RAIL FREIGHT ASSOCIATIONS ASK FOR LESS STATE-OWNED COMPANIES IN THE MARKET
On 4 June, UIRR, ERFA, Die Güterbahnen, and RailGood published a joint paper urging Member States to focus on infrastructure and safety rather than operating state-owned rail freight companies. The associations argue that removing state-owned operators would revolutionise the European sector, as these entities dominate their national markets and have significant international influence.
The associations stress on the need for rail to play a bigger role in intermodal transport, calling for harmonised infrastructure use across Europe and fair competition with road transport through stricter safety checks and penalties.
To enhance the internationality of rail freight across the EU, the paper recommends coordinated rail infrastructure planning and European-level predictive maintenance while proposing to regulate and incentivise infrastructure managers to minimise customer inconvenience during track works. Additionally, the paper seeks a more practical approach to deploying the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), urging the EU to standardise funding and streamline approval processes.
Source: ERFA