This summary presents the main findings of a deep dive study on charging and State funding of European infrastructure managers. The report is based on a survey about the funding systems and structure of participating PRIME members. To inform an interested public this summary describes similarities, differences, experiences, and difficulties of rail infrastructure managers in the area of funding. The analysis is divided into three sections:

1. Long-term network strategies, providing an overview of infrastructure managers’ long-term network plans and their strategy for development
2. Funding frameworks, structuring the individual funding schemes and the respective amounts of individual elements within
3. Contractual agreements, describing the multi-annual contracts between infrastructure managers and the competent authority of the Member State based on Directive 2012/23/EU

Key findings

The study findings testify to the fact that infrastructure managers will be confronted with three main challenges in the coming years:

1. More than half of the infrastructure managers in the study are confronted with a backlog of their maintenance and/or renewal activities. These backlogs occur if maintenance and renewal is smaller than the wear and tear of the existing assets. The renewal of the infrastructure is a European priority. 
2. The volume and certainty of the budget available is of considerable importance, but also important is how flexible infrastructure managers are in the allocation and use of the funds for upkeep, according to the life cycle costs of their assets. 
3. Harmonizing the interplay of funding sources remains an ongoing challenge for infrastructure managers and member states. State funding and mark-ups must complement each other to cover the total cost that exceed direct cost.