Panel I – Resilience: How can we maintain the functionality of our infrastructure in times of multiple crises?
In recent years, the railway sector has faced a series of challenges that test its resilience in the face of multiple concurrent crises, often referred to as a polycrisis. As we navigate through the age of digitalisation and climate change, it becomes increasingly vital to explore and implement strategies that enhance the robustness of our railway infrastructure. This briefing paper provides an overview of recent incidents across various risk categories that have had major negative impacts on railway traffic and operations, setting the stage for the upcoming HLIM panel discussion.
Climate Events
Climate change poses a severe threat to railway infrastructure, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and intense. In summer 2024, unprecedented flooding in Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy and Switzerland severely disrupted railway traffic. Key routes were submerged, and landslides caused by torrential rains blocked tracks, leading to extensive delays and rerouting of services. As an example, a once-in-a-century flood in Austria in September 2024 caused a massive damage (technical equipment in the tunnel, switches, superstructure, flooded stations) to the western route of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. The reconstruction work will take several months, and the costs are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. These events underscore the critical importance of designing and maintaining climate-resilient infrastructure to withstand such natural calamities.Sabotage/VandalismSabotage and vandalism remain persistent issues that disrupt railway operations and incur substantial repair costs. In July 2024, a coordinated sabotage act on TGV lines in France targeted crucial signaling equipment and power supply systems. These deliberate acts of destruction caused significant delays and safety concerns, as damaged infrastructure required extensive repairs and manual oversight to ensure safe train operations. This incident highlights the need for enhanced surveillance, rapid response mechanisms, and protective measures to safeguard critical railway infrastructure.
Cybersecurity
According to Directive NIS2 rail is a sector for High Criticality. The digitalisation of railway systems, while offering numerous benefits, also exposes them to cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity is a transversal risk that affects different areas of the railroad business: operations, telecommunications, ticket sales, maintenance, etc. In 2023, Deutsche Bahn, one of Europe's largest railway operators, experienced a significant cyberattack on its signaling system. The sophisticated malware disrupted communications, leading to widespread delays and cancellations. The operator was forced to revert to manual procedures, which significantly slowed down operations. This incident, among many others in railway highlighted the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures and resilient digital infrastructure.
Theft
Theft of railway components, particularly metal theft, continues to be a significant issue. In 2023, France experienced a surge in copper theft from railway signaling cables, leading to severe service disruptions. Thieves often target these cables for their high resale value, but their removal compromises the safety and efficiency of railway operations. Effectivedeterrents and rapid response mechanisms are essential to mitigate the impact of such thefts.
Derailment
Derailments, though less frequent, have catastrophic consequences. In August 2023, a derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, one of the longest and deepest railway tunnels in the world, caused significant disruptions. The incident resulted in extensive damage to the infrastructure and required a prolonged period for repairs, severely affecting freight and passenger services. This tragic incident underscores the necessity for rigorous track maintenance protocols and advanced monitoring systems to detect and address potential hazards proactively.
Other Risks
Additionally, labor strikes and geopolitical tensions can also severely impact railway operations. Labor strikes can halt services entirely, while geopolitical tensions can disrupt cross-border rail traffic and supply chains.
Panel II – Financing the future: How to provide a European high –performance rail network (capacity & quality)?
Infrastructure managers (IMs) face many challenges ahead with ambitious targets and deadlines according to the TEN-T Regulation and increase of demand both on passenger and freight rail services. 90% eduction in transport emissions need to be achieved by 2050, and this can only be possible with the modal shift to more sustainable transport modes such as rail. The Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy sets ambitious targets in terms of high-speed network: doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and tripling it by 2050. Rail freight faces also ambitious targets: rail freight is expected to increase by 50% by 2030 and double by 2050. With a scenario increasing energy prices and inflation rates all over Europe, and with significant investment needs not only of IMs but the whole rail sector, the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and thus Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) have to boost the financing of the railway.
In EU 27, total rail infrastructure spending rose from EUR 39.1 billion in 2015 to EUR 41.8 billion in 2020. In 2020, 25% of the spending was on maintenance, 27% on renewals, 28% on upgrades and 20% on investments in new infrastructure. However, to implement the TEN-T Regulation, total investment needs for the period 2021-2030 require a strong commitment in terms of financial resources from EU and Member States, considering that their estimation goes much beyond the values showed in the “Delivery TEN-T Report of 2017” and consisting of around EUR 500 billion for the TEN-T Core Network (EUR 50 billion per year on average), and at around EUR 1.5 trillion for the TEN-T Comprehensive Network and other transport investments by 2050. Connecting European capitals and major urban hubs via high-speed rail connections as much as offering clean rail-based logistic solutions to European industry would require further resources so that the full cost of such investments, considering the entire life cycle cost of each project, is substantial. The revised TEN-T Regulation will increase the level of the total investment needs even further.
European policymakers will have a challenging task ahead with more and more Member States wishing to decrease their monetary input to the EU. However, standard public budgets – at both European and national level – are not sufficient to meet EU modal shift goals. Worse than that, public subsidies and track access charges most of the time are not sufficient to guarantee the required level of regeneration of the infrastructure; this results in the further ageing of the railway infrastructure, in an increase of speed limits, the loss of capacity and the closure of some lines.
It is crucial to highlight the priorities of IMs for the next financing period, such as development of infrastructure within TEN-T but also connection with third countries, digitalisation and rail technologies and other key investment priorities such as ERTMS, FRMCS, Digital Capacity Management, resilient mobility and for some countries military and civil use of (dual-use) railway infrastructure.
Without CEF, there wouldn’t be any cross-border infrastructure projects, therefore, it is crucial to level up this programme in the next MFF. In parallel to CEF, scaling up the next MFF and looking for alternative financing solutions such as EU Green Bonds, ETS revenues and applying polluter-pays principle will aid in increasing the resources and finance some of rail projects.
In this High-Level Infrastructure Meeting panel, panellists will have a lively discussion onhow to provide a European-high performance network with these financing challenges, how to finance additional capacity and good quality infrastructure and how to complete the TEN-T Networks in time.