Visiting European Parliament

On the 7th of November 2023 a couple of Jonge Veranderaars joined Railforum during their visit of the European Parliament. During this visit the International Rail Working Group of Railforum Netherlands presented suggestions to improve the European rail transport. These suggestions were presented to Members of Parliament and European stakeholders. After the presentation of the suggestions, a panel discussion was held with Dorien Rookmaker (EP), Kristian Schmidt (DG Move), Thomas Rudner (EP) and Wim van de Camp (former ambassador EYOR). During the panel discussion insights about current progression, validity and reachability were discussed by the panel.

One of the main topics during the panel discussion is the availability of international ticketing and train schedules. Consumers are missing platforms to book and plan their trip abroad with the train. This is caused by the absence of regulations which make an obligation to rail carriers to share relevant information about train schedules and ticketing prices. At the moment the European Parliament is working on regulations to implement the regulation that obliges rail carriers to share information

Another current topic is the differences between European countries in the international network. There are still challenges on cultural aspects that include language, cooperation and signaling. Efforts are being made by the European Parliament to narrow the differences but there are still hurdles when talking about uniformity of language in the rail sector.

In conclusion the visit of the European Parliament was a great success. Discussing current topics helps the sector to thrive and find new initiatives to improve. In the end we are looking for a well-connected Europe with sustainable mobility.

Thank you Railforum for hosting the event, we are looking forward to the next one!