Europe’s Rail Leaders in Prague: Big Ambitions, Slow Delivery, and a System Under Pressure

Last week, Prague turned into the centre of European rail decision-making. Behind closed doors in the historic Fantova Building, industry leaders aligned on the future of rail and exposed how much still needs to be done.

On 30–31 March 2026, Prague became a strategic meeting point for Europe’s railway leadership, hosting the CEO Summit in the Art Nouveau Fantova Building at the city’s main railway station. Organised in cooperation with Czech Railway Administration (Správa železnic), the event gathered CEOs of major railway companies, EU representatives, and key industry organisations, including members of CER.

As Europe faces mounting pressure from energy instability, geopolitical tensions, and climate targets, rail is increasingly seen as a system that must deliver on all fronts: efficiency, resilience, and sustainability at once. Building on previous summits in Lisbon, Lugano, and Wrocław, where leaders committed to doubling rail’s modal share by 2050, Prague focused on urgent implementation and delivery.

Day One: ERTMS Deployment and Financing Take Centre Stage

The first day of the summit quickly moved from formalities to one of the most pressing challenges in European rail: the rollout of ETCS and the broader ERTMS system.

In a high-level roundtable moderated by CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola, key figures including representatives from ERA, DG MOVE, and the European ERTMS coordination framework debated what is now widely recognised as a bottleneck for European interoperability.

Matthias Ruete, European Coordinator for ERTMS, offered an assessment of the current state of play: "The glass is half-full and continues filling, but too slowly. We run the risk of missing the 2030 deployment targets by a large margin."

The discussion repeatedly returned to a central contradiction: while political agreement on ERTMS is now firmly in place, the pace of implementation remains insufficient. At the same time, Ruete pointed to a shift in mindset across Europe: "All Member States are now making efforts to deploy ERTMS and the question is no longer if to deploy ERTMS, but how."

The debate exposed the complexity behind that "how," from harmonising technical standards and ensuring stable funding to overcoming operational and technological barriers. The need for stronger EU financial support and clearer governance structures were a recurring theme throughout the day.

Day Two: Rail’s Role Expands into Security and Competitiveness

The second day moved beyond technical implementation to a strategic discussion under the theme The Role of Rail in a New Era. Here, the conversation expanded to include military mobility, high-speed rail development, and the long-term competitiveness of the European transport system.

What became clear is that rail is no longer viewed solely through a transport lens, but increasingly as critical infrastructure with both economic and security implications. "Rail is widely recognized as an indispensable transport mode for military mobility. Investments in the modernization of rail are therefore also key for military mobility," said Matthias Ruete.

The idea of dual-use infrastructure, where civilian rail networks are designed to also support military transport needs in times of crisis, was brought up more than once during the summit. At the same time, rail’s role in Europe’s competitiveness was discussed not only as a transport mode, but as an industrial sector in its own right: "Rail is crucial for competitiveness… and the rail industry as such is important for Europe as it is a sector in which Europe is a world leader."

From Discussion to Declaration: A Sector Aligns on Priorities

The summit concluded with the adoption of a joint declaration, which consolidates the key themes discussed over the two days into a shared direction for the sector.

Rather than introducing entirely new ideas, the declaration looks like an alignment among industry leaders on the most urgent priorities. These include accelerating the completion of the TEN-T network, securing stronger and more predictable EU funding, advancing interoperability through ERTMS, and ensuring a balanced development of freight and passenger transport.