The declarations were made at this week's TEN-T Days conference being held in Rotterdam. The railway declaration covers three main areas:

  • making rail freight more attractive by continuing to publish service quality key performance indicators, adopting a common information and communications technology, and improving cooperation between infrastructure managers, train operators and freight terminal managers
  • enhancing operational efficiency by drawing up annual lists of problems to be resolved, identifying bottlenecks and proposing solutions, and providing updates on ERTMS deployment, and
  • ensuring adequate capacity for all users by continuing to optimise the one-stop-shops for each corridor, and introducing a more flexible timetable within the next five to 10 years.

The associations describe the two declarations as "an unprecedented effort to increase the competitiveness of international rail freight" by "unlocking its growth potential."

Signatories of the declaration comprise the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Managers (CER), Clecat representing freight forwarders, the Association of European Infrastructure Managers (EIM), the European Rail Freight Rail Association (ERFA), the ERTMS Users Group, the European Shippers Council (ESC), the International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), the International Union for Rail-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR), and the European Rail Industry Association (Unife).