On 17 July, the final Fit for Freight knowledge-sharing webinar of the Spring 2025 series took place, focusing on the evolving role of Railway Undertaking Advisory Groups (RAGs) amid recent regulatory changes.
The revised TEN-T Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 expands RAG responsibilities within Rail Freight Corridors (RFCs), strengthening their role in terms of both governance and operation of the corridors. In response to these changes, the RAG speaker community – through the UIC Efficient Cross Corridor Organisation (ECCO) project – has developed a unified Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to demonstrate and formalise ECCO’s added value for members.
Session presentations
The following presentations were given during the session:
- Philip Van den bosch, UIC Freight, opened with an overview of his department and its competence centres.
- Joost Overdijkink, UIC Freight, then introduced the ECCO project. This initiative represents the interests of stakeholders in the harmonisation of European RFCs, facilitates the exchange of best practices, and gives the RAG community a unified voice.
- Sandra Kuhlmann, German Railways (DB) Cargo, discussed recent changes in the TEN-T legal framework and their implications for railway undertakings.
- Paul Hodgson, Luxembourg National Railway Company (CFL Cargo), presented the MoU’s aims and benefits.
- Andrea M. Penso, DB Cargo, clarified key questions from the previous webinar regarding RAG access, documentation standards, meetings, voting procedures, consultation processes, and the RAG speaker role.
- Finally, Damjan Rak, Rail Cargo Carrier Slovenija, outlined implementation steps with support from RFC management.
Core elements of the Memorandum of Understanding
The newly developed MoU includes provisions on:
- Voluntary participation and a commitment to collaboration
- Clearly defined RAG responsibilities, regulatory tasks, and organisational structure
- Transparent voting and an impartial speaker role
Daniel Skopek of DB InfraGo, European Corridor Manager for the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Rail Freight Corridor (ScanMed RFC), emphasised the MoU’s relevance: “Against the backdrop of ongoing changes to the RFC’s legal landscape, this MoU comes at just the right time. It is a unique chance to reinforce cooperation between railway undertakings and infrastructure managers, strengthen participation in the various working groups and fora, and emphasise the importance of the work being done on the corridors. The ScanMed Management Board endorsed the MoU at its last meeting on 9 July, and DB InfraGO fully supports the document and encourages railway undertakings to sign it.”
Next steps
Overdijkink confirmed that RFCs will publish the MoU on their websites. Railway undertakings interested in endorsing the agreement can do so by emailing their respective RAG speaker and RFC managing director.
To learn more about the ECCO project, as well as how to get involved, please click the link below: https://uic.org/freight/corridor-development/article/ecco
At the end of the session, Van den bosch announced that the next Fit for Freight webinar series is likely to take place at the end of November 2025. Topics are still being finalised, and participants are warmly encouraged to join.
