RNE General Assembly December 2024

Vienna, 10 December 2024 – RailNetEurope hosted its General Assembly (GA) in Vienna, bringing together representatives from across Europe to discuss strategic priorities, evaluate ongoing projects, and lay the groundwork for new initiatives.

We are pleased to share key highlights from the GA in this article.

RNE preparing to Become Network Coordinator

One year ago, RNE initiated preparations for its potential role as the Network Coordinator. Since then, three subprojects have progressed well and first findings as well as next envisaged steps were presented, i.e. concerning :

  • Scope of activities of the future network coordinator
  • Organisational set-up
  • European frameworks

Updates on the Capacity Management Railroadmap

The draft Capacity Regulation introduced an ambitious implementation timeline, resulting a demanding schedule.

To mitigate the risks associated with a sudden big bang implementation, an approach based on the central IT implementation timeline, which integrates the plans of the Infrastructure Managers (IMs), has been devised.

This plan includes the provision of technical specifications by RNE, a dedicated testing phase for IMs, and the full implementation of a centralised, fully operational system across all IMs.

Re-election of RNE Internal Auditors

Andi Gaberthüel (Schweizerische Trassenvergabestelle) and Alfred Lutschinger (ÖBB Infra) have acted as RNE’s internal auditors for the last two years. With their term coming to an end, a re-election was required. We are pleased to announce that both have volunteered to extend their service as auditors.

Comprehensive Compliance Update

A comprehensive compliance update, consisting of nine individual elements, was adopted during the GA. This marks a significant step in ensuring alignment with the highest standards of governance and accountability.

RNE Awards

The annual RNE Awards 2024 were presented to Saskia Meynhardt and Simona Garbuglia in recognition of their outstanding contributions to RNE’s success.

For more details on their achievements, please visit the RNE Award website, which will soon be updated to include highlights from this year’s winners.

Many of the decision points discussed during the General Assembly were already prepared and agreed upon in the High-Level Groups Meetings held in November.

The GA concluded with closing remarks from RNE President Paul Mazataud:

“We have a lot to deliver in 2025. Most importantly, we need to ensure that we are fully prepared to take on the role of Network Coordinator.”