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WELCOME

Welcome to the newsletter of the European Rail Congress, a two day industry Summit and annual Rail Awards ceremony. Our monthly newsletters will keep you informed with everything you need to know about the Event. They will also include insightful commentary and analysis on topical issues from key players across the European rail market.

ENTRIES:

Entrants can make their submissions online to the 19 different award categories.

Deadline for entries:
19 April 2013

Entries are welcome from both EU
and non-EU European countries.

Award winners will be announced at
the inaugural 2013 Awards ceremony
in London on 12 November 2013.

EU TRANSPORT COMMISSIONER,
SIIM KALLAS, JOINS RAIL AWARDS
JUDGING PANEL

The European Rail Congress is delighted to announce that Siim Kallas, EU Transport Commissioner and Vice-President of the European Commission, has joined the judging panel for its annual Rail Awards.

Mr Kallas will also be delivering the keynote speech at the Rail Awards dinner and ceremony at the European Rail Congress on 12th November 2013 in central London.

As a new member of the judging panel, Siim Kallas joins existing members:
Chair of the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee and Chair of ERC's Rail Awards judging panel Brian Simpson MEP; Vice Chair of the Transport and Tourism Committee Dominique Riquet MEP and fellow Transport and Tourism Committee members Michael Cramer MEP; Said El Khadraoui MEP; Ines Ayala Sender MEP and Debora Serracchiani MEP.

The Technical Advisory Panel chaired by Matthias Ruete DG, European Commission, DG MOVE will also have representatives from the European Passenger Federation, European Rail Freight Association, European Rail Infrastructure Managers and the European Railway Agency. Libor Lochman and Philippe Citroen will also advise in a personal capacity and not as representatives of CER and UNIFE.

The Awards will celebrate and reward railway excellence across 19 different areas. They are designed to:

•	publicise and encourage European railway excellence and innovation
•	disseminate the very best practice throughout Europe
•	help new market entrants to learn from the more established players
•	promote inter-operability to achieve seamless rail travel across the whole of Europe
•	bring European railway networks together

EUROPEAN RAIL
CONGRESS
LAUNCHES
ANNUAL RAIL
SECTOR SUMMIT

The new Summit for the rail sector is being held as part of the European Rail Congress 12th and 13th November 2013.

Europe's railways provide efficient, high quality and safe connectivity across the continent; reduces Europe's emission of greenhouse gases; boosts jobs and economic growth; and facilitates European competitiveness.

However for the sector to fully realise its potential across these areas and occupy the mode share it deserves, Europe's railway networks must be better integrated and well financed.

This year is a critical period for the future of the European rail sector. The European Commission has just presented its proposals for the Fourth Railway Package to develop a strong and competitive rail transport industry through opening up the rail transport market to competition; improving the interoperability and safety of national networks; and developing rail transport infrastructure. The European Parliament has also recently adopted the European Union’s guidelines for the development of the Trans-European Network and the Connecting Europe Facility.

This Summit will bring together the European railway sector to discuss and debate these important developments that will determine the future of European rail.

A full list of speakers and programme details will be published on the website shortly.

THE FOURTH
RAILWAY PACKAGE:

TOWARDS A
SINGLE EUROPEAN
RAILWAY AREA

The Fourth Railway Package, which was unveiled by the European Commission (EC) on 30 January 2013, has the potential to transform European passenger rail with the introduction of new legislation aimed at opening up domestic passenger rail markets to competition, establishing cross-acceptance procedures for rolling stock to operate across national borders and ensuring non-discriminatory access to infrastructure and other essential services.

This article considers some of the competitive factors relevant to the liberalisation of domestic passenger rail markets and what the European Union (EU), national governments and tendering authorities can do to ensure that competition is established and delivered in the most effective way. READ MORE...

COMING UP
IN THE NEXT ISSUE:

•	Advice on submitting your entry for the 2013 Rail Awards
•	Details of the 2013 two-day Rail Summit

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