Rail Summit: Train Instead of Plane - Swiftly Through Europe on the TEE 2.0

At the so-called rail summit of the Federal Ministry of Transport on the initiative of Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU), numerous EU states agreed to support the German TEE 2.0 concept for cross-border high-speed and night rail services. "Traveling by train in an environmentally friendly way through Germany and Europe – that means: high-speed and night train connections that can compete with air travel. That's exactly what our TEE 2.0 concept does. And today, we received broad support from across Europe for this," Scheuer explained when presenting the project.

Foundation for a European timetable

The German minister and numerous European colleagues signed a declaration (Letter of Intent) on the TransEuropExpress (TEE) 2.0 concept proposed by Germany. The EU states support the concept as a foundation for a connected European timetable. Among other things, the states pledged to moderate cooperation with companies in the development of connections, a scheduled timetable, and a digital booking platform. They also asked the EU Commission to propose a funding program for cross-border deployable trains, as further reported by the BMVI. The declaration also includes numerous possible TEE routes that can be implemented in the near future, or step-by-step by the end of the 2020s.

600 kilometers and at least 100 km/h on average

The German proposal for the TEE 2.0 concept requires that a TEE 2.0 connects at least three countries or two countries over a minimum of 600 kilometers, with a speed of at least 160 km/h on a significant part of the route or an average speed of 100 km/h over the entire route. Additionally, the trains should offer increased comfort, free Wi-Fi, gastronomy, as well as sleeper and couchette cars or other comfort offers on night trains compared to regular trains.

First TEE route Munich-Zurich operational since 2020

In December 2020, the minister inaugurated the newly electrified Munich-Zurich connection, the first route to meet all TEE 2.0 line criteria. With the cooperation of the four railway companies from Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland agreed upon under the German EU Council Presidency in December 2020, new night train connections and thus further offers of the TEE 2.0 concept are being realized: from December 2021, for example, Vienna-Munich-Paris and Zurich-Amsterdam, from December 2023: Vienna/Berlin-Brussels/Paris, and from December 2024 then Zurich-Barcelona.

For the European timetable, national schedules are to be coordinated, providing better connections and more efficient use of infrastructure. The states are already working closely on this, according to the ministry. The European infrastructure operators are supporting this through the EuroLink initiative.