Third ALE-CESI Railway Days

The ALE-CESI Railway Days aimed to bring the priorities of train drivers to the front of the EU’s transportation policy agenda. The moment chosen for the Railway Days was timely: The European Commission has just launched a consultation process on a revision of the EU train drivers directive 2007/59/EC, the implementation of the EU’s Fourth Railway Package is ongoing, challenges of personnel in the rail sector following the Covid pandemic need to be addressed urgently, and discussions about the contribution of the railway sector to the EU’s Green Deal gain momentum.

Against this background, an ALE-CESI delegation led by ALE President Juan Jesús García Fraile and CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger convened in Brussels for a series of bilateral meetings including with:

• the cabinet of European Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean
• the leadership of the European Commission’s Directorate for Land Transportation in the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE)
• the President of the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN), MEP Karima Delli
• the coordinators of the EPP, S&D, Renew and Greens/EFA groups in the European Parliament TRAN Committee, MEP Marian-Jean Marinescu, MEP Petar Vitanov, MEP José Ramón Bauzá Díaz and MEP Ciarán Cuffe

ALE President Juan Jesús García Fraile said: “After having exchanged our train driver perspective on EU railway policy directly to key representatives of the EU institutions, we have agreed to continue this relationship in order to pass on first-hand information from the representation of train drivers in Europe.”

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger added: “In the area of railways, which connect firms and citizens across Europe, it is key for stakeholders to have a voice in Brussels. In particular train drivers know about the challenges that railways, and cross-border rail in particular, faces in Europe and what solutions can work in a sustainable way, taking the interestes of operators, employees and customers into consideration. The voice of train drivers matters, and we are glad that it was listened to and heard.”