The launch of high-speed rail service from Berlin to Warsaw is planned for 2030, and its extension to Kyiv is planned for 2040. This was announced by the new European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tsitsikostas, UNN reports.
Details
According to him, the next stage of development of the Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T will see the extension of the Berlin-Warsaw high-speed railway line to Kyiv.
I will make sure that this is a top priority, that this network develops... I will work very closely with Germany, Poland, and Ukraine
Apostolos Tsitsikostas noted that there are problems with increasing the speed of railway traffic on the Ukrainian side, but such problems are also observed in some eastern EU countries.
He stated that he would present a plan to connect EU capitals and major cities by high-speed rail, including night trains. In addition, Apostolos Tsitsikostas pledged to introduce a single digital option for booking and selling rail tickets in the first year of his mandate.
The deputies called on the future European Commissioner to be stricter with member states to fulfill their obligations to harmonize rail services in order to double rail traffic by 2050. In particular, it was proposed to introduce English as a second language for train drivers, as currently train drivers have to speak the language of each country they pass through, which leads to freight trains stopping at borders to change drivers.
Apostolos Tsitsikostas, for his part, announced his intention to implement the Combined Transport Directive, develop multimodal and intermodal transport and develop the necessary support measures to ensure equal conditions for all modes of transport.
Recall
Ukrzaliznytsia will present a new train schedule with expanded international and domestic connections. The presentation of the updated schedule will take place in November, and the changes will come into effect on December 15.