European Shippers’ Council (ESC) fully supports Petition No 0411/2025 put forward by Georg Janke, which calls for the introduction of English as a common operating language for communication between train drivers and infrastructure personnel on the TEN-T Core Network. As Europe’s leading trade and logistics association, ESC recognises that facilitating seamless cross-border rail operations is essential to maintaining the efficiency and competitiveness of European logistics.
The petitioner advocates for the revision of the Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI OPE) through a modification of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/773. This revision would allow communication in English between train drivers and infrastructure managers, alongside the use of national languages, to enhance interoperability across borders within the trans-European rail network. While significant progress has already been made through harmonised operational rules and the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), the lack of a common operating language remains a significant barrier to effective cross-border rail operations.
ESC believes that adopting English as an additional communication language would overcome this barrier. The petition rightly points out that fully standardising English as the sole operating language across all European railways, as proposed in Petition No. 0388/2024, may be unrealistic due to workforce language limitations and the burden it could place on rail companies. Instead, a more targeted approach is proposed by 2035, infrastructure managers in the TEN-T core network should be required to employ dispatchers with at least a B2-level proficiency in English and to use standardised phraseology. This approach would ensure that foreign train drivers can operate more efficiently, especially on international routes, while still allowing personnel who speak only the national language to function within their local operations.
This measure would not only enhance operational safety and reduce delays, but also strengthen the competitiveness of European rail transport, facilitating a modern, interoperable, and efficient freight network across the continent. The integration of English in key rail corridors will significantly ease communication, fostering smoother movement of goods within the European market.