European digital trends in the transport sector: interoperability and efficiency

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The EU “common transport policy” aims to create a sustainable, efficient, safe and competitive continental transport network, by facilitating the EU’s “basic freedoms”. In addition to traditional key policy pillars, like sustainable/smart mobility and Trans-European Transport Network, two modern trends appeared: – digitalizing transport infrastructure and strengthening passenger rights. Developing competitive EU-wide rail transport suggests removing technical barriers and digitalisation of the rail related processes. 

Background
The policy’s key terms of sustainability and safety, interoperability and “smart mobility” are included in the EU’s “transport’s mission statement” providing that the sector is “without frontiers” as the main objectives of a Single European railway area.
The EU-wide Agency for Railways (ERA) has the following tasks: = Promote a harmonised approach to railway safety; = Devise the technical and legal framework in order to enable removing technical barriers, and acting as the system authority for the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and telematics applications; = Improve accessibility and use of railway system information; and = Act as the EU-wide authority under the 4th Railway Package (2016) issuing vehicle-type authorisations and single safety certificates, while improving the competitive position of the railway sector.
The package aims to improve the efficiency of the rail system in Europe, by promoting competition in the railway sector and lowering administrative, technical and operational barriers. It enhances the ERA’s role as the ERTMS system authority; with the new Directives, ERA is in charge of issuing vehicle authorisations and safety certificates in the European Union, as well as pre-authorizing ERTMS trackside equipment.
More in: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/rail/railway-packages/fourth-railway-package-2016_en

For example, the term “moving Europe” indicates that the ERA Agency is “driving the work” to make sure that the railway system remains a very safe mode of transport and breaks the barriers to truly European network resulting in an increase of the rail modal share in the transport and mobility system. Reaching these goals will help member states’ economy to reach the ambition of a carbon neutral transport system by mid-century.
New technologies, such as digitalisation, and connected and automated mobility, open new possibilities to improve transport safety, security and efficiency, and to reduce emissions, but also transform the employment in the sector in terms of working conditions and required skills. Collaborative economy developments, such as car-sharing and bike-sharing services are changing user behavior and mobility patterns.
The EU transport policy needs to help the sector to cut emissions drastically by running on less and cleaner energy, utilise modern infrastructure and reduce its impact on the environment.
Source: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/be22d311-4a07-4c29-8b72-d6d255846069_en

EU “common transport policy”: key components
= Green transition: The 2050 goal is a 90% reduction in transport emissions through the adoption of electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and improved public transport.
= Infrastructure: The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) seeks to connect national networks, with a core network planned for completion by 2030 and a comprehensive network by 2050. In the context of the “Green Deal”, rail has become the backbone of the European multimodal transport and mobility system; which is reflected in the ERA’s vision.
= Safety and security: Improving safety standards across all modes (road, rail, water, air) to move towards “Vision Zero” (close to zero fatalities).
= Digitalization and innovation: Enhancing efficiency through AI, autonomous vehicles and intelligent transport systems.
= Internal market: Ensuring fair competition, harmonized standards, and removing barriers to create a single European transport area.
= Passenger rights: Protecting travelers across all modes of transport.

The European Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy (from 2020) including the action plan of 82 initiatives, is guiding the operation of the EU transport policy up to 2024. This strategy lays the ways the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises, with drastically cut emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.
Other topics falling within the EU’s transport policy include infrastructure planning, information technology applications, security and safety, passenger rights, and international cooperation (safety, security and environmental standards-setting in international organisations).
More on the strategy in: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/be22d311-4a07-4c29-8b72-d6d255846069_en

EU Treaties and the legal means
The “mission statement” of the EU-wide Agency for Railways (ERA) is guided towards “moving Europe towards a sustainable and safe railway system without frontiers”; while the general ERA’s “vision” is for “sustainable and safe European transport system”. Thus, transport is a generic “vision, while the railway system” is a subordinate one.
The policy is guided by Articles 90-100 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; as well as in the “Trans-European Networks”, so-called TEN-T), in articles 170-172.
Actually, there are two “titles” in the Treaties concerning the transport issues: the mentioned TEN-T title, and the “purely general” transport title (arts 90-100). The latter is using -as the purpose of the law- a specific term: “distinctive features of transport” (art.91, p.1). These features include: international transport (in crossing the EU-27 territory), non-resident carriers, and transport safety.
Besides, the Treaties formulate three main transport sectors and postulate that the EU law “shall apply to transport by rail, road and inland waterway” (art.100).
More in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=legissum:eu_transport_policy

Transport “digital data” program
To advance and ensure that the EU rail sector remains at the forefront of innovation, resilience and strategic autonomy, as well as building up on the previous successful initiatives, the European Commission is enlarging strategic cooperation through the establishment of the EU-wide satellite-based communication in railway signaling and safety critical telecommunication.
The main group’s objective is to analyse applications and define requirements for the EU Space Program in view of the adoption of space-based telecommunication for railways, which will also support broader digital services for regional/national lines.
https://www.era.europa.eu/content/space-enabled-rail-european-union-partners-drive-interoperability-safety-and-digital

The EU “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy” is showing that rail is part of a more global transport system: e.g. the ERA’s vision is that rail will be fully incorporated in the continental transport and mobility patterns due to its high environmental performance: a) high energy efficiency and low externalities (hence the word “sustainable”), and b) keeping a high level of safety performance (hence the word “safe”).
But moving from a patchwork to a network also requires to focus on the “without frontiers” to contribute to establishing a European network of transport taking advantage of all the inherent qualities of the different modes of transport. The European Union Agency for Railways headquarters are located in Valenciennes, in the North of France.
Source: https://www.era.europa.eu/agency-you/agency/vision-mission-values-tasks

Data sharing in rail transport
The European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation laying down requirements for the interoperability of data sharing in rail transport. It establishes a technical specification for interoperability (TSI) relating to the telematics subsystem (‘TSI Telematics’), which will benefit passengers and businesses alike.
The TSI Telematics supports non-discriminatory and transparent data sharing in the rail sector, based on the EU rules set out in Regulation 2023/2854 (Data Act). For that purpose, it sets out business-to-business obligations to share data, as well as rights to access and use data.
It specifies the data format to be used, based on a common ontology (the ‘ERA Ontology’), as well as requirements in terms of data quality, cybersecurity and data use for the safety of operations and future digital operational communications. The ERA Ontology provides a comprehensive vocabulary for representing concepts and relationships from the European railway sectorial legal framework. It supports interoperability and data exchange in the railway domain.
On ERA Ontology in: https://data-interop.era.europa.eu/era-vocabulary/#overv

With requirements for the deployment of common European “one-stop shops” for digital capacity and traffic management, the technical specification for interoperability TSI is also a key technical enabler for the implementation of the recently agreed rules for improved management and increased use of Europe’s railway infrastructure capacity.
The “data act” also specifies the role of the European Union Agency for Railways as the systems authority for the digitalisation of communications in the rail sector and sets out a compliance framework with clear deadlines.
The Commission Implementing Regulation 2026/253 (6 February 2026) on a technical specification relating to the telematics subsystem is applied to the EU-wide rail system for interoperability of data sharing in rail transport (TEL TSI).
More in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32026R0253

Digitalisation process
The Commission has laid down new digital rules on data sharing within the transport logistic chains, including terminals and intermodal operators, on sharing up-to-date and forecast information about the movements of trains and the status of freight wagons and their load to make rail freight transport more attractive and to better align intermodal logistics processes, and to harmonise safety and operational rules. Those rules should apply to telematics stakeholders having contractual obligations to carry out the rail related processes
The operation of trains throughout the single European railway area requires seamless access to and interconnection with the information and communication systems used by the stakeholders involved in accordance with the latest technical developments and should cater for testing of innovation.
The EU-wide digitalisation process in transport sector covers two main spheres:
= Passenger information and ticketing data. Promoting innovative and open-source services for passengers based on data made available publicly and free of charge via the national access points. This technical specification for interoperability, TSI requires access to data for journey planning and passenger information in accordance with EU standards.
Such data include timetables, connection times, conditions of carriage, station accessibility, real-time and forecast train positions, train composition and historical records.
Based on the timeline set out in the European rules on railway infrastructure capacity for the working timetable, and in this TSI on ticketing data, tickets should be made available up to five months in advance.
It also specifies harmonised requirements for connection times between transport nodes and transport services, tickets and multi-operator booking systems based on EU standards, preparing the ground for future Commission initiatives on single digital booking and ticketing and related passenger rights.
Reference to: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/commission-adopts-harmonised-eu-specifications-data-sharing-rail-transport-2026-02-10_en

= Freight services. Enabling digital capacity and traffic management from first to last mile, this technical specification for interoperability, TSI fully integrates the intermodal transport ecosystem into rail processes and enables the digital connection of multimodal freight terminals to the hinterland. Digital functions for tracking and tracing trains are extended, for example, to movements of block trains in rail freight service facilities.
Encouraging paperless freight transport and aligning with the Regulation 2020/1056 (eFTI), this TSI also sets out requirements for the electronic consignment note (eCN) to replace paper-based documents.
Information relating to passenger rail transport services is mostly public under Union or national law. Therefore, technical conditions should be set for telematics stakeholders holding such information to grant access for use to the respective data sets. To ensure the digitalisation of passenger travel information and tickets in accordance with the Regulation 2021/782, this TSI should set out harmonised specifications for the use of appropriate digital means, digital communication technologies and accessible formats.
To support the digitalisation of rail related processes within rail freight service facilities and to facilitate a gradual and timely implementation of interoperable data sharing by their operators, it is necessary to set an appropriate transitional period to allow operators of rail freight service facilities to comply with the new 2026 Tel-TSI Regulation.
More on the TSI Telematics (data act) in: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R2854