On Monday 16 May, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Transport Committee debated the comparative advantages of the various modes of air, sea and rail transport, following a series of speeches by experts in the field.
While all MEPs seem to agree on the need to decarbonise transport in the EU, the approaches to be taken differ.
“All modes of transport can contribute to economic growth and development. We have to decarbonise everything, but we must not kill one for the sake of another”, said Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania) on the shift from air to rail transport.
“The move to ‘all rail’ is more of a slogan [than anything else]. You need rails for that, railways, but sometimes we don’t have them. You can’t put everything on rails”, he added.
For others, however, like Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Ireland), rail is a major part of the solution to achieving the EU’s climate and environmental goals.
“The airline industry does not have a good short and medium term plan to decarbonise. The rail sector wins hands down, even for short haul. (...) We really need to give a boost to the most sustainable modes and the easiest way to do that is by calculating the external costs and including them in our calculation method”, he said.
For others, while rail transport represents an alternative in some areas, existing problems should not be forgotten.
“There is too much railway nationalism. If we want multimodality, we need a real European sector”, said Jakop Dalunde (Greens/EFA, Sweden), lamenting the disparities in standards and the remaining technical constraints to achieving an “efficient” cross-border rail service.
Several MEPs also stressed the need to promote the digitalisation of the sector and to prepare the sector - through training - for the future jobs that will be created.
For others, tourism should not be forgotten in the overall equation. “We need to make the link with tourism greener and more digital. Mobility in Europe should be encouraged. Easy access to transport must be ensured, with good ticketing systems and fair prices. The Commission could launch initiatives in this area”, concluded Greek MEP Elena Koundourá (The Left). (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)