photo: Alvaro Arrans / Flickr/Freight train; illustrative photo
RAILTARGET delivers live updates from today’s webinar on the proposed Railway Infrastructure Capacity Regulation. MEP Tilly Metz delves into the political dynamics shaping this regulation, its ambitions to modernize capacity planning, and its potential impact on cross-border rail freight, reliability, and supply chain efficiency.
11:00 Katia Hubert, Events & Content Manager at Everysens, opens the webinar with a welcoming address and an overview of the session's objectives. She talks about the importance of digital transformation in the rail freight industry and introduces Everysens' Transport Visibility & Management System (TVMS). This software aims to digitize all rail freight transport processes, creating a seamless ecosystem for shippers.
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11:05 Hubert points out the key features of TVMS, which include:

Hubert then introduces Tilly Metz, Member of the European Parliament, as the keynote speaker for today’s webinar.
11:10 Tilly Metz begins her presentation by providing background on the Railway Infrastructure Capacity Regulation.
She explains that the proposed regulation is rooted in the Timetable Redesign (TTR) project, a sector initiative aiming to modernize how railway infrastructure capacity is planned and allocated. This regulation would replace the framework outlined in Directive 2012/34/EU and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 with a more streamlined approach.
Key goals of the regulation include:
- Enhancing the management of rail infrastructure capacity and traffic to improve service quality, increase traffic capacity, and contribute to decarbonization.
- Transitioning from an annual, manual, and national approach to a flexible, digital, and European framework for capacity and traffic management.
Metz says that these changes are essential for optimizing railway network usage and aligning the rail sector with broader EU sustainability goals.

11:20 Tilly Metz discusses the implications of the proposed regulation for rail freight, mentioning the critical role rail freight plays in cross-border transport, with over 50% of freight trains in Europe crossing at least one internal EU border, a figure that rises to 90% for intermodal trains. The current system operates on a patchwork of national networks, which the proposed regulation aims to streamline.
11:30 Key benefits outlined by Metz include:
- Improved cross-border coordination between infrastructure managers and harmonization of rules and procedures to create a unified European system.
- Increased quantity and quality of train paths available for rail freight, boosting reliability and capacity.
- Enhanced attractiveness and competitiveness of rail freight, supporting more efficient European supply chains.

These measures, she says, are designed to support the modernization of European rail freight and strengthen its role in the EU's sustainable transport strategy.
11:35 Metz then provides an update on the legislative process for the Railway Infrastructure Capacity Regulation, outlining the timeline of key milestones:

This concludes the 'Railway Infrastructure Capacity Regulation' webinar. Thank you for tuning in with RAILTARGET for the live coverage.