The future of European rail: what to expect from the EU and member states
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
On 13 October, Europe on Rail will hold an online conference on the role of rail within the European Green deal. It will tackle the future of European rail and what to expect from the EU and member states.
The climate and Ukrainian crisis require the EU saving energy and phasing out carbon emissions at unprecedented pace, which can only happen with a dramatic reduction of oil and gas consumption. The role of the transport sector in this effort is key, as it represents around 25% of overall emissions in the EU. Thus, improving cross-border travel is essential to align with the Fit for 55 roadmap, planning for a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030.
Even with strong political support, air-travel in the best scenarios will take at least until 2050 to become almost climate-compatible. High-speed rail is available today. This makes rail the indicated solution to address climate issues in the transport sector. It is a climate-friendly mode of transportation that has an important role to play in reaching climate targets commitments, and a historic chance to increase its share of travelling across Europe and reduce the share of road and air travel. So far, the share of rail is only 7% of cross-border traffic but with fuel prices and climate costs weighing in on road and air travel, there is an opportunity that rail should take advantage of.
However trans-European services are lacking a competent European coordination mechanism. The rail network is in dire need of solutions regarding interoperability (different gauges, voltages, signalling systems), important missing infrastructure links and coordination between operators and countries to improve services. There are still important bottlenecks that need to be solved in order to acquire an efficient trans-European network.
The conference will reflect on how to align infrastructure investments with our climate targets and who should become a driving force to improve trans-European rail services.
See below the list of prominent speakers that will take the floor during the conference:
- Daniel Mes, Member of Cabinet for Transport of the Vice-President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal
- Jakop Dalunde, Member of the European Parliament, Transport Committee
- Jon Worth, Founder of Trains for Europe and cross-European train traveller
- Philippe Citroën, Director General of UNIFE
- Dariush Kowsar, Director Europe SNCF Réseau
- Lorelei Limousin, Campaigner Climate and Transport, Greenpeace Europe
- Stefan Roseanu, President of the Romanian Railway Reform Authority
- Kristian Schmidt, Director for Land Transport at the European Commission
- Ralf Schweinsberg, Director Investment in the Railways at the German Ministry for Digital and Transport
- Helena Fortea, Communication & Sustainable Mobility Project Officer, Eco-union
- Valentin Desfontaines, Responsable Mobilités durables, Réseau Action Climat France
Moderation: Jacob Rohm, Coordinator Europe on Rail | Germanwatch
Register here for free to join the conference!
Or follow the livestream on YouTube.
