2016 has opened a new chapter in the making of a Single European Railway Area. The technical pillar of the 4th Railway Package was adopted in June 2016 and the political pillar in December 2016, although with a tiny majority. The call is now on the EU and the sector to make railways ‘fit’ for society and for competition. In fact, non-European suppliers are ready to conquer the European market and larger infrastructure is increasingly financed with foreign capital.
Digitalisation is a buzzword which has stirred up the railway establishment as it brings changes to established concepts and relationships. Digitalisation does not only mean electronic data being collected but also exchanged. 2017 will most likely see more discussions on data analytics (‘Big Data’) and how to protect it (cybersecurity). Likewise, data applications from non-traditional railway actors pave their way into the rail market and create new market segments (e.g. preventive maintenance, automatic train operation, etc.) and lead to cooperation with new partners and stakeholders in an unprecedented way.
2017 will also see rail research in full swing, with Shift2Rail being finally fully operational after a difficult start. Innovation in the rail sector is needed more than ever and it has to be adopted quicker than ever, if European rail is to continue playing a dominant role on a global level. With over €45m worth of funding for projects, technologies are being developed in ‘self-healing’ infrastructure, 3D printing of S&C, satellite based train positioning, lightweight car body shell materials, next generation ticketing and much more. Shift2Rail’s main objective of developing research solutions into market competitive products, is sure to be the driving force in producing a more reliable, cost-effective and customer focused railway of tomorrow.
However, the railway sector is not without its challenges. The 4th Railway Package and Shift2Rail will have to prove if they are enough to help rail maintain its position in an increasingly multimodal context over time. With electric, self-driving cars and buses paving their way to the market, rail as a highly ‘environmental friendly mode’ may be seriously challenged.
Benchmarks and key performance indicators will spread not only within the rail sector alone but amongst the entire transport market. Modes will be increasingly measured against their performance, customer service, resilience, investment needs, attractiveness, legislative compliance, etc. Public authorities and investors, but also users and even suppliers want to see who delivers what and when and how. The European Commission has paved the way for KPIs amongst rail infrastructure managers via PRIME (platform of rail infrastructure managers). The European Union Agency for Railways has published its first rail system report with railway indicators as a way to correlate the impact of the Agency’s work and the rail market deliverables. Over time, it is to be expected that these approaches will spread amongst different modes with the trend going clearly towards greater interconnectivity, exchange of data, joint interfaces and planning of projects. Interoperability amongst and in between modes will become even more important. Already today, EU funding fosters multimodal projects and the Agency is on its way to become more multimodal over time.
2017 will mark the making of a more holistic, open, interoperable but also yet to be more innovative railway system. A lot of challenges but also vast opportunities for those who are able to adapt their business model in a smart and flexible manner.
Contribution by:
Monika Heiming
Executive Director of EIM, European Rail Infrastructure Managers
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