‘The return of the night train’: Belgium plans to boost sleeper services during its EU presidency
“Night trains are the future,” said Georges Gilkinet, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of Belgium.
He hopes to convince his EU colleagues to do the same when Belgium holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union this year.
At the next informal meeting of EU transport ministers in Brussels in early April, Gilkinet will insist on putting night trains on the agenda.
In recent years, he has led the development of night trains. Both countries now want other EU member states to focus on connecting Europe’s main cities by sleeper trains.
Therefore, Gilkinet is confident that it will convince the European Commission to “accelerate the return of night trains”.
Europeans want more ecotourism
Europeans are increasingly giving up flying because of its impact on the environment.
A ban on short-haul flights in France has received widespread support and Spain may soon follow suit.
A 2021 survey by campaign group Europe on Rail found that more than half of respondents – in Germany, Poland, France, Spain and the Netherlands – are interested in replacing air travel by railway.
But for this to become a reality, rail services must become better, wider and less expensive for travellers.
A study by Greenpeace last year found that there are currently only a handful of scheduled night flights and trains are on average four times more expensive than planes on the same route.
Gilkinet wants to make a difference by creating a favorable environment for night train operators.
It proposed improving international rail infrastructure, better integrating technical differences between countries, simplifying ticketing systems and reducing operating costs.
“It is necessary to address the unfair competition between trains and planes,” he said.
Gilkinet summarizes some measures that could level the playing field between trains and flights.
“In Belgium, night trains do not pay for electricity for the locomotives and have free access to the tracks. If every European country introduced similar measures, more operators would operate night trains.”
Unfair competition between trains and other means of transport
The use of cars and airplanes is now encouraged. Over the past twenty years, EU countries have invested 66% more in highways than in railways.
This led to an increase in the length of roads by 30,000 km, and the length of railway lines was reduced by 15,000 km.
Meanwhile, the aviation industry receives huge subsidies – according to some estimates, they can amount to as much as EUR 80 for each return ticket. Kerosene is virtually tax-free and airline tickets are not subject to VAT.
International trains do not benefit from these benefits and many countries impose VAT on tickets and electricity.
The track entrance toll system is detrimental to night trains running long distances; This has a relatively large impact on operating costs.
Cars are by far the most popular means of transport in Europe.
In 2021, almost 80 percent of passenger kilometers in the EU were traveled by car, 7.3%. by plane and 5.6 percent by train.
On board the ÖBB Nightjet.ÖBB / Harald Eisenberger
Austria will speak at the upcoming meeting of EU transport ministers in April.
The national railway ÖBB has contributed to the revival of night trains in Europe.
“We will discuss with them what the government can do to improve and expand the network in Europe,” Gilkinet explains.
ÖBB continues to invest in sleeper trains even though most other countries have decided to abandon them.
Modern carriages with individual sleeping compartments have just been put into use.
Except for those operated by ÖBB, most international night trains have disappeared, while some domestic services still operate in major countries such as France, Italy and Sweden.
In Eastern Europe the network is still relatively widespread.
New private operators such as European Sleeper are exploring the market and launching new services, including expanding services from Brussels to Prague in March.
Back-on-Track night train map Jüri Mayer / Back-on-Track.eu
Simple train reservation system
In addition to expanding the train network, a simpler booking system is needed to integrate services across the continent.
Rail Europe is one of the few platforms that allows tourists to compare prices and travel options on the Internet.
“Tourists should be easier to buy an international ticket,” Gilkinet said. “Public and private companies need to work more closely together and think from the customer’s perspective.”
Is this your first time on a sleeper train?
This is the best way to book tickets and plan your trip.
The aim is to make booking international train tickets as easy as booking airline tickets. To achieve this goal, railway companies will have to be willing to share data to develop the necessary digital tools.
The Belgian EU Presidency has also prepared a number of specific legislative measures to improve cross-border connectivity, identifying important trans-European transport network (TEN-T) “corridors” such as Brussels- Basel-Milan.
Another important issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of modern sleeper buses available to operators.
EU transport ministers are expected to make a joint commitment to increase the number of night trains when they meet informally on April 2.
The European Commission will then address the issue.