Breakfast in Paris, lunch in Frankfurt and dinner in Vienna — all without the hassle and frustration of flying. Imagine a network of modern, super-fast and comfortable trains hurtling between every major city in the European Union, providing a reliable, comfortable and sustainable alternative to air travel.
That was the vision outlined by rail industry leaders in Lyon, France, on 29 June, amid ambitious European plans to double high-speed rail use by 2030 and triple current levels by 2050.
Only a massive — and accelerated — expansion of the high-speed network can achieve these hugely ambitious targets, but are they a realistic and affordable proposition? Unlike many parts of the world, Europe already has thousands of kilometers of dedicated high-speed railway. France’s world-famous TGVs, Germany’s ICE and Spain’s AVE have transformed rail travel over the last 40 years, but they remain largely focused on domestic markets.
That’s no surprise. When countries are investing billions of euros in new infrastructure, political pressure to squeeze out the maximum benefit for taxpayers is inevitable.
Building lines across international borders, even within the European Union, creates tension over who pays for what, how the contracts are allocated, conflicting national standards and regulations and a host of other obstacles. For decades it’s been too easy to kick difficult projects down the road until they become someone else’s problem.
Can’t happen soon enough.
Yes please, flying is so annoying…
transeuropean maglev network when
Who gets to have the central “hub”? Munich, Prague or vienna? Cause thats going to be big business!
Are every country going to have a hub connecting to All their neighboors? Cause then it is Probably going to be a slow journey
Unless the prices lower I really don’t see myself using it. Tried buying a train ticket in the middle of summer when I was in Brussels to Paris and back for a few days and it was 450 euros for 2 people… ended up with a flixbus for 120 euros for 2 people.
So do I.
Imagine a network of high-speed lines connecting capitals, without shitty transfers or German-style fragmented segments. Brussels-Vienna, 300 km/h continuously, no ifs no buts. What a great continent we’d have.
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Breakfast in Paris, lunch in Frankfurt and dinner in Vienna — all without the hassle and frustration of flying. Imagine a network of modern, super-fast and comfortable trains hurtling between every major city in the European Union, providing a reliable, comfortable and sustainable alternative to air travel.
That was the vision outlined by rail industry leaders in Lyon, France, on 29 June, amid ambitious European plans to double high-speed rail use by 2030 and triple current levels by 2050.
Only a massive — and accelerated — expansion of the high-speed network can achieve these hugely ambitious targets, but are they a realistic and affordable proposition? Unlike many parts of the world, Europe already has thousands of kilometers of dedicated high-speed railway. France’s world-famous TGVs, Germany’s ICE and Spain’s AVE have transformed rail travel over the last 40 years, but they remain largely focused on domestic markets.
That’s no surprise. When countries are investing billions of euros in new infrastructure, political pressure to squeeze out the maximum benefit for taxpayers is inevitable.
Building lines across international borders, even within the European Union, creates tension over who pays for what, how the contracts are allocated, conflicting national standards and regulations and a host of other obstacles. For decades it’s been too easy to kick difficult projects down the road until they become someone else’s problem.
Can’t happen soon enough.
Yes please, flying is so annoying…
transeuropean maglev network when
Who gets to have the central “hub”? Munich, Prague or vienna? Cause thats going to be big business!
Are every country going to have a hub connecting to All their neighboors? Cause then it is Probably going to be a slow journey
Unless the prices lower I really don’t see myself using it. Tried buying a train ticket in the middle of summer when I was in Brussels to Paris and back for a few days and it was 450 euros for 2 people… ended up with a flixbus for 120 euros for 2 people.
So do I.
Imagine a network of high-speed lines connecting capitals, without shitty transfers or German-style fragmented segments. Brussels-Vienna, 300 km/h continuously, no ifs no buts. What a great continent we’d have.