European Rail Atlas from Ramboll identifies long-term investment as decisive lever to achieve Europe’s rail ambitions

Ramboll releases the European Rail Atlas benchmarking rail performance in 28 countries

The Atlas identifies binding, multi-year investment frameworks as critical to closing performance gaps and unlocking a competitive European rail system.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, January 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- European railway development is moving in the right direction, but progress towards achieving the EU’s core rail ambitions is fragmented and too slow, finds a new report by Ramboll, a global engineering, architecture and consulting company.

The European Rail Atlas identifies binding, multi-year investment frameworks as the single most powerful lever to close performance gaps and unlock a competitive, resilient, and low-carbon rail system across Europe. The European Rail Atlas benchmarks 28 countries including EU nations as well as the UK, Norway, and Switzerland using publicly available data.

The report assesses performance across eight dimensions: national relevance of rail, operational performance, safety, market competition, infrastructure financing and utilisation, employment and automation, ERTMS digital signalling deployment, and sustainability. Together, these indicators provide a comprehensive picture of how European rail systems are performing and where structural weaknesses persist.

“The Atlas makes one message unmistakably clear: ambition alone is not enough,” says Friedemann Brockmeyer, Global Head of Transport, Infrastructure, and Mobility at Ramboll's Management Consulting division. “Countries that have invested consistently and planned beyond political cycles achieve the most seamless, reliable, and integrated networks. By presenting these findings, the Atlas acts a guide to policymakers on a European and national level highlighting where progress is strong, where there are gaps, and what actions can be taken to realise the vision of a single European rail system.”

The Atlas finds that rail systems remain unevenly developed across Europe. Rail infrastructure investment per capita varies by a factor of 38 between the highest- and lowest-spending countries. Deployment of ERTMS digital signalling is generally slow, limiting capacity, interoperability, and cross-border services. These regional imbalances also have implications for safety levels with Western European countries reporting stronger safety records than in Eastern Europe where passive level crossings remain prevalent and are a leading cause of fatalities.

The sustainability performance of the European rail industry are closely linked to national energy policies. As electrification rates differ widely, there are large disparities in carbon emissions.

Ramboll’s analysis also shows a growing labour and skills challenge: Europe’s rail workforce is ageing, competition for digital and engineering skills is intensifying, and women represent only 24 percent of employees on average.

Ramboll’s findings point to several clear and urgent policy priorities. Anchoring multi-year rail investment commitments in legislation, aligning national energy and transport strategies to accelerate progress towards achieving zero-emissions, fast-tracking ERTMS deployment on high-traffic and cross-border routes, and strengthening modal shift policies with pricing incentives are all critical to closing the performance and environmental impact gaps. In parallel, the rail sector must address workforce challenges by expanding reskilling programmes and promoting gender diversity.

About Ramboll
Ramboll is a global architecture, engineering and consultancy company founded in Denmark in 1945. Ramboll’s more than 18,000 employees create sustainable solutions across Buildings, Transport, Architecture & Landscape, Water, Environment & Health, Energy and Management Consulting. Across the world, Ramboll combines local experience with a global knowledge base to create sustainable cities and societies. We combine insights with the power to drive positive change to our clients, in the form of ideas that can be realised and implemented. We call it: Bright ideas. Sustainable change. Read more at ramboll.com

For media enquiries about the EU Rail Atlas contact: Devapriyo Das, Head of Global Editorial Content , press@ramboll.dk , +45 51612149.

Devapriyo Das
Ramboll
+45 51 61 21 49
press@ramboll.dk
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