EU | The European Commission has published the Technical Report from the Madrid workshop on reducing the cost of High-Speed Rail construction (May 2025). ALLRAIL was proud to contribute, building smarter, faster, and at lower cost is key to delivering an affordable, sustainable European network.

📢Press Release📢 | Germany: Market Dominant Rail Ticket Vendors Must Finally Be Opened Up – To Ensure Multichannel Sale #Germany #Ticketing #SDBTR #DE #DB

📢 New Position Paper on Military Mobility 📢 Europe invests billions in defence readiness. But without independent operators, dual-use rail stays underused & exposed. Our new position paper “Military Mobility: No Operator Left Behind” shows why all operators are vital for resilience on rails.

EU | Stronger #RailPassengerRights mean passengers can finally book across all rail operators with confidence, not just on the dominant ones. It is time to put #RailPassengerFirst and build a true #SingleEuropeanRailArea.

Belgium | Belgium’s ‘domestic-first’ rail idea misses the point: EU access must remain non-discriminatory. Expand capacity and remove bottleneck, don’t edge out international trains; passengers and climate need both.

📢 Press Release 📢 | We are thrilled to welcome John Thomas as ALLRAIL’s new Policy Director starting 8 Sept! With 30+ years in rail policy across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, he brings global insight to our fight for liberalisation and fair competition. #ALLRAIL #rail #transport

Brussels |The European Commission’s new evaluation of the Single European Railway Area Directive confirms what we have been saying all along: structural barriers still block fair access, especially to rolling stock.

📢 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁 📢 | België: Voorgestelde hervorming van spoorweginfrastructuur dreigt eerlijke concurrentie en Europese connectiviteit te ondermijnen

📢 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗗𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘 📢 | Belgique : La réforme proposée sur l’accès au réseau ferroviaire menace la concurrence loyale et la connectivité européenne

📢 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 📢 | Belgium: Proposed Railway Access Reform Risks Undermining Fair Competition and European Connectivity

We strongly support night trains, but public money should benefit all operators, not just one. A high subsidy for 10 km in Switzerland won't grow the market, fair TACs, open ticketing & equal access to rolling stock will. #NightTrains #FairRail #OpenAccess #RailCompetition

Czech Republic | 5.8bn in contracts, and experts call for early, fair, transparent tenders. No more protectionist loopholes or rigid rules blocking innovation. Let’s make competitive procurement the norm across Europe. #FairTenders #EUrail

𝗜𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆 |Since Jan 25, our member Arenaways has been operating the Cuneo-Saluzzo-Savigliano rail service. General manager Matteo Arena shares his views on the benefits of competition in passenger rail, focusing on service quality, insisted on the need of having a level playing field for all operators.

Today, we were delighted to welcome Marco Andersson - from our member night #train operator #Snälltåget - to our Brussels office. We had a great exchange on the latest developments in passenger #rail in both Scandinavia and at EU level 🤝 #transport #crossborder #travel #eu #europe #NightTrains

📢 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 📢 | #France: Launch of 1st Competitively Tendered Regional PSO #Rail Concession Operated by an Independent Operator Congrats to independent operator #Transdev & to the French Région Sud on the official launch of the Marseille-Toulon-Nice rail service! www.allrail.eu/mediaposts/f...

Benelux | At a cross-border rail workshop in Brussels, our colleague Arthur Kamminga made the case for fair regulation and lower track access charges. He highlighted how open markets and smart infrastructure investment can boost international rail, without relying on costly PSOs.

United Kingdom | Political ideology trumps innovation? Trainline sues Transport Secretary over ‘secret’ deal for state-owned LNER.

Bulgaria | The transport minister rightly says rail competition will improve service. He notes liberalisation exists on paper, but not in practice, no new operators have started despite being licensed. Is regulation too weak to make market entry viable?

Germany | The Federal Audit Office criticises DB’s overhaul strategy as poorly planned, costly, and unproven. It also rebukes the Transport Ministry for failing to demand a success review after the Riedbahn project. Is the upcoming €500bn investment at risk of vanishing into a black hole?

Belgium | Serious foot-dragging on rail liberalisation: despite a 2019 report urging action, no real progress was made under the last government. An entire legislative term was lost, seemingly to protect SNCB/NMBS, which uses taxpayer money to lobby against opening the market.

👇 Very interesting article

Germany | The 10th Rail Sector Report by the German Monopolies Commission warns against wasting a historic chance. The planned rail infrastructure fund must drive real structural reform, not be lost in outdated, opaque systems. “Money alone is not enough,” says Commission Chair Prof. Duso.

Brussels | The EU Commission has published its antitrust decision against ÖBB and ČD for colluding to block RegioJet’s market entry. The case reveals cartel-like behaviour and preferential pricing. 👉 eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...

More on the EU cross-border night train startup Nox Mobility, on Euronews 👇

Belgium | From 2033, Belgium must open its domestic rail services to competitive tendering of PSOs, ending SNCB/NMBS’s monopoly. Yet progress on preparing for this major reform remains slow. Is the delay intentional, paving the way for another emergency direct award?

Norway / Sweden: wishing the best of success to these Finnish entrepreneurs 👇

During the week of 2 June, ALLRAIL President Elmer van Buuren spoke at the Integrated Ticketing debate during the #IRS13 event in Vienna. The International Railway Summit brings together leading rail buyers and technical experts from around the world.👇

France | Félicitations à Laurent Mazille, Directeur des Affaires Publiques chez notre membre Transdev, qui a reçu les insignes de chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite au Sénat. Notre Secrétaire Général Nick Brooks était honoré d’assister à cette belle cérémonie à Paris.

United Kingdom | Now it seems clear that cheaper rail fares will not be possible under renationalisation. So what will the tangible benefits be? Will any other commitments be made? Such as: - Reduction in taxpayer subsidy? - Increase in the number of rail passengers? Anything concrete at all?

Interesting article about our member operator RegioJet a.s. 👇

Cross-border Austria–Germany | Austrian operator WESTbahn is pleasantly surprised by the strong performance of its new Stuttgart–Vienna service. Launched in December, the route sees WESTbahn’s double-decker trains run twice daily between Stuttgart and Vienna👇

United Kingdom | New article by John Penrose : "We don’t need to nationalise our railways to fix them. Open Access train services offer a cheaper and more reliable alternative to their state-run rivals" 👇

During the week of 26 May, ALLRAIL Secretary General Nick Brooks visited our member Trip.com Group at its HQ in Shanghai, 🇨🇳. Among others, he met with Commercial Director for International Rail Alvaro Ungurean (also a member of ALLRAIL's board) to discuss the latest developments in rail policy.

China | During the week of 26 May, ALLRAIL Secretary General Nick Brooks joined other key European rail players, including Italo, SNCF Voyageurs, Deutsche Bahn, and LNER, at the #Envision2025 Global Conference in Shanghai. We took part in the Train Ticketing workstream.

📢 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗟'𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 📢 | ALLRAIL's General Assembly has elected yesterday to its Board of Directors: - David Lissek (FlixTrain), replacing his colleague Michael Mittag (thank you!) - Dominic Booth (Transport UK Group) - Matthew Labuda (Angel Trains) - David Statham (First Rail).

📢 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗨 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 📢 | Today, Nox (@noxmobility.bsky.social) announced plans for a new #night_train service. The aim is an extensive #EU cross-border network. Services will be commercially driven (i.e. Open Access). 💪 We wish this new endeavour the best of success! #rail

#𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 | Yesterday, independent rail operator #FlixTrain announced it has placed a record order of 𝟲𝟱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 #𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀, worth up to €2.4 billion, with plans of operating them in Germany and across Europe. (1/4) www.railtech.com/all/2025/05/...

📢 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 📢 | New #EU-UK Deal: It’s Time to Remove the Trade Barriers in #Rail As the UK & the EU met in London for a high-profile summit to reset their relationship, one sector stands out where closer alignment would bring immediate, tangible benefits: Rail. www.allrail.eu/mediaposts/n...

France | Vertical integration in rail may seem like a quick fix, but experience shows otherwise. As seen in Germany, it often leads to growing subsidy demands and declining performance. Clear separation between infrastructure and operations ensures each actor can focus on its core role.

Hungary | What a surprise...

Hungary | The European Commission is referring Hungary to the EU Court over persistent concerns regarding the autonomy of its rail oversight body. According to the Commission, national rules still fall short of EU requirements for fair and independent market supervision.

𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 | Congrats to Patrick Schnieder, Germany’s new Transport Minister. As the EU’s largest economy, Germany’s rail policy is key for Europe. DB, Europe’s biggest Quango, needs bold reform. Let’s hope the new minister has the courage to get it on the right track.

Yesterday at the @europarl.europa.eu, ALLRAIL’s Katharina Dekeyser & Aurélie Csizmazia joined a breakfast debate hosted by #Transdev ’s #TheMobilitySphere. The takeaway? 👉 No green transition without social cohesion, and no cohesion without inclusive #mobility. @transdev.bsky.social

According to this article, the EFTA Surveillance Authority is considering opening a case against Norway as it believes the direct award of the Sørlandsbanen PSO contract, currently held by indepdt. operator Go-Ahead, to state-owned rail operator Vy, is illegal. www.aftenbladet.no/lokalt/i/xmk...

🎥How to fix interoperability with ETCS Baseline 3.4 & FRMCS ETCS was supposed to solve cross-border CCS interoperability. Instead, it's now an unstable, expensive maze: different versions, costly updates, lack of deployment & layering over legacy systems Solution? 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEbA...

📢 Press Release 📢 | Unbundle Rail Ticket Platforms! Dominant platforms like SNCF Connect and DB Navigator steer passengers to their own trains, stifling competition. ALLRAIL calls for unbundling these platforms to ensure fair access for all operators.

Interesting, but what about the lunch dates and coffee meetings at establishments just outside of the parliament building?

👇

Tunnel sous la Manche | Les tarifs du train à grande vitesse sont élevés, et Eurostar ne dessert plus les gares intermédiaires. Pour voyager d'Ashford, au Royaume-Uni, à Lille, en France, cette semaine, il n'y avait qu'une seule option : LeShuttle d'Eurotunnel/Getlink.

United Kingdom | "The introduction of a vertically integrated Great British Railways presents competition risks...." - quite a statement. Read more by Oxera Consulting LLP here 👇