New mobility in travel: Europe to be connected by the latest high-speed railways by 2040
Kyiv • UNN
The European Commission has unveiled a plan to connect all European capitals with high-speed rail lines by 2040. This involves expanding existing lines and creating new ones, allowing trains to reach speeds of over 250 km/h.
The European Commission on Wednesday, November 5, presented an ambitious new plan to connect all capitals with high-speed rail lines by 2040. UNN reports with reference to Le Figaro.
Details
The European Commission on Wednesday presented two plans to promote a new type of fast low-carbon transport. The main directions of the project to complete the construction of Europe's high-speed rail network, which will connect European capitals by 2040 by expanding existing lines and creating new ones, were presented.
New lines are expected to be created, such as the line between Lisbon and Paris via Madrid, the capital of Spain.
Trains will reach speeds significantly above 250 km/h (155 mph) where possible to provide faster connections across the continent. .. A passenger will thus be able to get from Copenhagen to Berlin in just four hours instead of the current seven, or from Athens to Sofia in just six hours instead of 13 hours and 40 minutes today
Connecting major European cities with lines at speeds of at least 200 km/h should make rail travel a more attractive option compared to flying.
To achieve this goal, the European Commission is preparing several sets of proposals. Among them:
- removing barriers to cross-border travel, in particular by harmonizing ticketing systems;
- promoting competition to reduce train fares;
- combining the efforts of states, the railway sector and financial institutions to plan the necessary colossal investments. This refers to at least 345 billion euros by 2040 and more than 500 billion by 2050.
Addition
The high-speed rail plan is currently a recommendation for EU member states. However, the commission intends to continue discussions on expansion plans with national governments.
By 2027, these plans should be sufficiently detailed for the Commission to make them binding on member states through "implementation decisions."
Recall
Ukrzaliznytsia joins the winter support announced by the President with the "UZ-3000" program, which will allow to travel 3000 km for free.
In Ukraine, the cost of tickets for some trains may increase, and freight tariffs are also expected to be indexed.