Gilles Peterhans: Rail Freight Must Move from Planning to Performance

Europe’s rail freight sector has entered 2026 under pressure. UIP Secretary General Gilles Peterhans says fragmented rules, infrastructure constraints and slow digital rollout now pose an existential challenge to the Single European Railway Area.

From UIP’s perspective, what will be the key priorities for wagon keepers and rail freight stakeholders as the sector moves into 2026?

Our focus has shifted from conversation to consequence; we are moving beyond the 'why' and obsessing over the 'how' through immediate, large-scale implementation.

For too long, our sector has been held back by a fragmented patchwork of nationally-managed networks and a lack of real international coordination. The wake up call happened in late 2025. One country’s decision to reintroduce unilateral regulatory measures has thrown a wrench into rail freight, jeopardizing decades of progress toward a Single European Railway Area and undermining the very interoperability rail freight depends on.

UIP enters 2026 with a singular, non-negotiable priority: strengthening a rail freight system that delivers high safety standards while reinforcing the Single Market and supporting the EU’s climate and competitiveness agenda. This means moving past rhetoric to secure adequate infrastructure capacity and enforcing cross-border coordination that works in practice, not just on paper. Crucially, ensuring that one set of common standards is applied across Europe must become the absolute rule, not the exception. This is especially vital for safety: we expect every actor to implement the evidence-based, workable JNS measures we have developed collectively. Our climate goals and European competitiveness depend on this transition from planning to performance.

Infrastructure availability, capacity constraints, and reliability remain major concerns for freight operators. How does UIP assess the current situation across Europe, and where are the most urgent improvements needed?

The infrastructure crisis facing European rail freight is no longer just a challenge, it is a wall blocking our growth and we must tear it down.

Most urgently we need a radical acceleration in investments towards digitalization and automation. Modern signaling systems like ERTMS are the only way to squeeze the necessary capacity out of the current network. Combined with Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) and automated train operations, we aren’t just improving reliability and safety, these technologies create the most cost-effective path to a high-performance system.

Our assessment is clear: Member States must stop treating these as optional upgrades. We need long-term funding mechanisms and an enforcement of planning commitments.

Regulatory and policy frameworks play a crucial role for wagon keepers. Which EU-level initiatives or legislative developments will be most significant for the sector in the coming years?

• Infrastructure capacity:

The agreement on the EU rail capacity regulation is an essential move towards a more predictable and efficient use of the network. Predictability is not an abstract goal: it is a prerequisite for reliable freight services and for attracting additional traffic to rail. The adoption of the recently proposed military mobility package will be the opportunity to accelerate the deployment of state-of-the-art dual-use infrastructure, rolling stock and processes.

• Funding consistency:

At the same time, policy must be met with capital. The negotiations on the next EU budget will be the real ‘credibility test’ for the EU’s transport goals and climate ambitions. Rail freight cannot deliver on competitiveness and decarbonization without significant, sustained and targeted investments in modernization and deployment.

• A stronger European Authority:

With over half of rail freight crossing borders, European oversight is essential. UIP will continue to advocate for a strengthened mandate for the EU Agency for Railways (ERA). The expected revision of ERA’s regulation, together with the implementation of the framework for common safety reporting and assessment ('CSM ASLP’) offer concrete opportunities to reduce national divergence and reinforce trust.

• Legal and operational certainty:

Finally, the 2026 version of the General Contract for the Use of Wagons (GCU) provides the legal and technical stability necessary for rail freight to operate. It does not replace European rail regulations or compete with them, it complements mandatory provisions that govern safety and maintenance management. The GCU is the cornerstone which enables us to move a single wagon across multiple borders, through the hands of different railway undertakings, seamlessly and efficiently. No other mode of transport can match this flexibility at scale. And the GCU is what makes this possible.

How do digitalisation and technical innovation, such as digital freight solutions or the deployment of DAC, factor into UIP’s vision for a more competitive and resilient rail freight system?

Digitalization and technical innovation are the primary levers for unlocking much-needed capacity, quality and productivity improvements. As such, they are the cornerstones of UIP’s vision and this isn’t just about technology, it’s about competitiveness. Transforming rail freight into a transparent, data-driven and more reliable logistics solution will finally place it on shippers’ radars as the backbone of the modern supply chain.

Technologies likes DAC are game-changers and tools to demonstrate the potential of the sector. They can drastically improve efficiency, safety, and transparency across the rail freight system. However, the success of these technologies depends very much on whether policy ambitions are matched by investment and a coordinated deployment. Continued support for rail innovation, specifically through a strong successor to Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking is non-negotiable to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world solutions.

Modernization is a continuous process. The Connecting Europe Facility must remain the robust vehicle that provides and prioritize digital upgrades alongside physical tracks. To build a truly resilient European network, the EU must substantiate its decarbonization objectives with targeted investments in the digital tools that make those ambitious objectives achievable. These investments are critical to building a more integrated, sustainable, and competitive European rail freight network.

Which UIP-led initiatives, working groups, or industry events in 2026 should stakeholders pay particular attention to?

2026 promises to be another milestone year for the rail freight community, and we invite our stakeholders to join us across several platforms. Starting with our annual flagship conference, the Keepers’ Summit on 29 May in Krakow. This year, we are diving deep into Poland’s strategic role with regards to TEN-T and tackling the latest challenges in intermodality. It’s the premier space for high-level networking and industry insights—stay tuned to our LinkedIn and website for registration updates.

Furthermore we are thrilled to see the continued momentum of key innovation projects, driving innovation to the track. Keep an eye out for breakthrough news from TRANSF4M-R Wave 2, DACFit, DACtivate and the PioDac projects as they move closer to real world deployment. Join the digital leap, as we have now launched DAC-rail, a centralized web portal designed to streamline wagon data for DAC retrofitting. We encourage all wagon keepers to contribute to this vital data collection exercise. Inputs will be the engine that can make large-scale DAC deployment become reality in technical and financial terms.

Our successful collaboration with ERFA and UIC will shift focus to future-proofing the GCU governance framework. Following the revision completed at the end of 2025, all partners are working hard to deliver the next version of the GCU Broker Platform ensuring it becomes the gold standard for efficient data exchange in wagon operations.