This week the European Commission released a plan to remedy a key hurdle to promoting overnight rail travel; a shortage of actual trains. Photo / Pexel
This week the European Commission released a plan to remedy a key hurdle to promoting overnight rail travel; a shortage of actual trains. Photo / Pexel
An overnight train that pulls you through European towns may seem romantic, but the dream rarely trumps cheap, fast short-haul flights for travellers.
Night trains have steadily decreased in popularity over the years. Between 2001 and 2019, 65 per cent of overnight routes shut down as people favoured planes.
So, when the climate crisis reached new levels of urgency, the EU began discussing how to shift passengers back towards sleeper trains to help achieve their goal of a 55 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030.
There was just one small issue. Since the shutdown of routes, the EU didn't actually have enough sleeper trains if they were to encourage more people towards sustainable rail travel.
On Tuesday, the European Commission published an action plan to support all forms of long-distance rail and remedy the sleeper train shortage.
Part of the plan involved the 'Green Rail Investment Platform', which would allow train companies to apply for loans from the European Investment Bank with longer repayment periods to help them purchase more carriages and trains.
Part of air travel's rise in popularity is due to low costs for passengers. However, the price is now being paid by the environment.
As the climate crisis becomes ever more urgent, countries like Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Norway and the Netherlands have all committed to various kinds of public investment towards night service trains.
France has taken the commitment one step further, discussing a ban for fuel-intensive short-haul flights in circumstances where a train could be taken.
A promising start but one that doesn't resolve two key issues; a shortage of sleeper carriages and lack of an integrated program across countries.
According to expert Jon Worth, the former issue is caused by the latter.
Jon Worth, long time rail traveller and blogger is dedicating to helping increase the number of night train services in Europe Photo / Trains for Europe
"A load of countries in Europe are thinking about this problem, but thinking about it separately," said Worth, a blogger behind the Trains for Europe campaign, which is dedicated to finding ways to fund new stock.
Worth appears to be right; the issue certainly isn't because the EU haven't dedicated enough money towards the cause.
Over the last five years, the European Investment Bank invested €8.7 billion in 'rolling stock' (a term that describes all railway vehicles including freight and passenger cars).
As per Tuesday's new plan, the EIB will allow long repayment periods for railways to enable them to secure larger loans.
Sweden and Norway are considering purchasing new rolling stock for cross-border services while France's Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari wants to buy 300 new night train carriages before 2030. Italy and Spain are debating buying dozens of carriages for their own national lines.
However, as Worth said, the approaches aren't necessarily integrated.
"If all of those countries do their own thing, you end up with a piecemeal patchwork solution which doesn't suit Europe very well," he said.
Some countries are already experienced at playing trains together. SNCF in France, Austria's ÖBB, Deutsche Bahn, SBB in Switzerland and Dutch railway NS have teamed up under a cooperation deal to run sleeper trains.
However, the collaboration doesn't appear to cover purchasing new trains, which can cost €30 million per seven-carriage train.
By requiring countries to purchase new trains together, Worth said the Commission could kill two birds with one stone; reducing the cost and ensuring trains can run on different local networks.
Deutsche Bahn has joined forces with SNCF, ÖBB, SBB and NS under a cooperation deal to run sleeper trains. Photo / Unsplash
The discontinuity between countries has already prevented necessary strides in railway travel.
A planned sleeper from Malmö in Sweden to Copenhagen, Hamburg the Brussels was axed simply because no rail operator would run the German leg.
Germany cut night trains in 2010 and despite being Europe's largest economy, refuses to do anything above allowing other state railways to use their tracks.
Several plans to create new networks running South or West of Europe have been hindered by Germany's indifference.
"[Germany is] really a black island for night trains," Denmark's Transport Minister Benny Engelbrecht told POLITICO.
"That's really a big barrier for night trains in Europe ... We would also like to see the general rules and guidelines within the EU to promote night trains."
Engelbrecht supported the joint purchase of trains. In a letter with peers from Belgium and Sweden, the minister challenged Vălean to "take leadership" and remove "troublesome hurdles for the establishment of new cross-border night-train services".
Belgium's Green Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet said for night trains to truly succeed, hurdles needed to be removed.
"There are still too many technical, legal and economic obstacles to international night trains," he said.
Passengers wait for a train in Berlin. Photo / Unsplash
After financing and universal systems are established, there will still remain a considerable issue; getting passengers on board — literally.
"We have to love night trains, it's nowadays the mantra," said Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean during the plan's presentation.
