THE 19th European Railway Award ceremony held in Brussels on February 2 honoured what the organisers, the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Rail Supply Industry Association (Unife), describe as two major contributions to the future of rail in Europe.

This year’s Rail Trailblazer Award was presented to the signatories of a joint letter to the European Commission (EC) which urges the European Union (EU) to accelerate the development of a European high-speed network. The letter was signed by the heads of state and prime ministers of EU member states, with representatives of the governments of Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Spain all in attendance to accept the award.

“The collective call to action gave a highly significant boost to the growing political momentum behind high-speed rail expansion in Europe as a lever of enhanced European mobility and economic growth,” CER and Unife said.

The winner of the Rail Champion Award was the Polish government for its presidency of the EU Council, during which CER and Unife say it delivered “an exceptionally rich programme for rail.”

“Throughout its term, Poland highlighted rail as a top political priority giving much-needed attention to issues such as innovation and investment,” CER and Unife said. “The presidency’s efforts solidified the pivotal role played by European rail transport and industry in boosting European competitiveness and resilience.”

The hosts added that the influence of these award-winning initiatives are evident in both the EC’s High-Speed Rail Plan and Military Mobility Package, which were unveiled in November 2025.

“These awards come at a time when rail sits at the heart of Europe’s strategic choices, from resilience and security to sustainability and competitiveness,” says CER chairman and Polish State Railways (PKP) CEO, Alan Beroud. “The Polish presidency’s leadership, recognised with the Rail Champion Award, and the collective call of EU countries for a truly European high-speed rail network, honoured with the Rail Trailblazer Award, both show what can be achieved when political will converges in support of rail.”

CER and Unife also announced the signing of a joint declaration on behalf of the European rail supply industry and European railways to work together to ensure continued funding, modernisation, harmonisation and expansion of Europe’s rail network. It also stresses the need to reduce system costs, invest in research and innovation, and to ensure that all high-speed rail and military mobility objectives are achieved to benefit and better protect citizens across Europe.

“We are united in following this ambition through this rail sector joint declaration which focuses on what the rail sector needs to succeed - including the accelerated rollout of ERTMS and lowering the costs of the system,” says Michael Peter, Unife chair and CEO of Siemens Mobility.