• Seizing opportunities to operate in a competitive environment
• Exploiting the strategic position of your railway company for commercial success
• Reshaping the railways: accommodating the new enlarged European Union
• Seeking investment for upgrading and network development

• The implementation of the first package in the enlarged European Union
• The establishment of the European Railway Agency
• The rail freight market situation
• The third railway package: prospects for a decision

• Repositioning rail in the changing transport market
• The specific situation in Central and Eastern Europe
• The role of the European Union, member states and companies

• Adopting the third package in order to revitalise European railways
• Introducing common rules for ensuring conformity to interoperability specifications
• An assessment of the impact of the gradual opening up of the market for international passenger services
• Assessing the trans-European networks: planning the TENs
• Technical harmonisation of rolling stock, rail equipment and implementation of rail interoperability
• Are close relationships as the heart of reform – transfer of know how from EU members to CEE

• Improve supply-related efficiency
• Enhance the value of supplier relationships

• How do railways serve the urban areas and how can they do it better?
• Establishing the backbone of an integrated transport system
• Creating successful partnerships
• Identifying and removing the obstacles to full intermodality
• Creating an efficient seamless infrastructure

• The challenges facing Warsaw’s rail network in the 21st century
• An analysis of the current plans and programmes of reform and development
• The methods of financing the new schemes and the problems encountered 
• An assessment of future rail requirements

• Determining what railways need to receive funding from the major financial institutions
• Working with the CEE railway operators in developing business plans for their railway operations
• Seeking commitment from CEE countries and governments for transition of railways
• Comparison of funding models
• Successfully creating tomorrows transport projects
• Public and private sectors and the need to attract sufficient financing
• Attracting private sector investment to the region

• Sustainable rail infrastructure investment strategies (feasibility and risk analysis)
• Streamlining service delivery through regional coordination/integration (economic integration and regional social cohesion)
• Business opportunities for (international) PPP's and/or privatisations
• Best practices and lessons learned
• Recommendations

• Is technical interoperability possible?
• The operational and technical difficulties of running a pan-European operation
• Building an integrated vision and strategy
• Who will pay for the investment?
• Integrating the CEE nations into the European network: the challenges facing PKP Intercity

• Developing interoperability between networks of both Eastern and Western countries
• Creating a pan-European railway
• Removing technical borders to avoid delays for both passenger and freight
• Aligning legislation and integrating the CEE railway industry in Western Europe
• The importance of forming strategic alliances

• Approaches taken by Western Europe to reform their railways
• Maximising the opportunities for a rail organisation
• Leveraging technology to transform the railways
• Challenges of implementation
• Potential benefits of privatisation

• Understanding the overall goal of European interoperability 
• The specific challenges facing the CEE countries
• Answering the needs and expectations of society, improving safety, reducing travel times and increasing efficiency and comfort
• Developing and supporting a common transport policy aimed at liberalisation and interoperability 
• The need to reconcile national standards with the European norm

• Railways in the future Europe: interoperable and therefore profitable?
• Urban rail: signalling systems interchangeability in the era of CBTC (Communications Based Train Control)

•  Preparing for privatisation and meeting the challenge for your business
• Analysis of privatisation models available
• Developing a strategy to assist the privatisation models
• Explaining the rationale behind contemplating the privatisation process
• The desired role of the state in the privatisation process

• At least Euro 10 billion to be invested in rolling stock for passenger operations and locomotives in CEE countries before 2012
• Failure to attract financing for rolling stock will cause system failure due to the high average age of the fleet
• Cross subsidies between freight and passenger operations form a main obstacle for financing of rolling stock
• Railways companies need to develop a credit standing, that allows them to attract financing in a liberalised rail sector
• Asset-secured finance schemes and multi-annual public service
• Contracts to facilitate financing of rolling stock with private funds

• The need for "the big picture" to support decisions
• The problem of scattered data
• How network modeling unifies data into "the big picture"
• Some practical examples

• An introduction to the challenges facing Latvian Railway in the 21st century
• Examining the economic support required to support and maintain infrastructure – public and private investment
• Outlining the business opportunities available for Eastern countries to modernise infrastructure
• The current infrastructure upgrades taking place and the plans for the future

• Extending the opening of the rail freight in Europe
• Developing open access
• New investments in rail freight
• Improving service quality and encouraging competition

• Working in an open access market for freight
• Operating and running your freight business as a commercial operation
• Investing in freight to ensure financial rewards can be gained
• Investing in rail freight infrastructure

• Improving customer service with the new Stinnes
• Investments in rolling stock as pre-condition for international growth
• New services of Stinnes to build up the position in CEE

• Developing freight business relationships between Eastern and Western Europe
• Meeting freight customer needs
• Enhancing transport quality
• Investing in the infrastructure of CEE countries to satisfy freight client needs
• Investing in new freight vehicles for business expansion

• The vision:
  - 35% market share for rail
  - separation between infrastructure and operation 
  - intramodal competition
  - private railways
• The decline of rail freight transport and the reasons for this evolution
• The necessary elements of revitalisation 
• Next steps
• Resistance to overcome

Welcome speech:
Imre Kovacs, Director of Freight Transport, Hungarian State Railways (MAV)

Sponsored by:

• Level playing field versus state aid
• Competition - a free lunch for incumbents?
• Walk your talk versus attitude big shippers
• Political awareness for rail freight
• Innovation after regulation
• Rail freight as a real business case; the opportunities!
• From oral support to courageous pragmatic support

• Maintaining freight train traffic through continuous rail infrastructure development
• Managing the problem of rolling stock
• Planning for an increase in freight market volume
• Working successfully with other railway companies for freight movement without conflict of interests

• Expanding the Trans European Rail Freight Freeways (TERFF) across CEE
• Providing support to improve the business environment of freight operators – supply chain management, e-business, e-commerce
• Finding practical solutions to reducing border delays
• Investing in rail freight infrastructure
• Investing in new technology for freight operations to compete with Western Europe
• Restructuring your business to compete with other railway operators
• Effectively competing with other modes of transport