5th Florence Rail Regulation Conference

The 5th Florence Rail Regulation Conference aims to discuss advancements for accelerating the growth of the railways in the EU.

The 5th Florence Rail Regulation Conference aims to discuss advancements for accelerating the growth of the railways in the EU. This conference is a space where academics, selected industry representatives, and policymakers can debate freely on fresh approaches to rail regulation. The scope of the conference will be to find practical solutions through rigorous academic dialogue and constructive debate.

This conference is part of Transport Week, which includes three academic conferences focusing on Rail, Aviation and Maritime regulation and a Summer School on Transport Regulation, a forum for discussion on transport regulation.

The Conference organizers are looking for original papers on topics including competition in and for the market, capacity regulation, performance regulation, financing of infrastructure, high-speed passenger services, freight services, etc. Contributions that employ multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to regulation and that combine academia and practice are highly encouraged. The conference is intended for academics, academically minded practitioners and PhD researchers. The best papers will be eligible for publication in the book series Challenges in Transport Regulation in Europe and Beyond , published by Edward Elgar.

The Conference is organized by the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation of the European University Institute and will take place in Florence (Italy).

Conference Structue

The format of the Florence Conference on the Regulation of Railways will be the following:

• Presentation of Academic Papers (20´/Paper aprox.)
• Feedback and Debate around the Papers (20´/Paper aprox.)

This is a 1-day conference, aiming to discuss 10/12 papers and engage a selected group of 30/40 individuals, including leading academics, high-level stakeholder representatives, and public officials, into a fruitful policy debate.

Timeline

Submission of the Abstract by 15th January 2026 using the form. For any issue regarding the submission, please contact Ms Elodie Petrozziello at fsr.transport@eui.eu

Notification of Acceptance by 15th February 2026;

Submission of the Full Paper by 15th of June 2026; participants who fail to submit a full paper by this deadline will be automatically removed from the programme;

Conference on 13th July2026 in Florence (Italy).

Guidelines for the abstract

600-1000 words (abstract);

Title of the paper & keywords;

Name of the author(s) and full address of the corresponding author;

The aim and methodology of the paper; and

Results obtained or expected

Organising committee

Juan Montero | Director of the Transport Area of the FSR, Professor of Administrative Law and Regulation in UNED University (Madrid)

Matthias Finger | Senior Scientific Advisor of the Transport Area of the FSR. EPFL, Professor Emeritus

Elodie Petrozziello | Research Associate of the Transport Area of the FSR

Fee

Free Attendance, but registration will be required

At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please indicate in the registration form your accessibility needs, if any. Alternatively, you can contact the logistics organiser of the event.

At FSR, we actively work to achieve gender-balanced representation at all our events. As a platform that connects diverse voices and perspectives in the sector, we strongly value inclusive and gender-balanced panel debates and training courses.