The European Union has been working on making the rail sector more competitive for the past 25 years. They want to allow more companies to use the rail network and increase competition. The goal is to create a single European railway area. The latest plan is to open up national passenger services to competition by 2020. The European Railway Agency plays a big role in making sure everything runs smoothly. The EU believes that introducing competition will improve the rail sector and help achieve their goals for transportation.