling stock supply within the EU (including imports and/or domestic production) and provides policy recommendations relevant to EU decision-making. The EU market is mature and expected to grow.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, 2023.

This report presents the outcome of a feasibility study for the development of a European scale rail connectivity index. A first iteration of a tool computing and communicating the rail connectivity index has been developed, following the outcome of the feasibility study.

European Union Agency for Railways, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This report highlights the ways in which rail is helping to create a more sustainable future, and examines the relationship between rail operations and the environment. It is a valuable contribution to discussions on the role that rail can play in greening transport. This report aims to reach a large audience. A total of 9 out of 10 Europeans consider climate change a very serious or fairly serious problem. Climate change is a reality that is affecting European citizens more frequently and more severely. Natural disasters driven by climate change, such as extreme heatwaves and fires, heavy rainfall and flooding, heavy snowfall, and thunderstorms, severely test the transport system’s resilience.

European Union Agency for Railways, Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

This report is one of the visible results of the activities of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) in monitoring safety levels and performance. It is also part of the Agency’s effort to provide its stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the development of railway safety and interoperability in the EU. In accordance with EU legislation, the report has been published by ERA biennially since 2006. Specifically, this publication is the fourth edition of the report on progress on safety and interoperability in the Single European Railway Area (SERA), a joint statutory report mandated by the recast Agency regulation.

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Cheimariotis, I., Stepniak, M., et al., 2023.

Safety and resilience are fundamental requirements of transport and mobility, and as such are key objectives of the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy of the European Commission, adopted in 2021 as part of the EU Green Deal. Research and Innovation is crucial to achieve EU transport safety and resilience objectives. Projects funded by the European Framework Programmes perform the background analysis and develop the technologies and the means for safety and resilience management. They also propose improvements for regulations and conceive procedures for their enforcement. Finally, they provide insights on human behaviour and develop innovative training to raise awareness and promote a safety culture. EU research and innovation therefore addresses all three pillars of safety and resilience: technologies, regulations and human factors, in a collaborative and inclusive framework. The aim of this report is to analyse the main trends, challenges, and achievements of European research and innovation in Transport Safety and Resilience, and to give recommendations on future initiatives. The report uses the Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS) database to identify relevant projects.

European University Institute, Finger, M., Montero, J., Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

Rail transport and inland waterways are crucial to achieve the objectives outlined in the Green Deal agenda. These aims include a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and attaining climate neutrality by 2050. The Railway Guidelines play a fundamental role in this context, enabling support for the transition to more sustainable transport modes. They aimed to endorse the Member State investments necessary for the completion of the single transport area, and the green and digital transitions (together with other state aid guidelines).

European Union Agency for Railways, Single programming document 2024-2026, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

The multi-annual work programme 2024-2026, together with the annual programme 2024 have been planned and prepared following the principles of the intervention logic. In addition, the work programme was prepared reflecting the conclusions of the SPD 2024 Workshop held with the Management Board in June 2022. The year 2024 will be an important milestone for our Authority activities, as also it marks the fifth year since the start of the Agency’s Authority activities according to the technical pillar of the 4th Railway Package.

Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This report presents the main findings underpinning the establishment of a European high-speed rail (HSR) network connecting the main European cities and regions, combining investments in constructing creating/upgrading new HSR lines and upgrading the digitalization and automation of existing ones, i.e. ERTMS. It confirms that investing in a comprehensive European HSR network will deliver added value to European society and massively reduce the environmental footprint of European passenger transport. The report proposes a master plan for HSR network connecting all EU capitals and major cities and calls for the Commission and Member States for a coordinated implementation with sufficient funding in the next decades. Such comprehensive network equalling at least tripling of the existing HSR network will certainly require high investment costs averaging to €550 billion but in return deliver a net positive benefit in the range of €750 billion to society.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, De Rose, A., Trier Jørgensen, K. and Doklestic, N., Publications Office of the European Union, 2024.

In response to the pressing need to reduce CO2 emissions and address the challenges of climate change, the European Union (EU) has implemented a series of ambitious policies and targets. One key focus area is the decarbonisation of the transport sector, with railways having been identified as a crucial lever in achieving these goals due to their relative low CO2 intensity. Yet, despite the high efficiency of railways, more can be done to harness its full potential. To utilise railway capacity to its full potential and respond to climate objectives, the EU has undertaken a process of opening the railway markets to foster greater competition. Competition in the rail market can take two forms: open-access (OA) competition (competition-in-the-market) and Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts through competitive tendering (competition-for-the-market). Freight rail is almost exclusively organised through open-access competition, while competition in the passenger railway market is organised through both types. As highlighted in this report, competition in railways seems to trigger an increase ridership and brings about significant benefits to society.