Bus often faster than rail in Portugal, analysis shows
Express bus services often beat the long-distance train in Portugal when it comes to travel time, an analysis by Portuguese economic newspaper ECO has shown. Bus services arrive…
Switzerland modifies 2050 rail plan focussing on short distances
Improving rail services primarily on short and medium distances, such as increasing the S-Bahn services, is the new strategy for Switzerland. To this end, the Swiss Federal Council…
Interview
Booking an international train journey fails 10 times more often than a flight, why is it more difficult?
“We all know that booking international rail tickets can be quite difficult, but how big is the problem?” That was the question that Thomas Preslmayr and students of…
Analysis
Are the benefits of shifting short flights to rail overestimated?
According to a report commissioned by five airline associations, the CO2 benefits of shifting short haul flights to rail are limited. The report aims to highlight the fact…
How can the share of rail be increased? The EU commission wants to know
Cross-border freight and passenger services continue to face barriers limiting their competitiveness and attractiveness, the European Commission notes. A new consultation is launched by the EU to take…
33 European rail players sign pact: ‘massive investment in rail is needed’
Europe’s major railway players have called for massive investments in rail. 33 railway companies from 24 European countries signed a pact to that end during the European Railway…
Former SpaceX engineers to reinvent rail with platooning wagons
Parallel Systems, a company founded by former SpaceX engineers, has raised nearly 47 million euros in funding. With individually powered, autonomous battery-electric rail vehicles, freight can be transported…
Spain sets aside over €24 billion for rail infrastructure
The Spanish government will invest 24.2 billion euros in rail infrastructure over the next five years. This was announced by Minister of Transport and Mobility Raquel Sánchez this…
More money invested in roads than rail, where is the shift?
Railways are constantly hailed as the future for sustainable mobility, and leaders stumble over each other to say that we need a shift to rail. But when looking…
Greenpeace calls for ban on a third of EU’s busiest flights to shift to rail
One third of EU’s busiest flights have train alternatives under six hours, finds research by OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), commissioned by Greenpeace. The environmental action group calls to ban…
Digital platform helps goods from road to rail
Shippers that wonder if their transport could also be done by rail have just got a new way to find out. In MATCH 2 RAIL, they can upload…
‘Flight tax more important for shift to rail than lower track access charges’
“We have to reduce track access charges, and especially Germany has a problem with this”, said Oldag Caspar of Germanwatch during a panel discussion at the arrival of…
‘EU Year of Rail not extended, but one year definitely not enough’
The European Year of Rail will not be extended. This idea was proposed by Eu rail associations CER, EIM and UNIFE, considering the impact of the pandemic on…
French Rungis-Perpignan route to reopen after 2 years
The Rungis-Perpignan freight line connecting the Paris metropolitan area with southeastern France will reopen after two years of deactivation. The route will facilitate the intermodal transport of fresh…
France halves track access charges until 2024
The French government will invest 170 million euros per year until 2024 in the rail freight industry. Among other measures, half of the track access charges will be…