In a joint statement, the railway associations UNIFE and CER have set out their agreed approach to the further development of the European railway sector. The two associations identify higher safety, greater capacity, seamless cross-border transport, lower system costs and greater investment in research and innovation as their common priorities. At the same time, they point to the need for modernisation and competitive pressure in the sector and link their willingness to implement these measures to sufficient EU funding and political support. In terms of content, the approach includes the development of a European high-speed rail (HSR) network, military mobility and the Europe-wide introduction of ERTMS as key projects. UNIFE and CER call on the EU institutions to support the project in a spirit of partnership. According to their figures, the EU rail ecosystem contributes EUR 247 billion to Europe-wide GDP and creates over 3 million jobs.
