Both legal and institutional challenges hinder seamless rail transport between EU Member States, including the traffic in border regions which is in need of facilitation. What is the current state of play, what can national stakeholders do to cooperate beside EU legal requirements and what needs to be done? 

Moderator:

• Giacomo Potenza, ERA

Speakers:

• Peter Behyl, DG MOVE
• Silvia de Rocchi, Director, Captrain Italia (ERFA)
• Marcel de la Haye, Technical Director, CER
• Aleksandra Kania, NSA PL
• Ralf Fleischmann, Alstom

This session will examine how strategic partnerships—such as Europe’s Rail—are pivotal in delivering the next generation of European rail, ensuring it is smarter, more resilient, and fit for the future. As rail stands at the heart of Europe’s sustainable mobility transition, collaboration across public institutions, industry, infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, technology providers and academia will be critical to scaling innovations that enhance interoperability, digitalisation, and operational efficiency at a pan-European level.

Building on past achievements, the discussion will focus on how future partnerships can accelerate deployment, bridge the gap between research and market uptake, and reinforce Europe’s global leadership in rail innovation. Key priorities will include:

• Simplifying the rail system and operations while enhancing its fundamental capabilities.
• Scaling capacity and performance to meet growing demand while improving resilience.
• Advancing digital and automated systems to unlock efficiency, safety, and seamless multimodal integration.
• Fast-tracking climate-neutral solutions, ensuring rail remains the backbone of Europe’s green transport transition.
• Strengthening alignment between EU funding, national strategies, and industry investment to maximise impact.

The panel will explore how Europe’s Rail and successor initiatives can evolve to foster agile, mission-driven collaboration, ensuring that innovation translates into tangible, system-wide improvements, for a more integrated, competitive, and future-proof European rail system.

Moderator:

• Giorgio Travaini, EU-Rail

Speakers:

• Eric von Breska, Director, DG MOVE
• Roberto Maiorana, CEO of Trafikverket
• Alan Baroud, CEO of PKP and CER Chair
• Miroslav Haltuf, Europe’s Rail States Representative Group Chair
• Andrea Gentili, Deputy Head of Unit, DG RTD, EU Commission
• Benjamin Fitoussi, President Rolling Stock & Components, Alstom

This stand presentation will showcase the latest developments in EU military mobility policy, highlighting ongoing initiatives, future priorities, and practical examples of relevance and interest to the railway industry.

Moderator:

• Eric von Breska, DG MOVE

Speakers:

• Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director, ERA
• Catharina Dohmeier, Stadler
• Jorge Lopez, NSPA

Presentation of the Network of Ambassadors for #DiversityInTransport

Presentation of the Network of Ambassadors for #DiversityInTransport and discussion with Ambassador Matthias Rohrmann

This panel session will explore the growing role of satellite communication and space-based services in supporting the digital transformation of the European railway system complementing traditional communication networks by providing more coverage or resilience. 

Moderator:

• Judit Sandor, EU-Rail

• Jo de Bosschere, Head of ERTMS Unit, European Union Agency for Railways

Speakers:

• Jeremie Godet, Head of Unit, DG DEFIS
• Joachim Luecking – Head of Interoperability and Safety Unit, DG MOVE
• Christophe Chéron, SNCF – Deputy Director European Research Programmes
• Philippe Laviron, Director for Innovation in signalling Hitachi Rail

One year after the adoption of the high-speed rail plan, this session will examine the steps taken and actions still planned to better connect Europe by high-speed rail. Infrastructure managers, railway undertakings, including new entrants are among the stakeholders expected to take part in the discussion. Topics discussed will include, among others, the overall competitiveness of the high-speed rail sector, its cross-border dimension but also the challenge of mobilising investment Union-wide to make ambitions concrete.  

Moderator:

• Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director, ERA

Speakers:

• Pedro Marco de la Peña, Chairman, ADIF
• Luigi Corradi, CEO of FS International
• Laurent Fourtune, Founder and CEO, Kevin Speed
• Jakub Bazgier, Director of Czech High-Speed Rail Programme, Správa železnic
• Nicolas Erb , European Affairs Director, Alstom

Moderator:

• Sergio Oliete Josa, Head of Unit, DG INTPA

Speakers:

• Keir Fitch, Senior adviser, DG MOVE
• Frederick Appoh, CEO, Ghana Rail Development Authority
• Agostinho Langa, CEO, CFM, Mozambique
• Alvaro BERMUDEZ PENA, President, INCOFER Costa Rica
• Khikmatulla RAKHMETOV, First Deputy Chairman, Uzbekistan Railways
• Oana GHERGHINESCU, Executive Director, ERA

The Single European Railway Area of Skills Alliance (SERAS) project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, is aimed at establishing and expanding a sustainable Rail Skills Alliance for railway skills enhancement, ensuring a resilient, skilled, and mobile workforce across the EU. New stakeholders are invited to join the alliance as associated partners to benefit from opportunities such as networking, access to skills intelligence tools and educational hubs and platforms, visibility and EU cooperation. 

Moderator:

• Angela Di Febbraro, UNIGE

Speakers:

• Michael Lehmann, UASFHE
• Eckhard Voss, Wmp
• Matthias Rohrmann, DB
• Antonella Trombetta, Hitachi Rail
• Maria Luisa Martínez Muneta, UPM

This session will explore how innovation is helping the European railway sector reduce costs, improve performance, and be a springboard for strengthening industrial competitiveness and expanding global market opportunities, including for SMEs. 

Moderator:

• Eric von Breska, Director, DG MOVE

Speakers:

• Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director, ERA
• Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director, EU-Rail
• Stéphane Feray Beaumont, VP, Alstom
• David-Ibán Villalmanzo Resusta, General Manager Strategic Partnerships and Coordination, ADIF
• Carole Desnost, CTO, SNCF
• Jasmin Bigdon, Senior Advisor in Rail and Mobility
• Maciej Gladyga, President, ERF

This demo will showcase EU-Rail innovation through a live demonstration of Europe’s Rail Flagship Project FP2-R2DATO. It will bring to life the future of rail operations by showcasing fully autonomous depot movements controlled remotely from Berlin, with trains operating in Oslo without a driver onboard. It demonstrates how cutting-edge automation, real-time connectivity and intelligent control systems can safely execute complex shunting operations across borders, redefining how rail assets are managed. 

• Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General, DG MOVE
• Giorgio Travaini, Executive Director, EU-Rail JU
• Iosu Ibarbia, CTO, CAF

Optimised mix of train capabilities (integrity monitoring and safe train length) and trackside equipment to provide desired line capacity.

The Moving Block Demonstrator validates the adoption of new technologies and concepts, such as the generic safety logic leading to a reduced data preparation effort and enabling track reconfigurability.

The work is highly aligned with System Pillar Architecture and validates the harmonised railway operation concept and system architecture.

Looking ahead, the session will examine the challenges and opportunities associated with digital rail freight. Speakers will discuss how innovation can accelerate the modal shift to rail, improve the attractiveness of rail freight for customers, and contribute to the development of a truly connected and seamless European logistics ecosystem. 

Moderator:

• Estelle Bacconnier, DG Move

Speakers:

• Maria Price, Secretary General, ERFA
• Lars Deiterding; Executive Director, HaCon Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH
• Yves Sterbak; Director Sales & Business Development & CEO Protostellar, Hitachi Rail Technology Provider
• Fernando Liesa, Secretary General, Alice

On 13 May 2026 the Commission presented three legal proposals to make rail travel easier and more attractive. Wider availability of rail tickets across various online platforms and the possibility to combine tickets from different operators into a single journey, with full passenger rights. This package will unlock the full potential of rail. 

Moderator:

• Eric VON BRESKA, DG MOVE

Speakers:

• Kathrin OBST, DG MOVE
• Kai Tegethoff, MEP
• Olivier Piron, SNCB
• Alexander Ernert, Trainline
• Andre SCHWAEMMLEIN, Flix

The cost and complexity of digitalising European railway systems are too high. To reduce them, implementations must shift from complex, legacy-based approaches to a European system based on ERTMS, and harmonised wider CCS system with common operational rules.  The current situation, solutions, and expected impact on the sector will be discussed. 

Moderator:

• Joachim Luecking, Head of Unit, DG MOVE

Speakers:

• Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director, EU Agency for Railways
• Ian Conlon, Head of System Pillar, Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking

Panel discussion:

• Sverre Kjenne, Director ERTMS User Group
• Gemma Salazar Luque, Hitachi Rail
• Carole Coune, AERRL
• Alberto Mazzola, CER
• Hans Menschaert, EIM (Chair of Technical Steering Group)
• Hartwig Schuster, Unife

Closing remarks:

• Jo de Bosschere

Europe’s rail system is increasingly exposed to climate‑driven disruptions – heatwaves, flooding, landslides – and to a rapidly evolving cyber‑threat landscape targeting digital and energy assets. These are two faces of the same resilience challenge, where physical and digital vulnerabilities reinforce each other and can compromise rail continuity. The sector therefore needs coordinated action, shared standards, and investment in both climate‑proofing and cybersecurity. We will explore how EU institutions, infrastructure managers, operators and financial actors can jointly strengthen the resilience of the Single European Rail Area. 

Moderator:

• Oana Gherghinescu, ERA

Speakers:

• Ian Conlon, EU-Rail
• Eva Valeri, ERA
• Thomas Chatelet, ERA
• Felix Ardiaca Garcia, EIB
• Alain Quinet, EIM / SNCF
• Anna Dąbrowska, NSA PL

Rail is the safest land transport mode, but confronted with challenging evolutions: automation, workforce demographics, economic pressure.

This requires all actors and Authorities to make best use of the growing amount of data to prioritise the limited resources in the most effective manner.

Link with the upcoming CSM-ASLP regulation, and other initiative to make sense of existing data (e.g. AI for NIB reports…)

Reminder that sharing data does not entail sharing responsibilities, which are clearly defined.

Moderator:

• Chris Carr

Speakers:

• Stefan Jugelt, ERA
• Enno Wiebe, UNIFE
• Marcel de la Haye, CER

Step into the future of railway operations at the launch of the EP Pilot Project on Languages—where innovation meets collaboration. This event unites regulators, users, Notified Bodies, and digital pioneers like LLM providers to explore ground-breaking translation solutions that will redefine multilingual communication in the rail sector. Join us to shape the next generation of tools and ensure your voice is part of this transformative journey.

Moderator:

• Antonio D’Agostino, ERA

Speakers:

• Estelle Bacconnier, DG MOVE
• Alejandro Martinez, Train Driver’s Union (ALE)
• Carmine Zappacosta, ItalCertifer NoBo

Panel discussion with representatives of new star ups appearing in the domain of rail, to present their technologies, challenges, good practices how to integrate their ideas into the rail eco-system and lessons learnt.  

Moderator:

• Judit Sandor, EU-Rail JU

Speakers:

• Maximilian Schöffer, Futurail
• Michael Reiter, Railautomation
• Gabriele Semino, Neoways
• Yves Sterbak, Pprotostellar

FRMCS specifications and their testing should conclude in September 2027. Speakers will discuss the latest status of their development and priorities of pre-deployment activities, based on a sector-wide questionnaire. The discussion will highlight industry’s readiness and migration options to FRMCS compatible ETCS versions. 

Moderator:

• Karel van Gils, EU-Rail JU

Speakers:

• Wawrzyniec Perschke, DG MOVE
• Jo de Bosschere, ERA
• Michael Mikulandru, UNIFE
• Pipsa Hallner, Trafikverket
• Andrea Bricchi, Brian and partners