An exciting and encouraging article in the Guardian a few days ago about the Europpean Union’s plans, to be presented this autumn, to significantly upgrader train travel across the bloc so it can compete with planes on connectivity and cost.
The European Commission will present a plan this autumn to significantly boost high-speed rail travel in Europe, said transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, as he promised a “long-term vision for a more connected, efficient and competitive network across Europe” based on “coordinated planning, financing and implementation”. The EU, he said, is determined to build genuine “passenger-centred, attractive and affordable rail services”, the aim being that “people will choose the train not just because it is more sustainable but because it is the more comfortable, faster and more affordable option for long-distance travel in Europe.”
Long-distance rail travel in Europe has long suffered from poor coordination with different line gauges, operating technologies and signalling systems, making connectivity, more difficult. Tzitzikostas referred to “systemic bottlenecks” which, if addressed would be a start to unblocking a better future.
The article refers to a recent survey which found that three in four EU citizens would prefer to take a high-speed train instead of a plane if connections between capitals and major cities were faster and more reliable.
Here in Spain we are somewhat outside the main hub of EU rail development, despite the fact that the Spanish government is investing heavily in high-speed rail. But a history of different line gauges and our geographic location at the extreme west side of the bloc have tended to push us somewhat to the margins. The hope is, however, that the prospect of a Spain-Morocco rail tunnel, perhaps by the mid 2030s, might help to redress that balance and raise the stakes for Spain, particularly here in its southern regions.
Read the Guardian story here.