EU:
Commission Renews Rail Supply Industry Expert Group
The EU Commission has renewed the mandate of its Expert Group on the Competitiveness of the Rail Supply Industry until the end of 2028 and opened applications for new stakeholder members until 30 June 2026.
For ALLRAIL members, this is an opportunity to ensure that rail industrial policy also supports genuine market opening. A competitive European rail supply industry must deliver more rolling stock, at lower prices with faster lead times – allowing independent lessors and operators to enter and grow.
The ALLRAIL secretariat has applied to take part.
Parliament’s think-tanks publishes report on future of sustainable railway transport in EU
The main problem for EU rail is not lack of technology, but fragmented governance, weak cross-border coordination, patchy ERTMS/digital implementation, and poor investment prioritisation. Current EU ambitions to shift passenger and freight traffic to rail by 2030 and 2050 are not being met
It presents 4 policy options:
- Implementation first: enforce the existing EU rail acquis, accelerate ERTMS, harmonise capacity allocation, strengthen ERA, and fund mature cross-border bottleneck projects.
- European high-speed rail integration: build a coherent EU HSR network, with integrated ticketing, timetables, airport links, and non-discriminatory access for new entrants.
- Digitalisation and optimisation: deploy EU-wide digital capacity management, real-time traffic management, automation, and common data governance.
- Demand-led multimodal integration: make rail easier to use through interoperable booking/information platforms, MDMS.
To read the full report and the Exec Summary, click here.
Denmark:
Warning Sign From Weak Tender Design
A voluntary agreement has been reached between GoCollective/Mutares and the Ministry of Transport regarding the termination of the public service concession contract on the state-owned rail network for services in Central and Western Jutland and on the Svendborg Line. As a result, the contract with transfer to state-owned operator DSB on 1st September 2026, and DSB will purchase the rolling stock
The immediate perception – and the view put forward by the Danish government – is that GoCollective had misjudged the task and submitted a bid that was too low in relation to the contract.
This should not be presented as a failure of competition. Rather, it appears to be a failure of procurement discipline. A tender with weak contract safeguards and insufficient asset-continuity provisions has arguably created the risks that have now materialised
For more details, click here.
France:
Rail regulator ART report challenges claims that Open Access weakens territorial cohesion
France’s Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) has published a major new report on rail competition which directly challenges recent claims by SNCF that open access operators undermine regional development services.
- Open access is not to blame: ART says regional service decline began before competition, a point the incumbent operator SNCF Voyageurs does not dispute.
- High French Track Access Charges (TACs) are the real problem: ART identifies excessive infrastructure charges as the key reason these services are uneconomic.
- TAC reform is the solution: ART calls for deeper targeted toll reductions from the 2030–2032 charging cycle.
- Open Access already contributes: Operators on high-demand routes already pay TACs far above full cost, supporting implicit redistribution.
To read the entire report, click here.
Italy:
Another One Bites The Dust
The CEO of Italy’s vertically integrated state-owned rail incumbent FS – which stands for Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, which translates as “Railway of The State of Italy” – Mr Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, resigned on 25 June 2026
Italian media report that disruptions on the rail network and political tensions over FS performance also contributed to the decision.
Donnarumma had only been in the job for around two years. He took over as CEO of FS in spring 2024. For context, recent FS CEOs have had relatively short tenures: the previous three served only about three years each
The fact that ministers rotate the CEO of state-owned rail incumbent according to priorities that they think will boost their domestic political success is a fundamental weakness of publicly owned companies. It does not happen just when their is a change of government, but also in the middle of a parliamentary term, as we see from this newest example.
Netherlands:
Do rail capacity allocation rules breach EU competition law?
The EU Commission has sent a Letter of Formal Notice to the Netherlands over Dutch rail capacity allocation rules that may breach EU competition law
The case concerns rules giving priority to state-owned incumbent NS on the main Dutch network, which in turn collaborates with other incumbent operators SNCB, DB, ÖBB, SBB and Eurostar on international services.
This is an important precedent: capacity allocation rules must not create unequal access to scarce train paths or allow incumbent collaborations to reinforce their market position.
For more details click here.
Poland:
Rushed Rail Market Consultation must be fixed
ALLRAIL calls on Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and CUPT to reschedule the preliminary market consultation for future competitively tendered inter-regional and international passenger rail PSO services.
The notice was published on 16 June, with only one week to apply by 23 June, while the CUPT webpage still appeared inaccessible from outside Poland as of 19 June. This risks excluding many EU operators from a process that will shape Poland’s post-2030 tendering model, including lot size, rolling stock, service facility access, mobilisation and ticketing.
We are also concerned that participation appears limited to operators already holding a Single Safety Certificate, although this is needed for operations, not for input on tender design.
New ambition
Poland has announced a major new long-term rail development plan under the Port Polska / CPK programme. The new Integrated Railway Network foresees the construction or modernisation of more than 10,000 km of railway lines by 2050, including around 4,700 km of new lines and 2,700 km built to high-speed rail standards. The plan replaces the previous “spokes to one hub” concept with 19 strategic rail corridors
This is a welcome sign of ambition for rail investment in Poland. However, such a large publicly backed programme must also be accompanied by a genuinely open and competitive market framework. Future high-speed services, rolling stock procurement and post-2030 public service contracts should be designed so that independent operators can compete fairly
For more details, click here.
Portugal:
Government Tests New Model for Suburban Rail Services
The Government has indicated that the operation of the Linha de Cascais suburban services would be transferred from the incumbent operator, CP – Comboios de Portugal, to another operator under a sub-concession arrangement.
Based on the public statements so far, this could involve a competitive procurement process, but the term “sub-concession” itself does not automatically imply competitive tendering. It could also mean subcontracting
For more details click here.
Spain:
CNMC says Competition must guide the opening of public service rail
Spain’s competition authority CNMC has published a new update on the liberalisation of Cercanías and Media Distancia services, stressing that competition must be at the heart of the process.
The CNMC blog argues that Spain’s opening of Cercanías and Media Distancia PSO rail services must be designed around competition, not direct awards or oversized monopoly-style concessions. CNMC highlights that these services represent over 90% of rail journeys in Spain and around 500 million passengers per year, and recommends rigorous PSO justification, preliminary market consultations, competitive tenders, proportionate lots, and fair access to rolling stock, workshops and drivers.
To read the blog, click here.
Sweden:
Government says it is largely positive on the EU Passenger Package
For more details, click here.
Thailand:
For the 1st time, state-owned rail network opened to private companies
Thailand has published its first Network Statement and Track Access Charges under the new Rail Transport Act, opening the State Railway of Thailand network to private operators for passenger, tourism and freight services.
Emulating the regulation of the EU Single Rail Area, this is another example of how track access and market opening can help attract private investment in rolling stock and services, while making better use of publicly funded rail infrastructure.
For more details, click here.
United Kingdom:
Service Reductions Raise Questions About Renationalisation Claims
Recent UK developments raise serious questions about the government’s lofty claims that renationalisation and reintegration will automatically lead to better passenger outcomes.
For example, official timetable updates for Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express confirm temporary service reductions this summer. This comes shortly after GTR, including Thameslink, transferred into public ownership under DfT Operator Ltd on 31 May 2026. Fewer Thameslink services will operate between 18 July and 29 August.
These examples show that a more state-controlled railway does not automatically mean more trains, better services or stronger growth. “assengers need more attractive rail services, not a centrally managed retreat from supply.
Sources: Telegraph, Southern Railway
What will new prime minister Andy Burnham do?
The favourite as next UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, supports private sector participation in urban transport, but on heavy rail his approach favours integration, public control and GBR as a “single directing mind”.
For ALLRAIL, the concern is that this could shut out open access, independent ticketing and private investment although he might allow more competitive tendering to be reintroduced, by means of expanded devolution to the regions (i.e. with the local mayors then taking the decisions to tender to private operators, rather than central government in London).
ALLRAIL attends APPRG event in Parliament
On 29th June 2026, ALLRAIL Policy Director John Thomas attended the meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group (APPRG) in the UK House of Commons, where the UK rail minister Lord Hendy spoke, who is the driving force behind renationalisation in the country
This was a useful opportunity to follow current UK rail policy discussions at Westminster and to engage with industry colleagues on the future direction of the sector.