Status: 14.12.2021 7:18 p.m.
More connections, more passengers, more speed – but less complicated: The EU Commission wants to expand the EU-wide rail network and use it more. But the reality is still different.
Modern trains take passengers and freight quickly and safely to all major cities on the continent on well-developed routes. A click of the mouse is all it takes to book the Trans-Europa ticket, which makes the train a better alternative to car and plane. This is Europe’s brave new railway world as the EU Commission envisions it.
The reality is different: Although the number of rail travelers has increased, only seven percent of the rail kilometers traveled in the past 18 years were journeys across EU borders.
Brussels wants to expand connections in order to bring more passengers and goods onto the rails, says Deputy Commissioner Frans Timmermans. He explains: “Our package also contains many concrete advantages for our citizens. In order to promote international train traffic, we are shortening travel times and making it easier to build a competitive network in Europe.”
Passengers should find cheap tickets more easily and have more rights in the event of disruptions. The Commission wants to examine an EU-wide VAT exemption for train tickets. The timetables are to be designed in such a way that faster cross-border connections are possible.
At least 160 kilometers per hour
On the important routes through Europe, passenger trains should travel at least 160 kilometers per hour or faster. This could cut the travel time between Copenhagen and Hamburg by two hours to 2.5 hours.
Airports should be easier to reach for train travelers in order to make shorter flights superfluous. “There are still four flights a day between Brussels and Amsterdam and there is a train. People take the plane because it is more convenient for luggage or connecting flights. By making passengers more comfortable, they can make a choice that corresponds to our climate goals, “explains Timmermans.
Freight transport: Less waiting time at the borders
A minimum speed of 100 kilometers per hour is provided for freight traffic. At the borders he should have to wait a maximum of 15 minutes. The goal: to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and triple it by 2050.
New high-speed connections are to be built between Porto and Vigo in the very west of Europe and Budapest and Bucharest in the south-east of the continent. According to EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, this will cost an additional 247 billion euros by the middle of the century, but it will also create around 850,000 new jobs. “This network is to Europe’s economy what arteries and veins are to the body. If they are damaged, the body doesn’t work,” says Valean.
A charging station for e-cars every 60 kilometers
The charging infrastructure for cars and trucks is also to be expanded: on Europe’s motorways there should be a charging station every 60 kilometers for e-cars and every 150 kilometers for hydrogen-powered vehicles. For the EU to achieve its climate target, greenhouse gas emissions from transport must fall by 90 percent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
The European CDU speaks of a good balance between demands from industry and the member states. The Greens are calling for an end to the tariff jungle for train tickets and the expansion of the night train network. The EU has already taken a small step towards the new world of railways: in the morning, the first night train from Vienna since 2007 arrived in Paris.
From December 13th, the Nightjet will run three times a week from Vienna to Paris.
Image: AFP