From 13 to 16 April 2026, the first edition of the UIC Passenger Week took place at the UIC headquarters in Paris, bringing together over 200 participants from 35 countries and 93 organisations. The event provided a platform for insightful discussions, knowledge sharing, and exchanges among stakeholders in the passenger rail sector.

EPF was represented by Senior Researcher Delphine Grandsart, who was invited to give a keynote speech on the ‘Open Day’ (14 April) of the event, focusing on the topic of “Driving innovation in rail: the passengers’ perspective”.

EPF’s presentation highlighted the importance of keeping passengers at the centre of innovation, always asking “What’s in it for users?” . While rail offers clear strengths including high capacity, safety, speed and sustainability, passengers still face significant barriers when using the system, particularly for cross-border and multimodal journeys.

A key message was that although people are willing to switch to public transport, this depends on essential factors such as reliability, accessibility, affordability, and ease of use. Today, many passengers remain confused and frustrated, especially when planning international journeys, comparing ticket prices, or dealing with disruptions.

The presentation underlined the need for a more integrated European transport system, including:

  • seamless multimodal journeys,
  • integrated information and ticketing,
  • stronger passenger protection,
  • and a greater focus on end-user needs.

In particular, challenges related to ticketing and booking were highlighted, with international rail travel still being complex, time-consuming and subject to high drop-out rates due to multiple barriers. In this context, ongoing EU policy developments, including work on a “Single Ticketing Package”, aim to improve journey information, ticket purchasing and disruption protection for passengers across Europe.

UIC’s four-day event marked the launch of what is expected to become a key gathering for international dialogue on passenger rail, underlining the importance of collaboration and shared expertise. It also clearly demonstrated the growing focus on passenger experience within the rail sector, a development that EPF warmly welcomes.

👉 Event photos and all presentations can be accessed here.