Rail Under Pressure: IRS14 to Debate Costs, Connectivity, and Europe’s Future Mobility

Europe’s railway sector is facing some of its toughest political and technological challenges in years. On the first day of the 14th International Railway Summit (IRS14) in London, topics like military mobility, higher infrastructure charges, FRMCS rollout, and cross-border ticketing issues will take center stage as experts discuss the key challenges shaping the future of rail.

The summit, themed "The Power of Being Connected," will be held on 3 June 2026. It will bring together railway operators, infrastructure managers, policymakers, NATO representatives, technology suppliers, and international organisations to discuss rail competitiveness and integration.

RAILTARGET readers can save 15% on IRS14 registration by following this link.

Great British Railways and Europe’s Search for a New Rail Model

The opening plenary session will tackle a key industry question: should railways operate as integrated national systems or keep infrastructure and operations separate?

This debate is especially timely for the UK rail sector. After years of criticism about fragmentation, delays, labour disputes, and rising costs, Britain’s shift toward Great British Railways (GBR) is getting attention across Europe. More governments are now questioning whether the 1990s liberalisation model still strikes the right balance between competition and efficiency.

This discussion will likely have effects beyond Britain. Across Europe, infrastructure managers and operators are dealing with inflation, higher energy prices, and big investment needs for ETCS, electrification, and decarbonisation. Germany is still deciding how to structure and fund Deutsche Bahn, while France and Italy work to balance liberalisation with government planning.

According to the IRS14 programme, the panel will focus on governance models, market dynamics, investment allocation, and international lessons from railway reform.

Rail’s Cost Crisis Reaches a Breaking Point

Another main topic on Day One is the growing crisis around track access charges and railway affordability.

This issue has become urgent in the past two years. Infrastructure managers across Europe say networks need major long-term investment to modernise old systems and add new digital technologies. Operators warn that higher access charges threaten commercial viability, especially for freight.

The summit’s "Cost Competitiveness Challenge" session will revisit topics from the Copenhagen rail cost summit and discuss whether harmonisation can lower costs or simply shift financial pressure along the value chain.

The timing could not be better. Rail freight operators across Europe struggle with declining volumes, industrial slowdown, and competition from road transport. In Germany, DB Cargo’s restructuring remains under EU scrutiny, while companies like PKP Cargo have implemented drastic measures to stabilise finances. Meanwhile, governments push rail to absorb more freight traffic as part of climate strategies.

With representatives from the European Commission, CER, and UNIFE participating, the discussion is expected to focus on the widening gap between political ambitions for modal shift and the sector’s financial realities.

Military Mobility Moves to the Centre of Railway Policy

Perhaps the most geopolitically charged discussion of the day will focus on military mobility and infrastructure resilience.

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine fundamentally changed how Europe views railway infrastructure. What was once considered primarily commercial transport infrastructure is now increasingly treated as a strategic security asset.

The IRS14 panel will examine NATO’s requirement to deploy 100,000 troops within ten days and question whether Europe’s fragmented railway systems are capable of supporting such movement.

This issue has already triggered major EU initiatives. Rail Baltica, originally framed mainly as a connectivity project, is now heavily linked to defence mobility. The incompatibility between European standard gauge and the Baltic states’ historical broad gauge systems remains a strategic concern, while rolling stock shortages and cross-border approval procedures continue to slow military transport planning.

The inclusion of representatives from Ukrainian Railways, SNCF Group, NATO, and Rail Baltica shows how rapidly military mobility has become a core railway policy issue rather than a niche defense discussion.

Digital Rail, Ticketing, and Freight Modernisation

The afternoon sessions will focus on the technologies and operational reforms shaping Europe’s railway future.

One major topic will be the deployment of FRMCS, the successor to GSM-R, as railways race to modernise communications systems before existing infrastructure becomes obsolete. Delays in ETCS rollout, interoperability issues, and cybersecurity risks have already exposed how difficult large-scale digital migration can become across fragmented European networks.

Passengers, meanwhile, continue to face the long-standing problem of fragmented international ticketing. Despite EU promises of seamless multimodal travel, travellers still struggle to book protected cross-border rail journeys through a single platform. The IRS14 session "One Ticket, One Platform – Why Can’t We Deliver?" will examine the tensions between open-access regulation, commercial interests, and data sharing.

Freight will also be a main focus, especially topics like Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) and military rail logistics. NATO’s growing mobility needs are putting more pressure on European railways to move heavy military equipment efficiently, while DAC still brings tough questions about funding and implementation. Even though DAC promises automation, faster freight handling, and better competitiveness, the cost of updating Europe’s wagon fleet is still a major challenge.

London Becomes a Meeting Point for Rail’s Strategic Future

Besides the conference sessions, IRS14 aims to connect policymakers, operators, suppliers, and infrastructure leaders through networking events, technical visits, and one-on-one meetings.

As the industry faces big political expectations and growing operational pressure, the talks in London could help shape how European railways move forward over the next decade.

RAILTARGET readers can get a 15% discount on IRS14 registration here.