Alona Lebedieva: The EU’s Agreement on a New System for Managing Railway Infrastructure Is a Strategic Step Forward

KYIV, UKRAINE, November 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The European Union has reached a political agreement on new rules for managing railway capacity. The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have aligned on an approach aimed at harmonising and simplifying train-path planning across the Union. The reform envisages a shift from a fragmented national model to a more coherent European system, which will increase the frequency, reliability and predictability of both passenger and freight services. The new rules also factor in the digitalisation of railway operations and introduce strategic traffic planning not only one year ahead—as is the case today—but over a longer horizon.

A key role in the new system will be played by the European Network of Infrastructure Managers (ENIM). It will develop three EU-wide frameworks: for long-term capacity planning and allocation; for coordinated management of international traffic in both regular and crisis situations; and for comprehensive monitoring of the performance of the EU rail system. National infrastructure managers will retain control over their respective networks but will operate under unified approaches, helping to eliminate border bottlenecks and reduce scheduling conflicts between different types of services.

As noted by Alona Lebedieva, owner of the Ukrainian multi-profile industrial and investment group Aurum Group, “Europe is taking an important step towards creating a single railway area, where borders are no longer a barrier for the movement of goods and passengers. For Ukraine, this is a clear signal: future integration into the European transport market will require not only infrastructure modernisation, but also a transition to unified capacity-planning and management rules.”

The agreed approach allows countries to take into account the specificities of their networks, while obliging them to coordinate priorities—particularly with neighbouring states. This is crucial as demand for international rail routes continues to grow, while today’s system, in which each country plans traffic independently, leads to delays and inefficiencies. The preliminary agreement must now be endorsed by Member State representatives in the Council (Coreper) and by the European Parliament, after which it will be formally adopted by both institutions.

According to Alona Lebedieva, “the EU is now laying the foundation for a transparent and digital system of railway traffic management. This is critically important in the context of Military Mobility, energy security and Ukraine’s post-war recovery. The faster we align our processes and standards with the European ones, the greater our chances of attracting investment and strengthening Ukraine’s role as a transit hub.”

Alona Lebedieva
Aurum Group
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