2025 saw Europe’s Rail (EU-Rail) make significant progress across multiple initiatives, fostering partnerships and...
Europe’s Rail in review
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The future of rail is now!
Rail is vital for Europe. Europe must take decisive steps to simplify and modernise its rail systems. A key move toward a more competitive, sustainable, and sovereign future.
Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking is calling for a bold, coordinated investment strategy to simplify and modernise rail systems across the EU. This public-private partnership model – outlined in our High-Level Paper – proposes an €18 billion investment from 2028 to 2034 to strengthen European competitiveness, deliver greener transport, and drive technological sovereignty.
What will it take to make it happen?
Why rail matters?
The European rail sector is a strategic asset. It supports jobs, enables clean transport, and drives economic value. Rail is also central to achieving sustainability in transport, being the greenest and most energy efficient mass transport mode, delivering the policy objectives of a Single European Rail Area (SERA) and strengthening the Single Market. A successful rail sector is also an integral part of the Clean Industrial Deal.
Employment
2.3 million jobs supported across Europe by the rail sector
Economic impact
€143 billion contribution to EU GDP
Industrial leadership
Global leadership in railway manufacturing, design, and maintenance with the European rail supply industry providing 659,000 jobs
Trade Performance
Positive trade balance in a highly competitive global market
Sustainability
Rail is central to achieving sustainability in transport, being the greenest and most energy efficient mass transport mode
Innovation
Successful innovations through Shift2Rail and Europe’s Rail programmes
Turning vision into delivery
EU-RAIL and before it the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R) have reshaped the landscape of rail research and innovation in Europe. Together, these initiatives have enabled the development of key technologies and contributed to the harmonisation of the European rail system. Milestones include advancements in the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), autonomous train operation, real-time traffic management solutions, next generation traction systems for improved energy efficiency and the Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC) a game changer for a competitive and efficient rail freight.
The technological breakthroughs developed in EU-Rail significantly enhance safety, operational efficiency and reliability of the rail system, while contributing also to cost reduction contributing to overall sustainable and green mobility. Their market application allows the European rail industry, one of the few remaining able to compete worldwide as an example of excellence, to be competitive contributing to European jobs and economy.
To maintain leadership and better serve Europe’s citizens and businesses, rail must evolve and fast. To achieve its mission of simplifying the rail system to make it more attractive, and creating the conditions for a faster and more effective and affordable deployment of innovations, the High-Level paper identifies three core objectives requiring targeted investment.
Agility
Developing systems capable of reacting dynamically to disruptions and implementing shorter innovation cycles through enhanced modularity and simplified certification processes. This includes advancing digital systems integration and automated harmonised operations to improve responsiveness to market demands.
Resilience
Ensuring cybersecurity, maintaining sovereignty over rail system operations, building environmental change resistance, and supporting critical infrastructure protection against current and future threats. This objective directly supports the EU’s strategic autonomy goals.
Competitiveness
Targeting significant cost reductions in both upfront and lifecycle expenses, improved asset utilisation and system performance, and strengthened EU industrial leadership in global markets. The aim is to deliver EU reliable and competitive solutions that make rail more attractive for both passengers and freight operators.
A Strategic Roadmap for a Smarter, Simpler, and More Competitive European Rail System
EU-RAIL’s High-Level paper Annexes outline the key strategic areas of R&I and pre-deployment needed to simplify the rail system, boost performance, and strengthen Europe’s agility, resilience, and global competitiveness. It reflects an enlarged partnership perspective, looking across the full portfolio of actors and capabilities needed to deliver meaningful and lasting change.
These areas are grouped into four flagship initiatives, complemented by wider policy actions beyond R&I to fully achieve the vision.
1. European Simplified and Integrated Railway System (ESIRS)
Building a modern, harmonised rail system through automation, standardisation, and cutting-edge digital technologies. ESIRS focuses on next-generation CCS, traffic management, digital infrastructure information, operational communications, and unified data systems – creating scalable, upgradeable, cyber-secure, and cost-effective operations across Europe. It also incorporates the urban ecosystem, enabling structural synergies and a more integrated system-wide approach.
2. Next-Generation Rail Freight Operations with European Digital Solutions
Transforming European rail freight to make it more competitive, efficient, and attractive. This initiative accelerates digital automation, intelligent capacity management, and digital coupling technologies, supporting a greener, more flexible, and more resilient logistics ecosystem. Through pre-deployment actions with ports and full integration of the wider logistics chain, this initiative embraces the entire logistics system: helping pave the way toward a truly net-zero logistics network in Europe
3. Resilient Railway (Re²Rail)
Ensuring reliable, secure operations in the face of climate pressures, cybersecurity threats, and geopolitical challenges. Re²Rail embeds resilience into the railway’s core architecture (from automation and digital control to infrastructure and rolling-stock design) while enabling seamless civilian – military interoperability when needed. It also incorporates dual-use solutions, integrating the necessary protection requirements and relevant defence actors to ensure that Europe’s critical rail assets remain secure, resilient, and recoverable.
4. Innovative EU High-Speed Rail Corridors
Driving the next generation of high-speed rail through harmonised European corridors. These pre-deployment corridors will test new rolling stock, ETCS L2-only operations, predictive maintenance, and advanced traffic management—ensuring safe, efficient, and fully interoperable high-speed services across borders.