On the eve of a meeting at the SNCF headquarters, 24 leaders of European railway companies ask, in a tribune published in the “Journal du Sunday”, a massive EU investment to compete with the air and Road transport.
Le Monde with AFP
Twenty-four leaders of European railway companies, including the boss of the SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou, want to work together to “improve the attractiveness of rail anywhere on the continent”, claiming “a massive European investment” to tie “A new European railway pact”. “The train is the most eco-friendly motorized mode of transport”, plead the leaders in a tribune published in France Sunday, February 20 in the newspaper of Sunday , Singer from what “the share of the railway in the transport of passengers and goods remains so low”.
“Because we share the belief that the railway has a key role to play in the fight against climate change, we are committed concretely for the development of the train in Europe,” they write before a “European rail veteur” who must bring them together on Monday at the SNCF headquarters. They promise an improvement in customer experience, greener trains and more recyclable, an effort on more diverse innovation and recruitment, making more room for women and young people.
The issue climate as an argument
“This pact is ambitious: we will only succeed”, despite the differences and competition between their companies, they claim. With “a common goal: increase the share of the railway in transport and thus contribute to reaching climate neutrality by 2050”. “We need member states and the European Union. We call them to support this pact by committing to setting clear modal reporting goals at the national level,” insist leaders.
“New resources are needed to better finance the railway system and public transport. To invest heavily in the modernization of the rail networks, to increase their capacity and interoperability, to modernize the rolling stock, we need means. “
They also call Brussels and Member States to “promote rules of equitable competition between modes of transport”, taking into account their ecological footprint. French side In addition to Jean-Pierre Farandou, the Tribune is signed by the General Manager of Getlink (Eurotunnel) Yann Leriche and the President of Lisa (dealer of the Tours-Bordeaux line) Hervé The Caignc, as well as by the General Managers of Thalys and Eurostar, SNCF subsidiaries.
With nearly 29,000 km of lines, the French rail network is the second longest in Europe. Its density – ratio between the total length of the rail lines and the area of the territory – is close to that of Italy and the United Kingdom, superior to Spain but significantly lower than Germany.
Also sign, among others, the bosses of the National Societies of the German Railways Deutsche Bahn, Austrian ÖBB, Belgian SNCB, Danish DSB, Finnish VR, Hungarian MÁV, Italian FS, Luxembourg CFL, Dutch NS, Portuguese CP, Slovenian SZ and Switzerland SBB.