Siemens and Alstom's plan to create a European rail champion collapsed in February after EU regulators blocked the deal, prompting Germany and France to call for an overhaul of EU competition policy to better meet global challenges.

"Such a merger continues to make sense, but we can't take the same plan to Brussels as long as the legal framework does not change," Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser told the Rheinische Post newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at the time dismissed Siemens and Alstom's argument that merging the unit would enable them to compete with their bigger Chinese state-owned rival CRRC in the European market.

"Maybe there'll be a new window and the EU expands its view. The train market is global and a Siemens Alstom merger does not threaten competition in light of China's market dominance," Kaeser was quoted as saying.

"For now I don't see a chance."

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)