• Last week, the 8th EU Rail Market Monitoring Report (RMMS) was published.
• It claims that new entrants now have 14% market share in EU passenger rail, but we think this is inflated – in reality it is just 6%.
• Fact of the matter is: Passenger Rail is still not contributing enough to the goals of the EU Green Deal.

For passenger rail, the RMMS Report is a climate disaster: just 5.5% market share of all land-based passenger traffic is by rail, despite tens of billions of euros in taxpayer funding flowing into the system for many decades.

The solution is faster market opening. Private investment in passenger rail companies not only saves the taxpayer money, but it also invests in new trains, ticketing technology and more that improves services, lowers fares and entices more people to take the train.

The formula works. For example, two weeks ago Mr Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the Italian state-owned rail incumbent FS, said how “Passengers on the Turin-Salerno line have quadrupled in recent years”. It is surely no coincidence that private operator Italo competes with FS on this very same route.

• Mr Ferraris also highlighted the “drop in fares of 40%” – Exactly (!)

ALLRAIL President Dr Erich Forster states: “unfortunately, most EU Member States still have a closed, subsidised passenger rail sector that is just not growing. But the climate crisis is now! How will the EU ever double rail ridership before 2030?!”.

The answer is clear: we need new measures to expedite market opening, such as All Tickets Bookable At All Ticket Vendors and non-discriminatory access to rolling stock, track paths and state aid.

There is still so much to do – but without it, the EU passenger rail will remain small, expensive and increasingly irrelevant.