The expectations of railway companies are not always aligned with the skills and abilities that university graduates bring when finishing their studies. This work firstly analyses the higher education study paths related to railways and their flexibility; then surveys the expectations of a set of European railway stakeholders in order to get the most looked after skills and abilities; next it analyses sectors other than the railways looking for academic best practices; and in the end it matches the most sought after skills within the Rail Careers Matrix for determining the relative importance of these skills in the operational, tactical, and strategic levels. The final result is a visual representation of the skills gaps and mismatches that European railway companies need to cover in the context of the actual Higher Education in the European landscape.