In the period 2019-2023, the share of new entrants in the sector of European rail transport has risen from 33% in 2010 market at 40%. This was announced in the thirteenth report of the Independent Regulators' Group Rail (IRG-Rail), the formed by the regulatory bodies of the railway sector of 31 European nations, specifying that this growth in the share of of total market is part of a decline in volumes total rail freight transport recorded in 2023.

The document highlights, in fact, that in 2023 the market was characterised by two scenarios contrasting conditions: on the one hand, the demand for rail transport increased significantly by +12%, compared to year, thus exceeding the 2019 level, while rail freight transport has suffered from the consequences of the slowdown in the European economy and net tonne-km decreased by -8% compared to 2022 due also to the high incidence of infrastructure works and the high competition of road transport.

The document predicts that in the coming years the new entrants will continue to increase their market share, while incumbent operators such as DB Cargo and Hexafret (formerly SNCF Fret) will have to reduce their activities due to the judgments on the matter of competition. Growth will therefore be driven by mainly by new entrants to the market and, consequently, The attention of European politics must be increasingly focused on how to support these companies to stay on the market and grow.

In addition, the report notes that inflation in the member countries of IRG-Rail remained high, standing at an average of 7%, contributing to the increase in revenues of railway undertakings, in particular for freight transport operators in a context of Drop in freight traffic.