A majority of people would prefer to take a high-speed train rather than fly for trips covering “short and medium distances” around the European Union (EU), according to some of the continent’s leading railway companies, quoting survey results.
Despite a recent revival of overnight and long-haul rail offerings across the continent, around 90% of people do not regard “transport connections” between countries as “adequate”, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) said, after backing a survey of around 5,000 people in the EU’s 27 member states.
According to the CER, “... three in four EU citizens would take a high-speed train instead of a plane when travelling across Europe for short and medium distances if there were fast and reliable high-speed rail connections between European capitals and major urban areas.”
Around half the people surveyed believe that transport “must be improved to make travel significantly faster and easier”, while 79% said they “agree that Europe should invest more in high-speed rail”.
“We now need the European Union to align with citizens’ expectations by proposing an ambitious action plan for a high-speed rail network encompassing all EU capitals and major urban areas for a better connected future,” said Alberto Mazzola, executive director of the CER, which describes itself as “the voice of European railways”.
According to the CER, the European Commission is talking about a high-speed rail network linking the continent’s 27 capitals and cities of more than 250,000 people.
Established operators such as Deutsche Bahn and OBB, both CER members, have been joined by newer providers such as European Sleeper in expanding or reviving long-haul rail options in Europe.
Meanwhile, governments such as France’s have sought to limit short-haul flying, while the Netherlands has restricted night flights at Amsterdam Schiphol, one of the continent’s busiest airports.
Berlin-based logistics company Nox announced in June that it aims to roll out “affordable” overnight train connections between around 20 European cities, promising rooms for one or two people for “the price of a flight”. – dpa
