2025: finally a breakthrough for cross-border passenger rail in the EU?
Boosting passenger train transport is key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of transport and for accelerating Europe’s energy transition. Are EU railways on track? Establishing a fair picture of the state of Europe’s passenger railways is a hard task. It is essentially a question of whether you see the train as half full or half empty. Jon Worth reports. At one level, the railway industry can point to a strong rebound of passenger numbers post-COVID pandemic, with 2023 passenger-kilometres in Europe surpassing those of the previous highest in 2019 for the first time. But with rail’s modal share hovering around 8% in most European countries, and it hitting just 20% in leader Switzerland, there is obvious potential to do a lot better. The impetus of changed work patterns post-pandemic (and an accompanied decline in business travel) has been more than outweighed by greater passenger numbers for leisure journeys. 2023 was a record year for the sale of Europe-wide Interrail passes – a leisure product. Environmental sustainability concerns among consumers, and the variety of geopolitical crises …
Boosting passenger train transport is key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of transport and for accelerating Europe’s energy transition. Are EU railways on track? Establishing a fair picture of the state of Europe’s passenger railways is a hard task. It is essentially a question of whether you see the train as half full or half empty. Jon Worth reports. Credits: Jon Worth At one…
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