Twenty-four leaders of European railways, including SNCF President Jean-Pierre Varando, want to work together to “Improving the attractiveness of railroads across the continent”claiming ‘Huge European investment’ to connect A new European railway agreement.. “The train is the most environmentally responsible motorized mode of transportation”leaders’ appeal In a column published in France on February 20 by The Sunday newspaperSorry about that “The share of railways in passenger and freight transport is still very low”.
“Because we share the conviction that railways play a major role in the fight against climate change, we are concretely committed to the development of trains in Europe”they write before a european railway summit Which you should meet them on Monday at SNCF headquarters. They promise improved customer service, greener and more recyclable trains, an effort to innovate and more diversified employment, and to make room for women and youth.
The climate issue as an argument
“This deal is ambitious: we can only succeed together.”Despite the differences and competition between their companies, they claimed. With A common goal: to increase the share of railways in transport and thus contribute to achieving climate neutrality by 2050.. We need member states and the European Union. We invite them to support this agreement by committing to setting clear normative transformation goals at the national level.”insist on leaders.
New resources are needed to improve the financing of the rail and public transport system. To invest heavily in the modernization of rail networks, increasing their capacity and interoperability, to modernize rail cars, we need resources. »
They also call on Brussels and the member states to do so “Promoting the rules of fair competition between modes of transport”, taking into account in particular their environmental footprint. On the French side, in addition to Jean-Pierre Varandou, the platform was signed by the Managing Director of Getlink (Eurotunnel), Yann Leriche, and the President of Lisea (franchisee of the Tours-Bordeaux line), Hervé Le Caignec, in his capacity as well as by the general managers of Thalys and Eurostar and SNCF.
With nearly 29,000 kilometers of lines, the French railway network is the second longest in Europe. Its density – the ratio between the total length of railways and the area of \u200b\u200bthe territory – is close to that of Italy and the UK, higher than Spain but clearly lower than Germany.
He also signed, among others, the heads of the German national railway companies Deutsche Bahn, Austrian ÖBB, Belgian SNCB, Danish DSB, Finnish VR, Hungarian MAV, Italian FS, Luxembourg CFL, Dutch NS, Portuguese CP, Slovenian SZ and Swiss SBB.
