European Commission Evaluation Report Highlights ERA’s Strong Performance

Key conclusions of the evaluation

ERA is fit for purpose and delivers clear added value across its core objectives: 

• Maintain a high level of railway safety and improve interoperability in the EU;
• Eliminate operating barriers and overcome the fragmented set of national frameworks and rules;
• Support rail sector competitiveness and innovation deployment by reducing administrative costs of authorisation processes, operating and running rail services and reducing time to market for innovation;
• Oversee the authorisation and certification processes at Union level, including placement in the market of railway vehicles and types, safety certification for railway undertakings, and approval of trackside equipment of ERTMS.

The evaluation acknowledges the strain on resources created by the level of ambition of the 4th Railway Package and the associated new tasks. Additional resources will be necessary to further materialise the positive effects of cross-border harmonisation and process simplification into tangible competitiveness gains for the rail sector, while improving safety maturity and performance across the system. 

ERA also continues to work closely with stakeholders, supporting fact-based improvements, as highlighted during the Danish Conference on rail cost reduction.

Next steps

As indicated in the Commission Communication “Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail”, a proposal to revise the ERA Regulation will be tabled by 2026. This update will draw directly on the evaluation’s findings, with the aim of equipping the Agency to support key EU policy priorities, notably safety improvement, digitalisation, interoperability and cost-efficient authorisation procedures.

Statement from the Executive Director