French and German train operators have launched a daily round-trip service between the two European capitals. They're betting that the journey time – eight hours – won't put off customers looking to keep their carbon footprint low.
Unfortunately, though, it also symbolises the dysfunction of cross-border rail in Europe. There is no European railway network as such, only a bunch of national networks, each run by a national railway country who regard international connections as an afterthought, and connections between European cities are whatever can be cobbled together from national links, with variations of top speed (in this case, France has a fast TGV network, but east of Strasbourg, progress slows down as Germany’s network is somewhat more variable). While the EU has some programmes to encourage the building of transnational rail corridors, they’re little more than lukewarm encouragements, which seldom get prioritised by the national rail operators whose call it is.
Had the EU some of the power of a federal government, including that of commissioning, planning and building cross-border infrastructure, there would be more of a chance of seeing a Shinkansen-class network binding the capitals of Europe with fast railway connections. Assuming, conservatively, a 300kmh top speed, Paris to Berlin could be brought down to under 4 hours, a duration competing comfortably with aviation.
Unfortunately, though, it also symbolises the dysfunction of cross-border rail in Europe. There is no European railway network as such, only a bunch of national networks, each run by a national railway country who regard international connections as an afterthought, and connections between European cities are whatever can be cobbled together from national links, with variations of top speed (in this case, France has a fast TGV network, but east of Strasbourg, progress slows down as Germany’s network is somewhat more variable). While the EU has some programmes to encourage the building of transnational rail corridors, they’re little more than lukewarm encouragements, which seldom get prioritised by the national rail operators whose call it is.
Had the EU some of the power of a federal government, including that of commissioning, planning and building cross-border infrastructure, there would be more of a chance of seeing a Shinkansen-class network binding the capitals of Europe with fast railway connections. Assuming, conservatively, a 300kmh top speed, Paris to Berlin could be brought down to under 4 hours, a duration competing comfortably with aviation.