Annual Report the Voice of European Railways 2015-2016
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Annual Report The Voice of European Railways 2015-2016 Table of contents Annual Report The Voice of European Railways 2015-2016 The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) brings together more than 70 railway undertakings, their national associations as well as infrastructure managers and vehicle leasing companies. Rüdiger Grube, CER Chairman The membership is made up of long-established bodies, new entrants and both private and public enterprises, representing 73% of the rail network length, 80% of the rail freight business and about 96% of rail passenger operations in EU, EFTA and EU accession countries. CER P5 represents the interests of its members towards EU policy makers and transport stakeholders, advocating rail as the backbone of a competitive and sustainable transport Foreword system in Europe. For more information visit www.cer.be Rüdiger Grube P5 or follow us via Twitter at @CER_railways Andreas Meyer P6 Libor Lochman P7 CER Annual Report 2015-2016 1 P8 2 P26 3 P32 CER at a glance Market trends P28 Sector pillars 1.1 The Voice of European P10 3.1 Railways and passengers: P34 Railways a successful partnership 1.2 CER members P12 3.2 Rail freight: reducing costs P38 1.3 CER activities and P16 3.3 Developing rail infrastructure P40 political events 3.4 CER technical activities P42 1.4 The European Railway Award P22 Andreas Meyer, CER Acting Chairman 4 P46 5 P56 P65 Core activities CER governance Annex 4.1 The railroad to digitalisation P48 5.1 CER Management Committee P58 6.1 Publications P66 4.2 The railways’ perspective P50 5.2 How does CER work? P59 6.2 Abbreviations P67 on security 5.3 CER member statistics P62 6.3 Glossary P68 4.3 Decarbonisation: the rail P52 sector contribution 4.4 Social affairs: railways as P54 an employer Libor Lochman, CER Executive Director CER Annual Report 2015-2016 We will continue working closely with the European institutions on improving the performance of the railway sector and delivering our contribution to an even stronger sustainable Europe. Rüdiger Grube CER Chairman 4 Foreword CER Annual Report 2015-2016 would like to express my gratitude to all CEOs of CER Legislators took a major step in the European rail acquis members who unanimously elected me CER Chairman by adopting the Fourth Railway Package. Its technical Rüdiger Ion 19 September 2016. I feel very honoured by the trust pillar that came into force in June 2016 will remove many you placed in me. As CER Chairman, I will use my mandate barriers to market entry by improving authorisation Grube to the benefit of all members, regardless of their size, procedures for railway vehicles on the European level regional origin or structure. and by supporting the harmonisation of national technical CER Chairman rules. The political pillar of the package that was adopted in Today, Europe more than ever needs the railways as a December 2016 is a further step towards more competi- reliable, sustainable and competitive transport mode. It is tion in rail passenger transport and a reinforced regulatory one of the key factors in coping with challenges that the framework. Both pillars will help the railways to better sat- European Union is facing — climate change, uprising of isfy customers’ needs. The proper and seamless implemen- powers hostile to the EU and growing uncertainty on the tation of the Fourth Railway Package will be a crucial factor. future of the Union. Under the chairmanship of Christian Kern, CER worked on After the British referendum on Britain’s EU membership, many important dossiers with great success to the benefit our common understanding of the Union as a warrant for of the European railway sector. Christian Kern stepped peace, free movement and open markets has been severely down as CER Chair to become the Austrian Chancellor. I questioned. 60 years after the nucleus of the European would like to thank him for his great dedication and pas- idea was created in Rome, it seems anything but certain sionate work for the European rail community. At the same that future generations will protect and carry on the time, I extend my gratitude to Andreas Meyer, who stepped efforts that have been put into the European project. In the in as Acting Chair and skilfully steered CER’s affairs until aftermath of the Brexit decision, the leader of the largest my election in September 2016. group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, has chosen nothing else but the railways to help the youth of This CER Annual Report provides an overview of the Europe continue to grow together by putting forward the association’s main focus during the last 18 months. We proposal to give every single European at the age of 18 a will continue working closely together with European free Interrail ticket. institutions on improving the performance of the railway sector and delivering our contribution to an even stronger, Earlier this year, the Commission finished its stocktaking sustainable Europe. To this end, our agenda for the months exercise on the White Paper on Transport by publishing to come will focus on tangible results in the most important a midterm review. It fully confirms the bold targets from areas: implementation of the Fourth Railway Package’s 2011 for making the transport sector more sustainable by technical pillar, improved cooperation in ticketing and data shifting substantial parts of road transport to rail and other exchange, digitalisation and innovation, strengthening the environmentally-friendly transport modes. Without this development of rail corridors and improving intermodal modal shift, Europe will not be able to fulfil its commit- framework conditions for rail. ments from the COP21 conference on climate change on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. However, the targets need to be backed by strong efforts to improve the com- Rüdiger Grube petitive framework conditions for rail. CER Chairman Foreword 5 CER Annual Report 2015-2016 Foreword Andreas t was my honour and pleasure to serve in the course We have to improve reliability and punctuality in the of this year as Acting Chairman of CER. railway system. We must leverage the full potential I of digitalisation and new technologies to offer our Meyer The year 2016 was a year of completion. customers door-to-door mobility solutions tailored CER Acting Chairman to their needs. We need to work together to render In the European Union, the Fourth Railway Package was railway systems more open and compatible by harmo- finally adopted. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant nising technical standards and by using standardised as several implementing and delegated acts remain to interfaces. We have to position ourselves as mobility be elaborated. We must make sure that this final set of integrators in the intermodal mobility chain by providing rail legislation will be beneficial for the sector and our transfer opportunities to other modes of transport at customers. Now, the time has come to tackle intermodal our mobility hubs. And we have to promote rail as a key competition; starting with the road initiative. tool to combat climate change by providing a clean and energy-efficient means of transport. In my country Switzerland, the focus was on improv- ing rail infrastructure and on the opening of the new The new Gotthard Base Tunnel is an outstanding land- Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the mark project, setting standards for Europe and inspiring world. It has been a great privilege for me to serve as the the world. It is also a symbol that it is still possible to CEO of the Swiss Federal Railways in these historical achieve real milestones when politics, society and the days and to celebrate this important milestone together rail operating community jointly pursue consistent with the members of the CER Management Committee. objectives. However, infrastructures can only deliver their full potential if they become an integral part of the 2016 was also a year of setting the agenda for the ‘Mo- increasingly international and interdependent railway bility of the Future’ on the basis of the ‘Lugano Agenda’. system. The world of mobility is changing fundamentally. Tech- Therefore we must continue working together and nological progress is fostering new customer needs and focusing on the strength of railways. We must make mobility behaviours. Intermodal competition is increas- railways fit for future challenges. Let us seize the oppor- ing. The overall costs of railways are on the rise, while tunities of change in order to play a crucial role in the other transport modes are anticipating great potential ‘Mobility of the Future’. for savings. At the same time, public funds are becoming increasingly scarce, while regulatory requirements are becoming ever more stringent. Given these challenges, we – the railway community – Andreas Meyer have to act now! CER Acting Chairman (May - September 2016) 6 Foreword CER Annual Report 2015-2016 Foreword ver the past 18 months, CER has kept up its deter- of the digital evolution, the Full Service Model will be the mined work in carrying out its mission: to promote enabler of better rail ticketing services throughout Europe. Orail as the backbone of European mobility and as a In the area of freight, the Rotterdam declaration signed in key enabler of the European Union’s long-term strategy for June 2016 paves the way for more competitive rail freight. decarbonising its economy. Last but not least we are proposing concrete ways in which the security of the rail system can be increased, while at the It has been a busy time both for the policymakers and the same time preserving its openness to last-minute custom- sector. ers. We asked for an open, fair Single European Rail Area where But of course our efforts will not be truly fruitful unless the all players and market forces could lead towards ever more legislators take full responsibility for addressing the inter- efficient services for logistics intermediaries, long-dis- modal imbalances still present in the bigger picture.