European high speed rail network growing

Railteam, a new initiative by Europe's high-speed rail operators, will combine existing networks in to compete with low-cost airlines. See "Railways join forces to compete with airlines," from the Independent.

From the Railteam website:

"Europe's high-speed rail network is growing fast. The current service offers 4700km of line, set to rise to 6000km by 2010 and 7500km by 2020 with a multiplication of cross-border interconnections.

June 2007: The opening of the new Eastern France line is a key component of the future high speed rail system. The SNCF and DB have launched Alleo to manage the huge impact of the new Franco-German service, providing substantially reduced journey times between France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg:


* > Paris - Stuttgart : 3h40
* > Paris - Munich : 6h15
* > Paris - Frankfurt : 3h50
* > Paris - Luxembourg : 2h05
* > Paris - Basel : 3h30
* > Paris - Zurich : 4h35

November 2007: The line extension between London and the Channel Tunnel (High Speed 1) will reduce journey times by 20 minutes:

* > Paris-London : 2h15 (instead of 2h35)
* > London Brussels : 1h51 (instead of 2h11)

December 2007: A new high-speed line in the Southern Netherlands will open. NS Hispeed aims to be running high-speed rail services on part of the route, reducing journey times between Amsterdam and Rotterdam by a third:

* > Amsterdam - Rotterdam : 40mins
* > Schipol - Rotterdam : 26mins

By October 2008, the first high speed trains should be visible across the Dutch landscape and the Thalys will link HSL South to Brussels and Paris.

December 2008: A new high-speed service brings Munich and Vienna together in less than 4 hours. At the end of 2008 a new star will appear in the Railteam sky - Railjet! Along with an entirely new fleet of trains, a revolutionary service concept will set new standards in comfort and travel experience. Travelling at 230kph Railjet will link Munich and Vienna in less than 4 hours and provide a gateway to the East connecting the Railteam network with Budapest and beyond!

Early 2009: A new high speed line between Brussels and Koln means that travel time will be reduced by 40 minutes:

* > Brusssels - Koln : 1h 46
* > Paris - Koln : 3h 14

December 2009: Railjet links Zurich and Vienna. One year after Railjet launches it will expand into a third Railteam country linking Switzerland and Austria, cutting the travel time by around 1 hour.

December 2010: A new high speed line will link Frankfurt and Vienna which will reduce the journey time by 30 minutes. The line will be operated as a joint venture between OBB and DB.

An Environmentally-Friendly Network

With European high speed rail journeys releasing around 10 times less carbon than an equivalent short-haul flight travelling by train has never made more sense?

The rapidly expanding high-speed rail network meets both the demand for European mobility and sustainable development objectives. Recognised by experts and the general public as the most ecological form of transport, trains are low on carbon emissions and energy consumption, take up minimum space and reduce pollution.

More people are choosing to travel by train the faster they go. Minimizing journey time while respecting the landscape and its indigenous flora and fauna, high-speed rail marries performance with protection of the environment."

In the Baltimore Sun a couple weeks ago, there was this letter to the editor from Ross B. Capon, the director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers:

Budget poses threat to intercity rail

The editorial "Fuel-sipping trains" (June 11) was on target, notwithstanding Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman's letter "Amtrak must boost service, efficiency" (June 22).

Indeed, there is less than meets the eye to his claim that "nearly 550 million people board trains each year in this country, yet fewer than one in 20 of them chooses Amtrak."

Most of the train riders not "choosing" Amtrak's intercity trains are daily commuters.

Even if intercity and commuter trains were as excellent in this country as the train service is in other countries, or if Amtrak were perfect, commuters still would vastly outnumber intercity travelers.

And, indeed, many U.S. commuters, including those using MARC's Penn Line, ride trains Amtrak runs under contract to transit agencies or which use Amtrak-owned tracks.

Mr. Boardman also ignores the main obstacle to ridership growth on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and on its overnight trains - two categories of service important to Baltimore and widely regarded as federal responsibilities because of the many state lines these trains cross: The failure of the Amtrak board appointed by President Bush to press vigorously for the additional cars and locomotives such growth requires.

I support Mr. Boardman's call for federal matching funds for state intercity passenger rail investment. But the approach of the Bush administration's 2008 budget would kill intercity passenger rail and much of our commuter service. This budget includes $100 million for that federal match but cuts Amtrak funding by $500 million - from $1.3 billion this year to $800 million.

However, Congress is likely to reject this destructive approach, if concerned citizens speak up.

Speaking of the decline of the American Empire, into the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. expertise in technology and manufacturing for locomotives, passenger and freight cars, and streetcars was tops in the world.