2021 will be a very special year for rail following the EU decision to designate it ‘European Year of Rail’. For the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the new year also marks a change of leadership with the entry into office of new Executive Director Alberto Mazzola, unanimously elected by the CER General Assembly in September 2020. He will be steering the association through challenging times amid the ongoing COVID-19 and climate crises, at a moment when the huge potential of railways is generating great interest for achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal.