20 Years of ERA : added value of the EU Agency for Railways to reach a sustainable and safe Single European Railway Area

During its 20 years of work ERA delivered important benefits for the rail sector's safety and interoperability as well as for society at large. The Agency supported the European Commission on technical matters to develop a common approach to safety in the Union and by enhancing interoperability of the rail system. Despite significant improvements, the cost of rail accidents is still estimated at 4 billion EUR per year while the cost of a noninteroperable rail system across countries is about 2 billion EUR annually. This report aims to provide an overview of the overall benefits and value-added that ERA produced for Europe, for the rail sector, for all stakeholders and for society at large vs the costs that the Agency entailed over its 20 years of existence. This report is produced to provide arguments, background, quantitative elements also in support of dissemination initiatives around the 20th anniversary of the Agency. This report provides an overview of the value added of ERA over the last two decades. ERA grew after an initial ramp up phase and its resources come mostly from the EU budget. The Agency has been spending with good and sound financial execution about 25-30 million EUR per year since 2011 to finance costs, mostly its now 200 staff members. Direct costs on the rail sector in 2024 are expected being about 10 million EUR in fees for authorisations while indirect costs in terms of expert advice through more than 250 meetings per year resulted in a consistently positive business case for more harmonization, contributing also to standardization and information sharing. Despite having responsibilities over of a very fragmented sector like the EU railways and despite the latest new authority tasks, ERA remains a small organisation. Other EU agencies such as EMSA in maritime and EASA in aviation have 100% to 400% more budget and staff than ERA.