Europe’s top railway leaders converged for the 75th General Assembly of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and defined key 2025 priorities. Álvaro Fernández Heredia, CEO of Spain's national railway operator Renfe, was elected onto the CER Management Committee.
Among the main topics of discussion was stable financing. There were also concerns expressed on the potential elimination of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and its significant contribution towards financing transborder railway infrastructure. CER favours maintaining dedicated railway financing on EU and national levels for guaranteeing the stability of long-term investments.
Digitalisation remains a top priority, with efforts focusing on the rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC), and Digital Capacity Management (DCM). All of them will foster more efficiency, safety, and interoperability on Europe's rail networks. In addition, more enhanced military mobility underpins the European Commission's enhanced efforts on defence and security.
High-speed rail connectivity between every EU capital was another topic. Expansion of railway passenger and goods transportation on a long-distance scale has been pinpointed as being key for decarbonising passenger and goods transportation into more ecological forms. Completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) will be paramount, with the CER urging major EU cofinancing of €100 billion.
CER Chair Andreas Matthä (ÖBB) stressed the importance of dedicated financing for trans-European railway projects, highlighting EU budget frameworks must support long-term infrastructure plans. And Executive Director Alberto Mazzola also seconded this opinion, commenting on railway investment being an investment in Europe's future, opening the way for sustainability, economic growth, and enhanced connectivity.
