Interim Position Paper on International Rail Passenger Services

For the past decades, the international rail passenger offering was stagnating in comparison to the constant increase of air travel. In 2019, nearly 1 in 2 air passengers (46%) preferred intra-EU flights while a growth of +8% in the air market was documented between 2017 and 2019. Rail travel on the other hand remains predominantly domestic: international rail traffic has stagnated under 7% in 2018. The targets in the EU's Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy and the European Green Deal give new impetus to increase railway passenger services and CER Members are determined to be an active partner in the push to realise the modal shift. CER is an active participant in the International Rail Passenger Platform (a platform of all signing EU Member States and third countries that works together with the European Commission, the European Railway Agency, Shift2Rail, OTIF and rail sector organisations), is engaging with the European Commission in its activities, and is establishing internal working groups (CEO coalitions) on the highest level to boost passenger services in the EU. As part of these activities, CER is working on concrete proposals for targeted action in key areas for development of international rail passenger services. You can find a first overview of this input in our interim position paper below.