Polish State Railways CEO Alan Beroud has been elected CER chair 2026-2027
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) has elected Polish State Railways CEO Alan Beroud as its new chair.
Beroud will take office in January 2026 for a two-year term when outgoing CER chair Andreas Matthä, CEO of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), steps down following a six-year term.
At its recent general assembly in Gdansk, Poland, the rail association appointed four vice chairs to its management board: SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot, SNCB CEO Sophie Dutordoir, SZCZ director general Jiří Svoboda, and ÖBB's Andreas Matthä.
The association includes leaders from major European railway companies, such as the CEOs of FS Italiane, SNCF, RENFE, NS and ČD. Deutsche Bahn's newly appointed CEO Evelyn Palla is expected to join the association “in due course”.
CER, in a statement, said its new board will take office “during a decisive time for the rail sector as the EU fixes its long-term spending priorities amidst renewed competitiveness ambitions and climate commitments”.
Commenting on his appointment, Beroud said: “As the future chairman, active efforts to promote and develop rail will also be important for me, especially in the context of the current challenging geopolitical situation. We must remain united as a European rail family in this time of crises.”
A new Oxford Economics study, commissioned by CER, found that European railways handle around 8 billion passenger trips annually and, in 2023, contributed €247 billion to the European Union’s gross domestic product – equivalent to 1.4 per cent of the bloc’s total GDP that year.