EUROPE: The European Commission expects to present proposals for a Directive on rail ticketing and passenger rights ‘in the next few weeks’, Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility & Transport at DG Move told the European Rail Award in Brussels on February 2.
Setting out the directorate’s ambitions for the next year and beyond, Kopczyńska said that the Commission would also seek to bring forward legislation in 2026-27 to address the question of access to secondhand rolling stock in the EU. ‘I am sure you can all agree that usable trains should not be disposed of without due process’, she told the audience.
She acknowledged that more negotiation would be needed as part of the EU’s Multi-Annual Financial Framework to agree the level of funding available for the Connecting Europe Facility in the next EU budget period; the rail sector has been lobbying intensely to ensure access to the CEF funding mechanism is maintained.
Kopczyńska reiterated the Commission’s commitment to push for faster adoption of ERTMS across the continent, ‘even if we say this every year’. Notable by their absence in her address were references to adoption of the FRMCS telecoms standards or any mention of a successor programme to the Europe’s Rail research and innovation programme. Railway Gazette International understands that its future is closely linked to that of the EU Agency for Railways as part of the ongoing work to review ERA’s mandate. ‘There is a desire to have ERA more involved in rail innovation’, explained one insider, adding that the agency was also working more closely with UK rail bodies such as RSSB as part of the wider post-Brexit political ‘reset’ between Brussels and London.
‘For the Commission, and for me, our vision for rail in Europe is a seamless, strong, and resilient rail system, where harmonisation delivers safety and lower costs, while competition drives efficiency and affordability’, Kopczyńska insisted. ’Together, we are making this vision a reality.’
Award winners
The European Rail Award is jointly organised by the European supply industry association UNIFE and the Community of European Railway & Infrastructure Companies, and this year’s event was once again held at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels. As in recent years, two awards were presented.
A unified call from EU countries to deliver tangible progress on high speed rail was commended with the Rail Trailblazer Award for 2026. As a joint initiative, nine EU member states had written to the European Commission urging the EU ‘to accelerate development of a truly European high speed rail network’. CER and UNIFE said this collective call to action ’gave a highly significant boost to the growing political momentum behind high speed rail expansion in Europe as a lever of enhanced European mobility and economic growth’.
Accepting the award were Latvian Minister of Transport Atis Švinka; Romanian Secretary of State at the Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure Ionuț-Cristian Săvoiu; Slovak State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport Denisa Žiláková; Estonian Secretary General of the Ministry of Climate Marten Kokk; Czech Deputy Head of the Permanent Representation to the EU Ambassador Štěpán Černý; Hungarian Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU Ambassador Katalin Molnár; Italian Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU Ambassador Marco Canaparo; Lithuanian Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU Ambassador Robertas Bružilas; and Spain’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU Ambassador, Oriol Escalas Nolla.
The Polish government received the Rail Champion Award for its efforts to encourage rail development during its recent presidency of the Council of the EU. The organisers said the presidency had sought ’to drive rail forward as a pillar of European competitiveness and resilience’.
Undersecretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure Piotr Malepszak accepted the award on behalf of the government.
Commenting on the awards, CER Chair and PKP Chief Executive Alan Beroud said the awards ‘come at a time when rail sits at the heart of Europe’s strategic choices, from resilience and security to sustainability and competitiveness. The Polish presidency’s leadership, recognised with the Rail Champion Award, and the collective call of EU countries for a truly European high speed rail network, honoured with the Rail Trailblazer Award, both show what can be achieved when political will converges in support of rail.’
‘Poland used its presidency to advance the European rail agenda and strengthen the position of the rail supply industry in an impressive manner’, added Michael Peter, UNIFE Chair and CEO of Siemens Mobility. ‘Leading on the competitiveness and simplification agenda and preparing key initiatives such as the proposals for the new EU budget and the EU military mobility package, Poland has demonstrated true leadership in championing the European rail supply industry.’
