The Transport Ministers of Belgium, Austria and Luxembourg, as well as MEPs and numerous associations, call European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to act upon the recent renaissance of night trains and present a European strategy to develop a comprehensive night train network. They sent an open letter to the EU’s highest officials this week.
“There is a strong public demand for a European night train network, as seven out of ten Europeans would consider shifting to travelling by night train”, the signatories write. However, the comeback of night trains is severely hampered by high track access charges and the financial risks of investing in night train rolling stock, they note. Not to mention the technical barriers and no proper coordination of timetables between the European countries, no long-term security of track access in the form of framework agreements, and the lack of comprehensive booking platforms.
The open letter is signed by several transport or mobility Ministers of European countries, namely Georges Gilkinet of Belgium, Leonore Gewessler of Austria and Francois Bausch of Luxembourg. Also 9 European Parliament members of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) including chair Karima Delli, and numerous associations signed the letter: the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants in Europe (ALLRAIL), the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), the European Network of Business Travel Associations (BT4Europe), the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Rail Supply Industry Association UNIFE.