Rail is a cornerstone of a European zero emission mobility system. It is highly electrified and energy efficient, but people have been let down by high prices and poor connections, reliability and services.
With 7% of passengers kilometres but just 0.4% of transport CO2 emissions, rail transport must be developed, alongside electric vehicles and clean fuels. Unlocking competition, improving ticketing and leveraging the existing infrastructure are key to incentivising rail.
Taxing planes more fairly in comparison to trains and fostering competition on the main train lines is the right way forward to develop rail potential. However, in some parts of the network, investment in upgrades is needed to ensure the higher passenger influx can be absorbed. Faster access to rolling stocks is also necessary.
The responsibility to deploy the full potential of rail lies with operators, infrastructure managers and governments. However, these are promising times for trains in Europe. Competition has started to develop in some countries, bringing more people into the trains and lowering the price of tickets. The Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation will also become a reality over the coming months. And the new EU budget discussion offers the chance to put the focus on how to invest more strategically in rail.
Find out more here:
Mind the gap! Europe’s Rail Operators: a Comparative Ranking
Sources:
For the numbers on top of the page: The European Environment Agency