Competitiveness and Financing of Railways in the EU: TRAKO 2025 Debate Opens with Calls for Unity and Investment

The first debate of TRAKO 2025 put Europe’s rail priorities under the spotlight: funding, competitiveness, and the race for high-speed.

The session brought together Oana Gherghinescu, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), Alan Beroud, President and CEO of PKP Group, Michael Peter, Director General of UNIFE, Alberto Mazzola, Executive Director of CER, and Piotr Malepszak, Undersecretary of State at Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure. Moderating the event, Beroud opened with a question: "Will it be possible to travel from Gdańsk to Warsaw in one hour?" He himself answered positively: "Of course! We need to work on high-speed rails not only in Poland but in the whole of Europe to connect key cities."

Visions for Rail in 20 Years

Speakers outlined where they see rail in Poland and Europe two decades from now. Oana Gherghinescu pointed out the importance of harmonisation: "We need a common market with standardized products. We need a market with good competency that could also attract young people. We need to work on simplifying legislation." Meanwhile, Michael Peter stressed the passenger perspective: "People sometimes say that they don’t like railway because it is not convenient for them. We need to work on keeping the railway comfortable and attractive to passengers."

Financing the Rail Sector

When the discussion turned to financing, the panel focused on both challenges and opportunities. Alan Beroud spoke about energy costs as a major obstacle: "Electricity costs went up and it is 30 percent of our turnover. This makes us not competitive compared with other modes of transport. We are the most green, zero-emission so we need to be included in the climate policy. We need to make rail competitive." Piotr Malepszak argued for better prioritisation within EU funding frameworks: "We should revise the TEN-T network, make smaller projects and finish already started projects." Michael Peter insisted on the need to strengthen physical networks: "I would spend the money on infrastructure in order to connect European cities."

Rail and Decarbonisation

A significant part of the debate was dedicated to the environmental dimension of rail transport. Oana Gherghinescu rejected negative portrayals: "When the railway sector is painted as a poor child of family of investments, just begging for money, I think it is an unfair depiction of its current state." She stressed the need for balanced funding: "The right combination of financing is both EU and state funding. We cannot run in all directions – we need to focus mainly on European projects with a large scope in order to get the funds from EU."

Building on this, Alan Beroud identified five obstacles to overcome if rail is to fulfil its decarbonisation promise: "One is traction electricity that I’ve already mentioned – it needs to get cheaper. The second is missing transition bridge – we are at the margin of EU climate policy so it is our task to increase our presence there. The third is regulatory and administrative burdens – they need to be revised. Fourth is infrastructure and interoperability. Fifth is last mile access – it is connected to infrastructure and demand."

The Military Dimension

Finally, Alberto Mazzola linked rail investment to wider European priorities: "We need to be vocal about getting faster permissions to build infrastructure. It is connected to military as well because we share the infrastructure. We need to invest there because it will save the money." This aligns with growing recognition that rail is not only vital for climate and competitiveness but also for Europe’s security and resilience.