ALLRAIL took part in the 27th Florence Rail Forum on Financing High-Speed Rail, hosted by the Florence School of Regulation.

Our colleague Katharina Dekeyser took part in the discussions in Florence, which focused on how to finance the development of high-speed rail networks in Europe and beyond, at a time of increasing budgetary pressure and ambitious investment needs.

The forum examined three core areas:

Public delivery and funding tools, including rail funds, emissions trading revenues and corporate finance instruments, and how these can support predictable, long-term investment in high-speed rail;

Public-private partnerships (PPPs), with case studies from countries such as Portugal and Czechia, assessing when these models can be preferable and how risks can be managed effectively;

Regulated Asset Base (RAB) models, exploring their potential application to rail infrastructure and drawing comparisons with their use in other sectors.