My earlier post about new night train company Midnight Trains has drawn quite some critique – that having ambitious goals is all very well (people even cited Elon Musk), and that even including a Paris-Edinburgh train in the plans is hence fine. All that is needed is a bit of […]
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Von der Leyen promises €85bn for sustainable transport – night train rolling stock would be an ideal use for it!
Speaking in the European Parliament earlier this week, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen set out some details of European Union Member States’ post-COVID national recovery and resilience plans, and gave some details of the scale of the budget for transport: Let me give you some figures. […]
Read MoreRevival of the Trans Europ Express (TEE) – these plans are going to need some new trains
Nostalgia is important in railways. Families and enthusiasts alike visit heritage railways, and railway companies across Europe try to motivate passengers to take trains today using symbolism of the past. And there is no symbolism stronger in cross-border rail in Europe than the Trans Europ Express (TEE), probably because more people alive […]
Read MoreThank you MEPs Delli and Cuffe for thinking of night trains as part of smart mobility in the EU
The European Parliament is currently debating an own-initiative report about a Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy for the EU – the whole legislative dossier is here, and German S&D MEP Ismail Ertug is the Rapporteur. MEPs – perhaps all of them stuck at home and suffering from the same wanderlust […]
Read More“Rail at the forefront of smart and sustainable mobility” – Council of the EU conclusions offer scope for night train investment
The Council of the European Union today adopted Council Conclusions on railways, entitled “Rail at the forefront of smart and sustainable mobility” – you can read the press story about this, quoting Portugal’s transport minister here. The full conclusions are here (PDF). As I see it these are the two […]
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