5th progress report of the International Rail Passenger Platform
In 2020, 27 ministers adopted the Ministerial Declaration on International Railway Passenger Transport. Consequently, the Platform on International Rail Passenger Transport (IRP) was established. Through this Platform, the Ministries of the EU Member States, along with those of Switzerland and Norway, cooperate to improve international rail passenger transport in terms of both quality and quantity of trains.
For the past five years, Panteia has supported the Ministries in organising the Platform and drafting the Progress Report. This year’s Progress Report was handed over to the Council of Transport Ministers on 5 June 2025.
As part of the Progress Report, Panteia also developed the Market Monitor. The Market Monitor shows that the volume of international rail passenger services in Europe is growing.
- More than 478 international passenger services operate on a daily basis, with an estimated capacity to accommodate 193 million passengers annually.
- In total, these services make up for a total of 2052 trains per day.
- This is an increase of 7.2% in the number of train services, with up to 7.1% more international trains, resulting from a combination of more services and/or higher frequencies.
Over the past five years, the IRP platform has worked on identifying common issues that can be resolved to boost market development. The platform has contributed to the expansion and improvement of international railway passenger services in various ways and has been successful in further raising awareness of the subject’s urgency.
“We are proud to assist ALL the EU Ministries in drafting their position paper to improve and increase international rail passenger transport” – Adriaan Roest Crollius, Panteia.
Download the report here.
