This special issue of NIQ concludes the EU’s ‘year of rail.’ Over the past 30 years the EU has driven the transformation of the European rail sector with the aim of making it more efficient and more competitive vis-à-vis road. It has defined and actively pursued a liberalisation agenda through four railway packages. Recent policies to decarbonise the economy and the important role of transport in them have added both pressure and support. This special issue aims to document these efforts by giving the floor to some of the main actors in the process.