Annual Report The Voice of European Railways 2017 CER Annual Report 2017 Table of contents Annual Report The Voice of European Railways 2017 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. The membership is made up of long-established bodies, new entrants and both private and public enterprises, representing 73% of the rail network P4 Foreword length, 77% of the rail freight business and about 93% of rail passenger operations in EU, EFTA and EU accession countries. CER represents the interests of its members towards EU policy makers and transport stakeholders, advocating rail as the backbone of a competitive and sustainable transport system in Europe. Publisher: Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), Avenue des Arts 53, 1000 Brussels - Belgium Published in January 2018 For more information, see www.cer.be Crister Fritzson, CER Chairman Libor Lochman, CER Executive Director 2 CER Annual Report 2017 CER Annual Report 2017 1 P6 2 P22 CER at a glance Market trends 1.1 The Voice of European Railways P7 2.1 Rail sector stagnation gives 1.2 CER members P9 way to growth in first half 1.3 CER activities and political events P12 of 2017 P23 1.4 Communicating and collaborating in 2017 P18 1.5 Ten years of the European Railway Award P20 © SNCF 3 P26 4 P39 In the spotlight CER governance 3.1 A leading voice in the mobility debate P27 4.1 CER Management 3.2 Implementing the technical part of the Fourth Railway Package P29 Committee P40 3.3 Promoting fair infrastructure charging in transport P31 4.2 How does CER work? P41 3.4 E-ticketing in rail – a plug & play approach P33 4.3 Member statistics 2016 P43 3.5 Boosting international rail freight P35 3.6 Digitalisation – a reality in rail P37 © SNCB CER Annual Report 2017 3 CER Annual Report 2017 t is a great honour for me to have been elected CER We can only begin to imagine what we will see in the next Chairman on 25 September 2017, after a period in 30 years, but to me it is clear that rail will continue to have Ithe position as Acting Chair, following the stepping a very important role to play as an enabler of personal down of Dr. Rüdiger Grube. Under his chairmanship, the mobility, the flow of goods, expanding labour markets association worked on a number of topics important to the and integration, thereby contributing to growth and the Foreword strengthening of Europe’s rail sector. I would like to thank improved competitiveness of Europe as a whole. Rail will him for his strong commitment and drive. Together with remain superior in terms of offering fast, high-capacity all the members as well as CER’s Executive Director Libor connections with efficient use of both energy and space. Lochman and his dedicated team of co-workers – I will take on the challenges, responsibilities and opportunities in the Already now and in the near future, we can foresee that Crister railway sector and work hard to bring it forward. digitalisation and automation will offer huge opportunities. It is crucial that rail can continue to innovate, at a higher This CER Annual Report provides an overview of the pace and as a front-runner compared to other modes in this Fritzson association’s main focus during the past year. As a general regard. Simultaneously, we also need to continue our joint CER Chairman message of relevance to ongoing as well as upcoming efforts to establish smart and attractive multimodal solu- legislative proposals, I find it important to stress that tions. It is therefore welcome that the European Commis- excessive regulation constitutes a burden that undermines sion has declared 2018 to be a year focused on multimo- competitiveness. In particular, additional very detailed dality, aiming to improve the integration of all modes in the sector-specific legislation should be avoided, unless it EU transport system. clearly leads to fulfilling certain goals. The railway sector continues to compete against other modes that often face simpler and less intrusive regulatory frameworks. 2018 will be the 30th anniversary of CER. Looking back at everything that has happened over the lifespan of the association since 1988 provides us with important perspectives on what it is possible to achieve in this sector. Working in close cooperation with the European institutions, considerable progress has been made in creating a single European railway market and better conditions for rail. We have seen an uptick in investments and remarkable technological development, affecting infrastructure, rolling stock and all kinds of rail-related services, with a profound impact on what kind of mobility Crister Fritzson solutions we can offer our customers. CER Chairman 4 CER Annual Report 2017 CER Annual Report 2017 ollowing the conclusion of the Fourth Railway Package tools enabling railway undertakings to retrofit their in December 2016, many Brussels-based transport locomotives as soon as possible. CER will stay at the heart Fstakeholders thought that 2017 would be a more of the ongoing coordination with its members and the relaxed year – a forecast quite far from reality. CER is today policymakers in order to achieve this ambitious target. as busy as ever on a variety of topics that will have a deep impact on Europe’s mobility. CER is committed to the dialogue with the sector’s social partners, especially in the context of the European Sectoral In 2017, CER devoted a great deal of effort to the Social Dialogue for Railways. Common challenges such implementation of the Fourth Railway Package’s Safety as the integration of more women in the labour force and and Interoperability Directives. The harmonisation of the attractiveness of railway professions are better tackled certification and authorisation processes under the control together. CER has also started a project with the European of the EU Agency for Railways represents a major leap Transport Workers’ Federation to assess the application of forward in shaping a real Single European Railway Area, the 2004 landmark agreement on the working conditions and fostering better services for passengers and goods – an of international rail mobile workers. opportunity that CER wants to use in the best possible way. Last but not least, CER continues to hold its invaluable In May 2017, the European Commission published the discussions with representatives of customers’ legislative package Europe on the Move. At its core is associations. The recent recast of Regulation 1371/2007 the revision of the Eurovignette Directive as well as on rail passenger rights as well as other important files the redefinition of several aspects of drivers’ working such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA) have been conditions. It will be another chance to redress the current at the centre of the debate. The sector has made high shortcomings in intermodal competition from the aspect of satisfaction levels among rail customers its own long- infrastructure charging and internalisation of external costs standing commitment, and because of this CER is aiming while contributing to safer European roads. to ensure that any policy initiative enables rail operators to keep up the good work in this area. CER has been following the Brexit negotiations, acting as an essential interlocutor for the EU institutions by It is with these priorities in mind that we will continue highlighting potential challenges and their corresponding representing the European rail sector at EU level. Our solutions. By providing highly relevant sector expertise, energy to shape these pivotal aspects of transport policy CER aims to support its members to mitigate any negative will sustain the momentum needed to achieve progress on effect on rail’s passenger and freight business that an all fronts. abrupt Brexit may cause. I invite you to read the following pages of our Annual Foreword The debate on the shape and size of the EU’s next Report in order to discover more about CER, and I look Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is already heating forward to meeting you soon. up, and CER’s key message is that rail infrastructure but also rolling stock and system technology need sufficient resources in the future MFF and a strong grant-based Libor policy such as the Connecting Europe Facility. On the technological front, ERTMS is entering a large- Lochman scale pan-European deployment phase, so that principal CER Executive Director corridors should be fully equipped in less than a decade. Libor Lochman Now it will be essential to find funding and financial CER Executive Director CER Annual Report 2017 5 CER Annual Report 2017 1 CER at a glance © PKP 6 Chapter 1 - CER at a glance CER Annual Report 2017 1.1 The Voice of European Railways Recognised as the voice of European CER at a glance CER membership railways for more than 25 years, CER´s role is to represent the interests of its members by actively CER is the Community CER represents more than 70 members providing an input to EU policy, in of European Railway and CER is the and partners. Infrastructure Companies. particular to support an improved only European business and regulatory environment association that for European railway undertakings Founded in and infrastructure managers. represents the 1988 entire railway 73% system. of the European rail network length Based in Brussels CER mission 77% of the European rail freight Represent the interests of its members on the business EU policy-making scene Has a team of to support an improved business and regulatory 20+ environment for European employees from railway undertakings and railway infrastructure across Europe companies.