At ERFA’s annual rail freight event, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) was represented by speaker Kristian Schmidt. Not only did Schmidt manage to entertain the audience with a healthy dose of humour, he also had some rail freight insights to share from the Commission’s point of view.
DG MOVE’s Land Transport director Schmidt reminded the audience of the unfortunate reality that rail freight finds itself in as of 2026. Rail occupies a modal share of a mere 11%, which has been falling continuously in recent years. Meanwhile, the road walks away with 77%. Not a good look. Passenger rail, by contrast, grew by 5.8% last year and is thriving.
Part of the underlying reasons for the rail freight decline relates to geopolitical events: the Russian invasion of Ukraine and energy and economic crises. Schmidt refers to a “perfect storm” that the industry needs to weather.
At the same time, Schmidt says that the economy is changing and that provides opportunities. Intermodal is the market segment of growth, while block trains remain under pressure. Rail freight needs to adapt in a move that would align with Joseph Schumpeter’s Theory of Creative Destruction, according to Schmidt.
Repulsing the attack
However, Schmidt creates the impression that a complete switch to intermodal would not be wise either. We should not give up on block trains, he says, because Europe is trying to reverse past economic trends: “I hope we will get manufacturing back to Europe. The Chinese onslaught has to be resisted.”
Moreover, Schmidt emphasised the need for port-rail connectivity. “If something comes into Europe via sea and it does not immediately go onto rail, it will never go onto rail”, the DG MOVE representative said. Ports are key transport hubs where rail can claim a larger modal share. This, supposedly, is also recognised by EU Member State officials: “Hinterland has become a super hot word among transport ministers. Even the minister of Cyprus, where the hinterland is not so big, said it very clearly.”
The Land Transport director left the audience with three more points to remember. First, DG MOVE is working very fast to implement the Capacity Regulation once it enters into force in summer. Second, it is working on a revision of the European Agency for Railways (ERA). Last, but not least, “the Commission believes in the freight sector”.