Railways Archives

MEPs are annoyed that a European Commission proposal to hand out €2.5 million to fund young students' travel around Europe will only receive a fraction of the budget they wanted.

German railway company Deutsche Bahn remains interested in setting up a Frankfurt-London route. The UK’s Brexit vote and potential relocation of financial services to mainland Europe means demand could skyrocket.

A ban on endocrine disruptors, the end of nuclear power and the suspension of the Lyon-Turin high-speed train line: this is Yannick Jadot’s price for supporting Socialist candidate for the French presidency Benoît Hamon. Euractiv France reports.

Baltic state leaders inked a deal on Tuesday (31 January) to build a high-speed rail link to Berlin and Western Europe that has taken on added significance due to concerns over a resurgent Russia.

The European Commission was in a giving mood just in time for Christmas today (19 December) as it greenlit a number of member state projects.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that Spain breached European directives on birds and habitats conservation in building a high-speed train link between Seville and Almería. EURACTIV Spain reports.

The European Commission is considering handing out free InterRail tickets to all young Europeans when they turn 18, following up on a proposal made by Members of the European Parliament to counter the wave of euroscepticism spreading across the continent.

EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc has to make good on a few promises she made before the summer break.

The European Commission promised sweeping changes to its regulation of car and truck pollution in an effort to slash carbon emission levels by 2030.

Switzerland opens the world's longest and deepest rail tunnel through the heart of the Alps today (1 June) in an engineering marvel that stands as a symbol of European unity at a time of increasing fragmentation.

A new report from the European Court of Auditors says €28 billion in EU funds didn't do enough to boost the share of freight shipped on railways—instead, that figure dropped despite beefed up investments.

EU member states are still squabbling over draft rules that will open up railway markets to competition, even after negotiators struck a deal last week on the long debated file.

National experts will consider lessons learnt from terrorist attacks in Moscow and in Madrid in a meeting on 11 April to improve security at the airports and mass public transportation systems in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, EU officials told Euractiv.com.

The new head of the European Commission's transport section (DG MOVE) had harsh words yesterday (15 March) for new rules to open up Europe's “static” rail sector, which he said have been butchered in negotiations with the European Parliament and Council.

An international road transport organisation has warned that it is 'only a matter of time' until refugees in Calais seriously injure or kill truck drivers.

Within ten years, the Brenner Base project, the longest railway tunnel in the world, is expected to be completed and operational. The EU has announced that it will contribute €1.2 billion to its construction. EURACTIV Germany reports.

European railway companies will be allowed to offer domestic rail services in other countries from 2020 under new proposals agreed on Thursday(8 October) by European Union ministers.

Belgium on Monday (31 August) unveiled plans for a controversial system to collect data on all airline passengers, as well as international train and ferry travellers, in the wake of a foiled attack on a train running between Belgium and Paris.

The European Union will review railway security on high-speed international lines after last week's foiled attack in France. But officials warned on Monday (24 August) against overreaction.

The controversial high-speed train line between Lyon and Turin is to be examined by the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, amid huge cost overruns and allegations of mafia links in Italy. The EU has already contributed €450 million to the project, but France and Italy will claim a further €4 billion of EU funding. EURACTIV France reports.

Several devastating railway accidents, including one in Spain this week that is Europe’s deadliest since 1998, show little sign of being related to the EU’s fast-track effort to liberalise railways and separate infrastructure from passenger and cargo services, a safety official said.

Putting people and cargo onto the rails may be one way to reduce roadway air pollution, a key goal of the EU’s rail transport policy, but doing so creates another hazard for those living close to railways – noise.

Europe’s railways need more competition and less bureaucracy if they are to reverse the decline in use, Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said Tuesday (19 February) as he sought to warm up MEPs to a new liberalisation plan.

In a compromise aimed at countries like France and Germany, the European Commission on Wednesday (30 January) unveiled its latest plan to integrate rail services, allowing traditional state companies to maintain their hold on railway infrastructure as well as passenger and cargo services.