Latest updates
8/9/2026 - Joint feedback of RUs in favour of fair, transparent, proportionate, consistent and customer-oriented penalties
ALLRAIL, ERFA, FTE and UIRR stressed that it is essential that the penalties introduced by the Capacity Regulation are fair, transparent, proportionate, customer-oriented and implemented consistently across Europe.
21/8/2026 - ERFA Statement on closure of lines
Across Europe, railway undertakings and operators are facing severe capacity restrictions to infrastructure due to growing combination of last-minute changes to closure of lines, lack or low quality of alternative routes, simultaneous works and poor cross-border coordination. The result is an interrupted rail network that is becoming increasingly difficult to operate reliably and increasingly difficult for customers to trust. This is no longer an operational problem for railway undertakings. It is a threat to European supply chains, industrial competitiveness, the Single Market and the ambition to shift freight from road to rail. Europe needs to act now!
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24/7/2026 - Joint Position Paper - ETCS System Compatibility Checks (ESC) - Actions needed for simplification
AERRL, ERFA, CER and EIM jointly drafted a way forward to improve current ESC processes. The sector is fully committed to working jointly with ERA to identify meaningful improvements to current ESC processes, such as reducing duplication, improving transparency, and enabling evidence reuse, while laying the groundwork for a structured, long-term phase-out. This collaboration should result in a concrete, step-by-step roadmap with clear milestones, measurable outcomes, and regular progress reviews. Only through a shared and evidence based approach can the European railway sector move toward a genuinely interoperable system in which ESC requirements become progressively obsolete. Ultimately, greater emphasis should also be placed on addressing the root causes of the lack of interoperability, such as the completeness and stability of specifications and the availabilityof fully compliant products. Achieving progress in these areas would naturally improve efficiency and reduce the need for additional testing.
14/7/2026 - Joint Statement - A call to recognise rail contribution to decarbonisation
On 17 July 2026, the European Commission will unveil a comprehensive proposal to revise the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), aligning the carbon market with the EU 2040 climate target and industry competitiveness objectives. Just days before the proposal is unveiled, European rail and Combined Transport sectors collectively ask that the ETS remains true to its spirit: by earmarking its revenues to reward the sectors that have effectively decarbonised and hold accountable those that have not.