UIC participated in the annual meeting of the Coordinating Group for Statistics on Transport (CGST), held at Eurostat headquarters in Luxembourg on 14 and 15 October. The meeting reviewed the main developments in transport statistics over the past year.
The first discussions focused on data compliance and quality across all transport modes. Regarding rail transport, participants noted that overall timeliness of data submission remained good, although mirror checks for freight and passenger data continued to face difficulties due to national legislation restricting company-level data sharing.
The group was also informed about transport safety statistics: data on accidents are collected by EU agencies (e.g. European Union Agency for Railways, ERA and CARE (DG MOVE)) and disseminated through dedicated articles and Eurostat’s online database.
Discussion then turned to the streamlining of the Common Questionnaire (EUROSTAT/UNECE/ITF-OECD) and the revision of the Glossary for Transport Statistics. The CGST was updated on the revision process, which is now nearly complete. Major content updates were prepared jointly by EUROSTAT, ITF and UNECE, following broad expert consultation and international coordination efforts. The English version of the new Glossary is expected by end-2025, with publication in English, French and German planned for Q1 2026.
The group also discussed modal share indicators, including the recent integration of oil pipeline data. Freight modal shares in the EU-27 can now be estimated across six transport modes: rail, road, inland waterways, pipelines, air and maritime. In 2023, rail accounted for approximately 5.5% of total tonne-kilometres transported in the EU.
DG MOVE then presented an update on policy developments and data needs in support of EU transport policy. The presentation covered the 2024–2029 priorities, including both ongoing and new initiatives, such as the Military Mobility Package and the High-Speed Rail Action Plan, which focuses particularly on cross-border passenger services.
Looking ahead to 2026, DG MOVE outlined upcoming legislative revisions concerning rail transport:
- Revision of the 2021 Regulation on Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations to ensure that passengers retain their rights when travelling with multiple railway undertakings using tickets purchased through a single platform.
- Revision of the Train Drivers Directive, aiming to modernise the certification scheme, enhance convergence between Member States, and improve driver mobility across borders and operators, while maintaining or strengthening high levels of rail safety.
DG MOVE also presented new and updated studies, notably the EU Reference Scenario 2025/26 (modelling energy, transport and GHG emission projections), the study on the internalisation of external transport costs, and the latest Statistical Pocketbook.
Finally, UIC presented ongoing work within the Statistics Platform, including efforts to:
- measure traffic intensity on infrastructure networks and its relationship with line characteristics (e.g. electrification, double tracking) and train operation types (passenger/freight), and
- harmonise punctuality measurement, including delay thresholds and train cancellation definitions.
Further information is available on the UIC Extranet of the Statistics Platform.
