CER Essays - High-speed rail for a sustainably connected Europe
CER Essays - High-speed rail for a sustainably connected Europe
The CER Essays initiative features a series of essays that show the rail sector as contributing not only to EU transport policy, but touching on different aspects of society at large. Topics covered by the initiative will range from modal shift, climate policy, infrastructure investment, highspeed rail, demography and more. Each essay will feature a different topic and be co-authored by a CER member CEO and a leading academic from the same country and will be used to spark debate among political stakeholders on the role of rail in the EU.
Essay 1 - The Swiss experience to support modal shift
By Vincent Ducrot, CEO SBB, and Professor Konstantinos Boulouchos, ETH
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With the EU Green Deal the moment is right for Europe to convert modal shift targets into concrete policy measures. Switzerland has had a dedicated modal shift policy for cross-alpine freight transport since the 1990s. Today more than 72% of cross-alpine freight traffic in Switzerland is on rail. This shows that a modal shift to rail freight is possible. A closer look at the Swiss experience can give ideas and inspiration. |
Essay 2 - Rail's contribution to green transport policy
By Richard Lutz, CEO Deutsche Bahn, and Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, PIK
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The EU Fit for 55 package seeks to ensure the EU meets its climate goals. Transport emissions are key to making that happen. Already around 25% of EU emissions come from transport. This figure is rising while rail’s emissions have fallen by 32% over the last three decades. This CER Essay explains that rail must be recognised as the most energyefficient transport mode and an intelligent policy mix is needed to put a price on carbon and use the revenues from emissions trading to improve sustainable mobility. |
Essay 3 - Czech high-speed rail for a sustainably connected Europe
By Jiří Svoboda, CEO SZCZ, Prof. Ing. Ondřej Jiroušek, CTU, and Assoc. Prof. Otto Plášek, BUT
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The EU Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy (SSMS) sets out ambitious targets to shift more traffic to rail and achieve a 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050. One of the tools to ensure rail can deliver is the TEN-T network, which should support a European high-speed network. This essay shows the benefits of high-speed rail within Czechia but also for the wider region, giving an example to other Member States to follow suit for rail to be the backbone of sustainable mobility in Europe. |
