European Railway Award

Last night I attended the 12th edition of the European Railway Award, hosted by the European industry associations CER and UNIFE in Brussels’ imposing Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The recipient of this year’s award was Catherine Trautmann – who was already an ardent promoter of rail transport when she was mayor of Strasbourg and later as a Member of the European Parliament, emphasizing its role as an integral part of a sustainable mobility system; and more recently, she making a real difference coordinating Europe’s North Sea-Baltic Corridor. These continental cross-border rail corridors are designed to facilitate transport, trade and hence prosperity through efficient rail links, and thanks to Catherine’s leadership and guidance, her particular corridor is making really good progress. We are very grateful for her work and proud to honor such an illustrious supporter of our industry. Congratulations for a very well-deserved award!

The event was very well attended and, I should add, beautifully organized thanks to UNIFE’s wonderful team. It was naturally also a great occasion to meet with many colleagues and discuss what’s on our minds in the European Rail Industry – not only in private conversations but particularly in the panel discussion held before the ceremony. CER Chair Crister Fritzson and I were grateful to be joined on the panel by Henrik Hololei, Karima Delli MEP, and Europe’s ERTMS coordinator Matthias Ruete.

I took some important points away from these discussions. First, there really is broad agreement about the importance of innovation in the age of digitalization. We face two main trends: On the one hand, soaring transportation volumes that need to be handled efficiently along with growing customer demands in terms of comfort, connectivity and ease of travel; on the other hand, the need to master these trends without depleting our planet’s resources. The good news is – digitalization helps us with both. A good example we talked about is Shift2Rail. This partnership not only brings together different stakeholders – absolutely crucial for digital innovation – in what many call an ecosystem of innovation, but also helps us increase capacity, reliability, flexibility and efficiency of our transportation systems through innovations.

We also talked about financing, which is no surprise considering the 2021-2027 EU financial framework was on the agenda. It’s reassuring to know that rail enjoys such broad political support, and we rail suppliers are ready to do everything we can, drawing on the most innovative and sustainable technological solutions available, to help enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s rail sector. (And, I should add, we believe that tenders should reward those that in fact offer such solutions.)

Crucial too for us in Europe is the following point: The fourth railway package is very much welcomed, and everyone now expects its smooth implementation.

And one last point that applies universally and that’s very important to me: the rail industry is an industry with a purpose. We can make an enormous difference in people’s lives, by getting them comfortably, safely, and reliably from A to B and by doing so in such a way that we preserve our planet’s natural resources. This purpose matters to me personally because I like to work for something that has a positive impact on the world; and I think it matters to our industry because it helps us attract talent in a younger generation that cares deeply about the preservation of our planet.