Conference speakers – Updated Regularly
Oana Gherghinescu: Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA).
Ms. Gherghinescu has more than 11 years of dedicated service and leadership within the Agency. She is highly committed to advancing safe, seamless, and future-ready rail transport across Europe. Prior to joining ERA, she held various positions in strategic and operational management, with a strong focus on the implementation of European Union policies and programmes. Her leadership focuses on enabling smooth and interoperable movement of passengers and goods across borders, with particular emphasis on ensuring the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), the development of high-speed rail, and the adaptability of the sector in times of crisis. Ms. Gherghinescu will hold a general keynote speech opening the second day of the conference.
John Voppen: CEO of ProRail and prospective co-chair of ENIM, European Network for Infrastructure Managers.
ENIM will be part of the EU’s new railway capacity reform agreed by the European Council and Parliament to improve management of Europe’s rail infrastructure. Its role is to strengthen cooperation between national infrastructure managers, support better cross-border coordination and promote more efficient use of existing rail infrastructure. While operational responsibility remains at national level, ENIM will provide the structure needed to ensure a more integrated and future-proof European rail system. John Voppen will hold a keynote speech sketching the future of the coordination of European infrastructure management and how this can assist in doubling international passengers by 2035.
Chiara Tomasi: Head of Government Relations for Trainline in Brussels.
Chiara Tomasi is Head of Government Relations in Brussels at Trainline, where she represents the company in discussions with EU institutions on transport and digital policy. Based in Brussels, she works on regulatory developments affecting rail distribution, multimodal travel, and the policy framework shaping how passengers access and book rail services across Europe.
Jon Worth: Independent Railway Commentator.
Jon Worth is an independent railway commentator and writer focusing on European rail policy and cross-border passenger travel. Since 2022 he has led the #CrossBorderRail project, travelling extensively across Europe to investigate international railway connections and identify barriers to easier cross-border train travel. Through field research across hundreds of rail border lines, he documents practical issues affecting international journeys and explores solutions to improve the European rail network for passengers. He writes regularly about rail policy, ticketing, and international rail travel on his website and publishes analysis and research based on his work documenting cross-border rail services across Europe.
Ariadne Prein: Board member of the Dutch Young Climate Movement (JKB).
The Young Dutch Climate Movement is preparing a ”sustainable implementation agenda” (The Young Climate Agenda) to share with the Dutch government. Ariadne Prein will hold a keynote speech where she will share the insights of this implementation agenda and she will talk about connecting young Europeans and influencing policy-makers on climate action.
Henk Swarttouw: President of the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF).
Henk Swarttouw has served as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Finland (2012-2015) and as Ambassador of the Netherlands to Denmark (2015-2019) next to 30 years of diplomatic experience. Henk Swarttouw will hold a keynote speech on sustainable mobility on the local, regional and European level and on organising users/passengers/citizens.
Elmer van Buuren: President of ALLRAIL, the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants in Europe and Founder and Managing Director of European Sleeper.
Elmer van Buuren has been working in rail and public transport for over 25 years. He fulfilled many different operational roles, which provided him with in-depth knowledge of how trains are operated. After 11 years in various positions at Netherlands’ Railways NS, he briefly worked as a consultant, before founding the private night train-startup European Sleeper.
Marc Maartens: Moderator of EPF’26.
Marc Maartens is an independent chairperson and lecturer in traffic and transport policy. His roots lie in journalism. For over 30 years, he wrote articles, reports, interviews, and opinion pieces for the trade journal OV-Magazine (Public Transport-Magazine). In 2024, he published the Dutch “Handboek OV; public transport by professionals for travelers.” He enjoys asking sharp questions, can translate complex material into clear language, and feels at home at the intersection of current events, news, trends, and developments. Marc Maartens was a board member of the OV-fiets Foundation (Public Transport-bike) and a commissioner of the car-sharing platform MyWheels.