Military mobility, like freight, is reliant on high performing international corridors which facilitate longer and heavier trains. Like freight, national barriers and administrative burdens are also a barrier to effective military mobility. The infrastructure needs of freight and military are therefore aligned. This was the main takeaway from the ERFA annual event on 24 June in Brussels where military and industry representatives, as well as the new ERA Executive Director Oana Gherghinescu, discussed what rail needs to be ready for a changing world.

The signatories of this letter - representing rail freight and combined transport industries from several EU Member States as well as European associations - highlights that the performance of the German rail network is critical for the collective success of rail freight. More reliability and better infrastructure quality should be the priority as to keep European industry on track.

The association representing the railway, inland waterway, maritime and intermodal sectors jointly call to not left Combined Transport behind. They call on the European legislators to recognise the substantial cost savings Combined Transport offers to society as a whole, to launch the first reading of the Combined Transport Directive, and to avoid solutions that backtrack on the current status quo.

The latest IRG (Independent Regulators Group) Market Monitoring Report shows that the market share of competitors continues to grow with competitors accounting for 55% of the European rail freight market in 2023. This growth is driven primarily by the growth of new market entrants who have grown from 33% of the market in 2019 to 40% of the market in 2023. It must be recognised that this growth of total market share is against the backdrop of a decline of total rail freight volumes in 2023.

The EU-wide deployment of on-board and trackside ERTMS will improve interoperability, increase capacity and reinforce rail safety, therefore enabling the conditions for a Single European Railway Area. However, a series of difficulties including the increasing divergences of applying the ERTMS technology nationally and the absence of a business case for railway undertakings are putting ERTMS on the verge of losing its original purpose. Avoiding a derailment of ERTMS urgently requires a new joint approach.

On 05 February, a coalition of 45 associations representing all the diversity of Europe?s transport sector has sent an open letter to the Commission and Member States, calling for a stronger EU transport budget. This is an absolute prerequisite for building a competitive, net-zero and resilient European Union.

The ERFA Board of Directors is pleased to welcome the latest member of ERFA, WLC (Wiener Lokalbahnen Cargo), as of the beginning of 2025. Based in Vienna, WLC is an internationally active rail freight service operator that organises transportation throughout Europe.

On 10 January, 12 industry associations issued a joint open letter calling for negotiating partners on the European Railway Capacity Management Regulation to adopt an ambitious and international approach to the file. The Regulation is viewed as an important tool to improve the reliability of rail freight services and, with it, improve the functioning of European supply chains and the broader economy. This initiative from ERFA, jointly with other industry associations, reflects the high importance and interest of European industry in rail freight, but also the expectations for a change in capacity management.

On 23 September, the European Commission released a study on the benefits of competition for rail passenger and freight services. For rail freight, the study found that competition is delivering increased and more diverse transport services, higher service quality and accelerated modernisation of historical incumbents. However, the document also identified several concerns of the sector, including poor state of the infrastructure, unaffordable technological upgrades, unfair State Aids, and complexity of cross-border operations.

On 18 June, the European Commission presented its proposal for State Aid Rules for Land and Multimodal Transport. Once adopted, they will replace the existing State Aid Guidelines for Railway Undertakings as the primary legislative source at European level for taking decisions on applicability of public support measures. Whilst public support measures can play a positive role, they must be limited to areas of common interest to avoid competition distortion and maximize limited financial resources.

During its General Assembly meeting on 10 September 2024, ERFA members elected two new members to the ERFA Board of Directors, Mr. Raphaël Doutrebente of Europorte and Mr. Denny Jünemann of Die Güterbahnen. The General Assembly also took the opportunity to thank outgoing board members for their contribution to European rail freight policy over the past years.

During its annual event on 10 September, ERFA presented its 2024-2029 manifesto to industry experts and policy makers. The manifesto presents what ERFA believes are the key issues which must be addressed by the European Institutions and Member States during this legislative cycle. The manifesto identifies three broad policy objectives which should be focused on. These are fixing infrastructure, achieving the Single European Railway Area and improving rail freight?s competitiveness.