Europe's rail companies need a new approach

People who cross Europe by train encounter problems at nearly every border crossing. Europe's train companies are too parochial in their approach, writes the daily Göteborgs-Posten: "True, isolated high-speed lines have been established here and there in Europe. But apart from that hardly anything has changed in cross-border travel ... since the 1970s. Rail services are for the most part caught up in old national mentalities. Certainly, there are essential differences between train and air travel. Train travel depends on rail networks and is for that reason limited in scope. By contrast the airspace is practically unlimited. Nevertheless the lack of innovative thinking in the train sector is astonishing, even if it can be partially explained by the national companies' complete lack of interest in what lies beyond their borders. In times of debate about climate change international rail services have enormous potential. But for it to be realised the old monopoly colossuses must wake up and offer competitive products. Such times, however, are still a long way off."

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