Has Europe Realised the Importance of International Rail?

When the Channel Tunnel project was completed in 1997, and High Speed 1 opened in 2007, hopes were high for a more integrated European rail network to fight against the rise of pollutant budget airlines. However, there is still much work ahead for the European Union to truly integrate railway services together. Eurostar's success highlights the benefits of a high-speed rail system connecting countries together, not only does it connect the UK to wider Europe, but it also acts as a crucial link, connecting Amsterdam to Paris in 3 hours and 13 minutes compared to the previous 4 hours and 11 minutes.

A Class 373 (Eurostar e300) exiting the French tunnel portals near Calais. Billy69150

However, outside of Benelux, international rail services in Europe are still many years behind where they should be for the modern age. Many countries, such as Germany, Poland, France and Italy, all use varying electrification systems. Germany specifically does not use the universally standardised 25Kv 50Hz, instead using 15Kv 16.5Hz, this means that any units designed to travel into Germany has to adapt for two very different levels of power, increasing costs and complexity. This results in trains being changed at the borders of countries, which also tend to be older rolling stock as domestic services are given the modern, sleeker trains. Spain highlights how this disparity can be done correctly, not only does Spain have a different electrification system (3Kv), it also has a different track gauge (1676mm). This made non-stop international rail travel between France & Iberia impossible for many years. However, Spain has invested in thousands of miles of brand new high-speed track using the 25Kv 50Hz system and the standardised 1425mm gauge, allowing a seemless journey between France & Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Alicante, and other major destinations. Other regions, such as the Baltics, are also investing in integrating international high-speed rail into their countries. The Rail Baltica project aims to finally connect Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas and Vilnius to Warsaw & the wider European rail network, breaking the travel barrier caused by the single unelectrified route into the Baltics at the Polish-Lithanuian border.

The planned route of Rail Baltica, this route is crucial to ensure connectivity between the Baltic states & wider Europe, especially with the threat of Russia. By RB Rail AS - RB Rail AS, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87887309

All of these projects, already built or in the progress of being constructed, paint a hopeful picture for international high-speed rail in Europe, and revitalising the rail networks of countries that have not maintained them for many years. Further projects and schemes have been proposed in recent months and years, most notably the extension of services across the Channel Tunnel into London. In recent months, the UK Government and Swiss Governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish plans to create direct rail links between London and Switzerland (this would also presumably include connections at Strasbourg & Reims). The same has also been proposed with direct rail services between Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne & London. These schemes would further grow international high-speed rail, especially fighting against the many, many flights connecting London to various European cities. International high-speed rail is crucial to ensuring sustainability as we do more to protect the environment, it is important that these projects and more like them will help the railways compete with the airline giants and take over travel between European capitals & cities, just like how high-speed rail doomed the Italian domestic flights industry. While Europe is rather late in realising the importance of developing international high-speed rail services, it is going to be revolutionary and change how rail services are approached in other continents such as Africa, the Americas and Asia, where international rail services practically don't exist. Europe is the testing ground for international rail services, and it should use that opportunity to revolutionise railways.