A coalition of industry bodies is calling on the European Commission (EC) to swiftly adopt the European Railway Platform (ERP), an essential component for delivery of the reforms to capacity allocation and traffic management enshrined in the European Union’s (EU) new Capacity Management Regulation, which entered force on June 10.
In a joint statement issued on June 11, the groups state that their proposal will enable ERP to serve as a strong and consolidating counterpart to the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (Enim), which will represent parties involved across all rail segments under the regulation, developing EU frameworks for long-term planning, cross-border traffic, disruption management, and monitoring performance.
The coalition comprises the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants in Europe (AllRail), the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA), Forum Train Europe (FTE), International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), and International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR).
They say that ERP is designed as an inclusive platform open to all eligible stakeholders, including new market entrants and smaller organisations with limited resources.
“The ERP fills a gap that no other body in the new governance architecture can fill,” the coalition says. “It will allow market participants to coordinate their views and engage collectively within ERP, as well as with Enim, on future European railway capacity, traffic management and performance review rules.
“The ERP will help ensure that future European frameworks developed in the scope of the Capacity Management Regulation better reflect operational realities and market needs.”
The associations are calling on the EC to assess the ERP proposal promptly and to communicate its agreement at the earliest opportunity. They emphasise that ERP “should be become operational as quickly as possible to ensure that the market is represented from the very beginning of the new governance process.”
CER says that when the regulation was approved by the European Parliament that it hoped that the first timetable planned under the new regulatory framework would enter force in December 2030. “The broad support behind this proposal demonstrates the European rail sector’s commitment to making the new capacity management framework work in practice,” says Alberto Mazzola, executive director of CER.
“The ERP will provide a structured and inclusive platform to ensure that operational expertise and market realities are properly reflected from the very beginning.”
“Thanks to the engagement of all stakeholders, the ERP provides a strong basis for balanced representation and should continue to ensure that new entrants have a meaningful voice as its work develops,” says AllRail secretary general, Nick Brooks.
What is the Capacity Management Regulation?
The Capacity Management Regulation harmonises how railway infrastructure is planned and scheduled across Europe. Its primary goal is to shift the rail network away from fragmented, national timetable planning into a coordinated, Europe-wide system to maximise capacity, improve cross-border efficiency, and handle disruptions more effectively.
The new rules will introduce longer-term planning of train services beyond the annual working timetable while also making it easier to plan additional train services at short notice. They are expected to increase overall network capacity by 4% and help to improve cross-border traffic.
First proposed by the European Commission in July 2023 as part of its Greening Freight Package, the regulation was approved by the European Parliament last month and entered forced on June 10.
