European cross-border rail services - public-service remit
14.4.2021
Question for written answer E-002007/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Tom Vandenkendelaere (PPE)
2021 is the European Year of Rail, which aims to highlight rail as a sustainable, smart and safe mode of transport.[1] The Commission wants to encourage both people and businesses to choose the train and thus help the EU achieve its climate targets. The Green Deal prioritises the target of transporting 75% of freight by rail and inland waterway. Better and more efficient rail services could also replace the many short-haul flights to destinations in Europe. At all events, the revival of night trains in recent years is a positive development.[2]
Rail operators, however, are encountering many obstacles to the development of these cross-border rail networks, for the simple reason that, unlike air travel for example, railways are inherently national. National railway operators thus focus on carrying out their domestic and not a European public-service remit, to the detriment of international services and interoperability.
- 1.Can and will the Commission step up its efforts to promote cross-border rail services in Europe, with the aim of increasing interoperability and strengthening the European rail network?
- 2.If it considers this appropriate and receives support from Member States, can and will the Commission draw up a public-service remit for European cross-border rail services?