11 FEBRUARY 2026
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
& DIGITAL
Welcome to the RNE Summit 2026!
Where key decision-makers and industry leaders gather to explore strategies to enhance rail operations across Europe.
The 2026 RailNetEurope Summit on Capacity Regulation was hosted as a hybrid event in Vienna & Online.
Four Dynamic Panels
Throughout the event, 4 dynamic panels covered various aspects of the Capacity Regulation and its impact on the European railway sector.
More than 30 Speakers
- Railway industry leaders and stakeholders will discussed the future of European rail.
- With keynote speeches from distinguished industry experts.
Engagement Opportunities for Participants
- Live polling during each panel discussion, enabling participants to provide real-time feedback and insights.
- Information stands where participants had the opportunity to learn more about RNE's IT systems.
Host & Master of Ceremony
PAUL MAZATAUD
President
RailNetEurope
(SNCF Réseau)
JOACHIM KROLL
Secretary General
RailNetEurope
Keynote Speakers
KRISTIAN SCHMIDT
Director Land Transport
European Commission
(DG MOVE)
JOHANN PLUY
Member of the Management Board
ÖBB Infra-AG
(designated ENIM Co-Chair)
JOHN VOPPEN
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
ProRail
(designated ENIM Co-Chair)
.
Panel Moderators
Panel 1
LINDA THULIN
Co-Chair
PRIME Task Force
Vice President
RailNetEurope
(Trafikverket)
Panel 2
OLIVER SELLNICK
VP European Corridors and Cooperations
DB InfraGO AG
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Panel 3
TOMAS JONIKAITIS
Head of Service Delivery
(COO, Director)
LTG Infra
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Panel 4
MICHEL GEUBELLE
Manager Corridors Management
Infrabel
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Speakers
Philipp Koiser
Head of Capacity Management
RailNetEurope
Edgar Schenk
Managing Director
Forum Train Euorpe (FTE)
Reinhard Haller
Head of Market & Performance
RailNetEurope (RNE)
Weronika Karbowiak
Head of Department, Cooperation with International Organizations
PKP PLK S.A., RNE Vice President
PETER ŠIŠOLÁK
Head of Traffic Management
RailNetEurope (RNE)
Oana Gherghinescu
Executive Director
European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Udo Sauerbrey
Member of the Board
International Rail Freight Business Association (IBS)
Martijn Meegdes
Strategic Advisor International Traffic Management
ProRail
Silva Kristan
Head of the Department for Traffic Planning and Technology
SŽ-Infrastruktura (SŽI)
Elisabeth Hochhold
Head of Legal & HR
RailNetEurope
Andras Till
Senior CM IT Manager - Team Leader CM IT
RailNetEurope
Polymnia Vasilopoulou
Team Leader a.i.
European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Yann Seimandi
Policy Officer
European Commission (EC)
Bettina Wunsch-Semmler
Compliance Officer & Regulatory Affairs
DB Cargo AG
Sven Gjeruldsen
Head of International Affairs
Bane NOR, RNE Vice President
Alfred Pitnik
Co-Chair PRIME Task Force
ÖBB, RNE Vice President
Josef Schneider
Member of the Management Board
European Passenger Federation
Ben Beirnaert
General Manager, Member of the Board of Directors
Combinant, UIRR
Hanna Muenninghoff
CEO
RailData
Elmer van Buuren
President, Co-Founder & Member of Managing Board
ALLRAIL, European Sleeper
Roberto Piazza
Director for Access to Railway and Port Infrastructure
Italian Transport Regulatory Authority – ART
Christian Schneider
Expert for the European Strategy in Traffic Management
DB InfraGO AG
Szilárd Kövesdi
CEO
GYSEV Zrt.
Thomas Spiegel
Head of Unit Infrastructure Planning
Austrian Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI)
Jan Ilík
Member of the Executive Board
Forum Train Euorpe (FTE)
Host & Master of Ceremony
PAUL MAZATAUD
President
RailNetEurope
(SNCF Réseau)
JOACHIM KROLL
Secretary General
RailNetEurope
Keynote Speakers
KRISTIAN SCHMIDT
Director Land Transport
European Commission
(DG MOVE)
JOHANN PLUY
Member of the Management Board
ÖBB Infra-AG
(designated ENIM Co-Chair)
JOHN VOPPEN
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
ProRail
(designated ENIM Co-Chair)
.
Panel Moderators
Panel 1
LINDA THULIN
Co-Chair
PRIME Task Force
Vice President
RailNetEurope
(Trafikverket)
Panel 2
OLIVER SELLNICK
VP European Corridors and Cooperations
DB InfraGO AG
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Panel 3
TOMAS JONIKAITIS
Head of Service Delivery
(COO, Director)
LTG Infra
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Panel 4
MICHEL GEUBELLE
Manager Corridors Management
Infrabel
Vice President
RailNetEurope
Speakers
Philipp Koiser
Head of Capacity Management
RailNetEurope
Edgar Schenk
Managing Director
Forum Train Euorpe (FTE)
Reinhard Haller
Head of Market & Performance
RailNetEurope (RNE)
Weronika Karbowiak
Head of Department, Cooperation with International Organizations
PKP PLK S.A., RNE Vice President
PETER ŠIŠOLÁK
Head of Traffic Management
RailNetEurope (RNE)
Oana Gherghinescu
Executive Director
European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Udo Sauerbrey
Member of the Board
International Rail Freight Business Association (IBS)
Martijn Meegdes
Strategic Advisor International Traffic Management
ProRail
Silva Kristan
Head of the Department for Traffic Planning and Technology
SŽ-Infrastruktura (SŽI)
Elisabeth Hochhold
Head of Legal & HR
RailNetEurope
Andras Till
Senior CM IT Manager - Team Leader CM IT
RailNetEurope
Polymnia Vasilopoulou
Team Leader a.i.
European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
Yann Seimandi
Policy Officer
European Commission (EC)
Bettina Wunsch-Semmler
Compliance Officer & Regulatory Affairs
DB Cargo AG
Sven Gjeruldsen
Head of International Affairs
Bane NOR, RNE Vice President
Alfred Pitnik
Co-Chair PRIME Task Force
ÖBB, RNE Vice President
Josef Schneider
Member of the Management Board
European Passenger Federation
Ben Beirnaert
General Manager, Member of the Board of Directors
Combinant, UIRR
Hanna Muenninghoff
CEO
RailData
Elmer van Buuren
President, Co-Founder & Member of Managing Board
ALLRAIL, European Sleeper
Roberto Piazza
Director for Access to Railway and Port Infrastructure
Italian Transport Regulatory Authority – ART
Christian Schneider
Expert for the European Strategy in Traffic Management
DB InfraGO AG
Szilárd Kövesdi
CEO
GYSEV Zrt.
Thomas Spiegel
Head of Unit Infrastructure Planning
Austrian Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI)
Jan Ilík
Member of the Executive Board
Forum Train Euorpe (FTE)
Programme
08:00 Registration
09:00 Opening (Joachim Kroll, Master of Ceremony, Secretary General of RNE)
09:05 Welcome Speech (Paul Mazataud, Event Host, SNCF Réseau, RNE President)
09:15 – 09:25 Keynote Speech by Kristian Schmidt
09:25 Scene Setter: Learn more about the draft Capacity Regulation (Elisabeth Hochhold, Head of Legal & HR at RNE and Alfred Pitnik, Co-Chair of PRIME Task Force, RNE Vice President)
09:45 Panel 1: Success Factors and Sector Expectations (Moderator: Linda Thulin, Co-Chair PRIME Task Force, RNE Vice President)
11:00 Coffee Break
11:30 Panel 2: Harmonised and Market-Oriented Capacity Management (Moderator: Oliver Sellnick, DB InfraGO AG, RNE Vice President)
12:30 Lunch Break
13:30 Keynote Speeches by John Voppen and Johann Pluy
13:50 Panel 3: Developments in Traffic Management Network Concept (Moderator: Tomas Jonikaitis, LTG Infra, RNE Vice President)
14:50 Panel 4: Roadmap to make European Railway Digital (Moderator: Michel Geubelle, Infrabel, RNE Vice President)
15:50 Conclusions and Closing (All Moderators & Master of Ceremony)
16:00 End of the Event
Recordings of the 2026 RNE Summit on Capacity Regulation
RNE Summit 2026: Opening & Welcome Speech
Keynote Speech by Kristian Schmidt
Scene Setter Presentation on the draft Capacity Regulation
Panel 1: Success Factors & Sector Expectations
Panel 2: Harmonised and Market-Oriented CM
Panel 4: Roadmap to make European Railway Digital
Keynote Speech by John Voppen
Keynote Speech by Johann Pluy
Panel 3: Developments in TM Network Concept
HEAR EXPERT OPINIONS FROM
Frequently Asked Questions
Location
The RailNetEurope Summit on Capacity Regulation is held as a hybrid meeting. You can either participate physically in Vienna (limited number of participants) or virtually via Microsoft Teams (you will receive a link once registered).
Venue
Insights from last year's Summit
Sandro Santamato at the 2025 RNE Summit
Rail is back at the top of the policy agenda because we’ve learned our lesson from past crisis: strategic preparations are key.
Johann Pluy at the 2025 RNE Summit
To gain acceptance, we must prepare market participants; otherwise, we will face resistance.
Alain Quinet at the 2025 RNE Summit
I would like to stress that the Capacity Regulation can act as a game changer. This is a huge opportunity to promote trans-European transport, and I believe PRIME and RNE are two major, complementary players.
Paul Mazataud at the 2025 RNE Summit
RNE is actively transforming itself into the Network Coordinator. This is why we initiated and invited you to this event, and we look forward hearing your perspective and insights.
Impressions of the event
