Open letter to the European Commission on energy crisis

In an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Vice-Presidents Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager, as well as the Commissioners for Energy, Kadri Simson, and Transport, Adina Vălean, CER has called for further extraordinary measures to be taken into consideration to support railways in the ongoing energy crisis.

In most European countries, railways are one of the biggest single consumers of electricity as 80% of train-kilometres are run on electric energy, a growing portion of which comes from renewable sources. Railways are therefore heavily impacted by the ongoing energy price hike and see their financial viability at risk despite their very high energy efficiency, while fossil-fuel-reliant transport modes are currently gaining a competitive advantage.

In this challenging situation, Europe's railways need support as the backbone of sustainable mobility in order to ensure that the goal of a decarbonised European transport sector remains achievable.

Read more about the proposed support measures in the open letter below.