EU Commission: Transport transition with night trains and e-mobility

Only a quarter of a year after the EU transport ministers first debated the establishment of a trans-European night train network, a decision has now been made. Starting at the end of 2021, the first night trains will start running through Europe. "We must significantly reduce emissions in transportation. Across all of Europe," affirmed Austrian Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler. The agreement itself was reached among the heads of the four major European state railways SBB, DB, ÖBB, and SNCF. Initially, two night train lines will be launched, connecting Vienna, Munich, and Paris, as well as Zurich, Cologne, and Amsterdam. By December 2023, Berlin-Brussels will be added, with Zurich-Barcelona to follow in December 2024.

Furthermore, the transport ministers decided on the environmentally friendly overhaul of truck tolls. However, this still needs to be negotiated with the parliament. The fee is to be more closely aligned with CO2 emissions and include lighter trucks and transporters down to 3.5 tons. This fee is expected to become mandatory across Europe.

Big picture: Rethinking Mobility "Systematically"

The decisions are part of the transportation and mobility transformation plan that EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans will present in Brussels on Wednesday. According to media reports, the goal is to "systematically rethink" mobility in Europe. Moving away from "incremental" change towards a "fundamental transformation" of the transport sector, the Süddeutsche Zeitung quotes from the draft.

To achieve this, the Climate Commissioner sets target milestones for 2030, 2035, and 2050. By the first milestone, twice as many high-speed trains as currently should be running in Europe. Additionally, there should be 30 million electric cars on European roads, and 100 European cities should be operating climate-neutrally by then. The EU as a whole originally set this goal for 2050. Furthermore, by 2035, emission-free ships and clean "large" airplanes should also be available. By 2050, freight transport by rail should be doubled and high-speed passenger transport tripled.

Vision of Emission-Free Airports and Autonomous Driving

The document titled "Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility" outlines many broad visions, such as the idea of "emission-free airports and ports" or the large-scale rollout of autonomous driving by 2030. The vision also includes a "Drone Strategy 2.0," though it is not clear from the document to what extent this will also contribute to CO2 reduction.

Criticism from Politicians and NGOs: Vague Plans

The conservative faction in the European Parliament finds the draft "too green and too vague." According to EU parliamentarian Markus Ferber of the CSU, the paper seems to have been written by "environmental experts, not transport experts." He believes it lacks real solutions for connecting rural areas. From his perspective, the EU Commission confronts the transportation sector with "drastic climate targets" but leaves it "out in the cold" when it comes to implementation and measures.

On the other hand, the NGO Greenpeace also finds the draft to contain "ambitious goals, a few new train connections, and 'green standards,'" as quoted by SZ from Greenpeace activist Lorelei Limousin. From her point of view, it must be ensured that all investments in the sector ultimately contribute to the goal of climate-friendly transportation. In this context, she specifically criticized the support for the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic with 30 billion euros, without specific climate protection requirements.