Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter

A rail renaissance for Europe

Lena Donat 28th January 2021

The European Year of Rail can support the Green Deal and sustainable recovery. Europe needs more international trains with easier booking.

European Year of Rail,rail renaissance
Lena Donat

The Covid-19 crisis has turned our mobility patterns upside down. Working from home has become the new normal, companies have discovered the benefits of online meetings and travellers are likely to spend holidays closer to home.

At the same time, the climate crisis is forcing us to rethink the way we travel and transport goods. The European Union can only reach its climate-neutrality target if transport emissions drop.

We cannot go back to pre-pandemic transport patterns; rather, we should use the dislocation to reinvent mobility in Europe. Luckily, we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Rail is the cleanest and most reliable means of long-distance transport and we can build on the railway network constructed over two centuries in Europe, turning rail again into the backbone of a sustainable system.

Growing momentum

The momentum for a European rail renaissance is growing. A recent survey by the European Investment Bank revealed that 74 per cent of respondents intended to fly less frequently for environmental reasons, once restrictions were lifted, and 71 per cent planned to choose trains over planes for short-haul trips.

Our job is keeping you informed!


Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Social Europe content.


We will never send you spam and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Thank you!

Please check your inbox and click on the link in the confirmation email to complete your newsletter subscription.

.

The rail system is not yet in shape, though. On average, rail accounts for only 8 per cent of passenger transport. The Achilles heel is cross-border rail: the European system is only a patchwork of national systems. Ask anyone who has ever tried to cross several European countries by train.

While an extensive network of day-and-night trains connected cities across Europe only a few decades ago, most of these lines have been discontinued. Today, not even all the capitals of neighbouring countries are connected via attractive rail services. Travellers often need to change trains several times and risk missing the connecting train. There is no direct connection between Madrid and Paris or Paris and Berlin; the 600km trip from Madrid to Lisbon requires three changes and takes 11 hours.

Untapped potential

These city links offer a large untapped potential for rail. Before the coronavirus crisis, more than 3,000 people flew every day between Berlin and Paris. Yet rail can only become a serious alternative if the services are fast and convenient. Direct services between capitals and major cities are the minimum.

This does not necessarily require new infrastructure. More efficient use of existing rail tracks and better co-ordination of timetables would often do the job. Why is it not happening?

First, rail operators and governments focus on their national market and often lack an international vision. Secondly, running international trains is much more complex and expensive: rolling stock needs to be designed and licensed for different national electricity, signalling and safety systems; drivers need to speak the languages of each country; operators need to apply for track capacity with the network managers of each state. Harmonisation of rules and standards will take time.


We need your support


Social Europe is an independent publisher and we believe in freely available content. For this model to be sustainable, however, we depend on the solidarity of our readers. Become a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month and help us produce more articles, podcasts and videos. Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

European vision

What is needed to overcome these obstacles is first and foremost a European spirit—a vision of a larger and truly European rail network. The German transport minister, Andreas Scheuer, proposed in September 2020 to revive the Trans-Europe Express, which offered long-distance services across western and central Europe in the 1960s and 70s.

Scheuer proposed initially eight international routes, with one daily train pair each—a good starting point. But the European network we need should offer frequent services, integrate ultra-long-distance trains with shorter lines and connect to regional services. Rail operators, network managers and governments across Europe should join forces to build such a European vision.

This should not pre-empt the launch of new international rail services in the meantime. A start could be a new east-west European line connecting Warsaw to Paris or a north-south line from Amsterdam to Barcelona. Given the administrative and technical hurdles international rail faces, this will require a political push and start-up support from governments. Governments should also facilitate co-ordination among the different actors.

Currently impossible

Travelling by rail needs to become at least as easy as travelling by plane. This also applies to the booking of tickets.

It is currently impossible to find and compare all rail services and prices online. For non-direct international services this means travellers need to buy tickets for each leg of the journey. It is not possible to book a ticket from Frankfurt to Barcelona online—neither on the website of one of the involved rail operators (Deutsche Bahn, SNCF, Renfe) nor on independent sites such as Trainline or Omio. In contrast, amid the pandemic Google Flights indicated 60 flight connections and respective prices for this route.

It is difficult to understand why one can easily book a plane ticket to another continent yet not a rail ticket to a European neighbour. Technically, it is already possible to integrate the necessary information from different operators. But European law does not yet oblige them to share fares and real-time data—platform changes, delays. Yet the latter are critical for a seamless journey and for passengers to be able to find alternative connections in case of disruption.

Few member states have moved beyond EU requirements, creating legal fragmentation. Finland requires all public-transport operators to grant access to all relevant data and to share these via an Application Programming Interface. This allows mobility providers to offer truly multi-modal tickets.

The European Commission and national governments have long trusted in the rail operators to find a common solution—but this has never appeared. The European Year of Rail 2021 is the right moment to solve this question and bring rail booking into the 21st century.

Infrastructure improvements

Although much can be done with existing infrastructure, an attractive rail network will require improvements. In many eastern-European member states, the network only allows for very slow operating speeds. Border crossings and key EU corridors will also need attention. Out of the 365 cross-border rail links that once existed, 149 were not operational in 2018.

EU funding makes up an important share of overall transport infrastructure funding and can be a lever for other sources. Yet too much goes into roads and airports, too little into rail. Much even of that is spent on mega-projects with exploding costs, long delays and sometimes only limited European value. The European Court of Auditors cautioned in 2018 that projects were often chosen on a political basis—not sound cost-benefit analysis—and lacked co-ordination across borders.

Instead, EU funding should support the modal shift towards rail and prioritise projects that are key to cross-border connectivity. The focus should be on low-hanging fruit (such as electrification) instead of new mega-projects. EU institutions also need to make sure that member states accompany interventions with transformative policy measures which guarantee the efficient use of the infrastructure.

In this European Year of Rail, the EU and national governments need to seize those low-hanging fruit which could improve international rail services immediately and initiate a rail renaissance. This can help the EU achieve its climate targets, drive European recovery and connect people, cities and countries.

Lena Donat

Lena Donat is senior adviser for low-carbon mobility at the environmental NGO Germanwatch and co-operates with other European NGOs in the 'Europe on Rail' initiative to build support for a rail renaissance in Europe.

Home ・ Society ・ A rail renaissance for Europe

Most Popular Posts

Boris Johnson, Brexit, Conservative,conservatism Boris Johnson: blustering onPaul Mason
deglobalisation,deglobalization,Davos Getting deglobalisation rightJoseph Stiglitz
schools,Sweden,Swedish,voucher,choice Sweden’s schools: Milton Friedman’s wet dreamLisa Pelling
world order,Russia,China,Europe,United States,US The coming world orderMarc Saxer
south working,remote work ‘South working’: the future of remote workAntonio Aloisi and Luisa Corazza

Most Recent Posts

public services,public service,women,public service workers Public services should not be the victims of inflationIrene Ovonji-Odida
gdp,gross domestic product Let’s count what really mattersJayati Ghosh
green transition,just transition,fossil fuel,energy transition,Ukraine,Russia Ukraine and the geopolitics of the energy transitionBéla Galgóczi and Paolo Tomassetti
energy,efficiency,generation,solar,price,inflation From subsidising energy to reducing dependenceHans Dubois
SPO,Rendi-Wagner,Austria,social democratic,social democrat,social democracy A social-democratic decade ahead?Robert Misik

Other Social Europe Publications

National recovery and resilience plans
The transatlantic relationship
Women and the coronavirus crisis
RE No. 12: Why No Economic Democracy in Sweden?
US election 2020

Eurofound advertisement

Minimum wages in 2022: annual review

Nominal minimum wage rates rose significantly in 2022, compared with 2021. In 20 of the 21 European Union member states with statutory minimum wages, rates increased. When inflation is taken into account, however, the minimum wage increased in real terms in only six member states. If current inflation trends continue, minimum wages will barely grow at all in real terms in any country in 2022.


AVAILABLE HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

EU Care Atlas: a new interactive data map showing how care deficits affect the gender earnings gap in the EU

Browse through the EU Care Atlas, a new interactive data map to help uncover what the statistics are often hiding: how care deficits directly feed into the gender earnings gap.

While attention is often focused on the gender pay gap (13%), the EU Care Atlas brings to light the more worrisome and complex picture of women’s economic inequalities. The pay gap is just one of three main elements that explain the overall earnings gap, which is estimated at 36.7%. The EU Care Atlas illustrates the urgent need to look beyond the pay gap and understand the interplay between the overall earnings gap and care imbalances.


BROWSE THROUGH THE MAP

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

ETUI/ETUC conference: A Blueprint for Equality

Join us at the three-day hybrid conference ‘A blueprint for equality’ (22-24 June).

The case against inequality has already been strongly articulated. Inequality is not just incidental to a particular crisis but a structural problem created by an economic model. Now is the time to explore what real equality should look like.

As a media partner of this event, Social Europe is delighted to invite you to this three-day conference, organised by the ETUI and ETUC. More than 90 speakers from the academic world, international organisations, trade unions and NGOs will participate, including the economist Thomas Piketty and the European commissioner Nicolas Schmit.


MORE INFOMATION HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us on social media

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube