On Tuesday 14 November, the Austrian, Belgian and Luxembourg Transport Ministers, nine Members of the European Parliament and five civil society organisations and industry groups sent a letter to the European Commission calling for a European strategy for developing a comprehensive night train network.
They called on the Commission to allocate substantial European and national financial resources, in particular through the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’, to modernise existing rail infrastructure and eliminate missing links. They also asked to: - reduce track access charges for international trains; - guarantee rapid and cost-effective European approval of railway rolling stock; - enable the European Investment Bank (EIB) to grant more attractive loans; - free up data exchange in the European rail system according to sector; and - strengthen rail passengers’ rights.
The signatories said that these measures would “boost sustainable tourism, create job opportunities, strengthen our European rail industry and provide a climate-friendly alternative travel option”. “A comprehensive European night train network will provide substantial benefits to European citizens and strengthen our European values and unity by bringing Europeans closer together”, they concluded. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)