Articles about rail travel in Europe often rhapsodise about the romance of the train, especially the night train – going to sleep in one city and waking in another. And when it comes to the environment, EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean described it as a “game changer” because it is “a truly sustainable form of passenger transport”.
The reality however, for cross-border travel, is a fragmented system, reeling from years of underinvestment and patchy cooperation between rail companies. And so environmentally unfriendly – but speedy – flights from budget airlines continue to be the preferred choice for most passengers.
“If somebody told me in 1995 that it’s going to take 30 years before you see significant change, I would have said, yep, well, I think I might do overseas development,” joked former British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, when he spoke to Investigate Europe about his time as EU commissioner for transport.
