European Commission plans to speed up rail connections between capitals

Brussels, November 5 - The European Commission today presented a plan to accelerate the construction of Europe's high-speed rail network. The plan envisages connecting major transport hubs at speeds of 200 kilometers per hour and above. This will allow passengers to get from Berlin to Copenhagen in four hours instead of the current seven, the commission said in a statement.

The aim of the so-called transport package is, among other things, to shorten travel times and make rail a more attractive alternative to short-haul air travel, thereby increasing passenger numbers and supporting regional economies and tourism.

"The new high-speed rail action plan sets out the steps needed to create a faster, more interoperable and better connected European network by 2040," the EU executive said. According to it, the significant reduction in travel times will benefit not only major transport hubs, but also cities between these destinations and the surrounding regions.

In the future, it should be possible to travel from Tallinn to Riga in one hour and 45 minutes and from Riga to Vilnius in around two hours (currently it takes over six hours and over four hours). As an example for Central Europe, the Commission mentions that the travel time from Berlin to Vienna via Prague will be reduced from more than eight hours to four hours and 30 minutes. In the south, for example, the travel time between Munich and Rome will be reduced from nine hours and 30 minutes to six hours.

"Reducing travel times between capitals across Europe is a tangible and pragmatic result of our will to make Europe more united and efficient," said European Commission Vice-President Raffaele Fitto of the new plan. According to him, the possibility of faster travel will bring citizens closer together and make it easier to do business across the European Union.

Czech press agency