The 19th edition of the European Railway Award takes place on 2 February 2026 in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels.
Doors open at 18:00 and guests are invited for a welcome drink ahead of the ceremony, which begins at 19.00.
Please find the ceremony programme below:
WELCOME
Enno Wiebe, UNIFE Director General
Alberto Mazzola, CER Executive Director
OPENING ADDRESSES
Alexis Vafeades, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works of Cyprus
Sophia Kircher, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism
Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission
AWARDS
RAIL CHAMPION AWARD 2026
to the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Introduction: Michael Peter, UNIFE Chair and CEO of Siemens Mobility
Laureate Acceptance: Piotr Malepszak, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland
RAIL TRAILBLAZER AWARD 2026
to the collective call of several EU countries for the development and financing of a truly European High-Speed Rail network
Introduction: Alan Beroud, Chair of CER and CEO of PKP
Laureate Acceptance:
Štěpán Černý, Ambassador, Deputy Head of the Permanent Representatione to the EU of Czech Republic
Marten Kokk, Secretary General of the Ministry of Climate of Estonia
Katalin Molnár, Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU of Hungary
Marco Canaparo, Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU of Italy
Atis Švinka, Minister of Transport of Latvia
Robertas Bružilas, Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU of Lithuania
Ionuț-Cristian Săvoiu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania
Denisa Žiláková, State Secretary, Ministry of Transport of Slovakia
Oriol Escalas Nolla, Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU of Spain
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The ceremony will conclude around 20:30 with our joint CER-UNIFE reception (click here to register).
We look forward to welcoming you on 2 February!