More than 40 European transport associations have called for additional EU funding for rail transport in order to achieve climate and resilience goals and secure supply chain sovereignty. The European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) has referred to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) instrument, which can serve as a robust means for additional investment. The Coalition has emphasised that the CEF is crucial to achieving a 50% increase in the volume of rail freight transport by 2030 and a doubling by 2050, as envisaged in the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The importance of the transport sector in tackling environmental, geostrategic, and capacity challenges in Europe has been emphasised by the coalition. The ERFA sees an expanded CEF as an opportunity to complete the trans-European transport network, eliminate bottlenecks, and expand key infrastructure to enable 740 m long trains with an axle load of 22.5 t.
