The European rail sector has welcomed the appointment of Siim Kallas as EU Vice‐President of the European Commission responsible for Transport. In a joint letter sent on 10 February, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), and the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) congratulated Mr Kallas, while calling on him to take action to enhance the competitiveness of rail – the most environmentally friendly mode of transport.
The railway organisations welcomed Mr Kallas' statement to the European Parliament that he would seek to improve the environmental performance of transport through a combination of measures including the development or better use of infrastructure, the introduction of new technology, better use of existing sustainable technologies, and by creating a level playing field through the internalisation of external costs of all modes of transport.

The letter also calls on the new Commissioner to take action to overcome a number of shortcomings in the implementation of European railway legislation, and in particular the First Railway Package. “The European rail sector feels that a recast of the First Railway Package would be the best way to resolve these shortcomings, while enhancing the competitiveness of Europe’s railways,” the three associations wrote.

The associations close the letter by setting out their vision of the “ … transport of the future as a multimodal system with, at its core, an electrified rail network covering all of Europe which is able to respond to the needs of both passenger and freight customers.”

The letter was sent to Vice‐President Kallas on 10 February, and was signed by Johannes Ludewig, Executive Director of CER, Michael Robson, Secretary General of EIM, and Michael Clausecker, Director General of UNIFE.