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International EU rail could serve 59 million extra passengers today

Potential much bigger than assumed, only requires better co-operation

On 18 August, Train2EU published its first research report on the European passenger rail potential. The Erasing Borders report is the first ever to combine a holistic modelling approach to European demand with a coherent rail network analysis. Its main conclusion: an additional 59 million passengers could be served today without adding any infrastructure. All that is needed, is better co-operation between governments, train companies, infrastructure managers and ticketing providers.

59 million passengers unserved

Based on publicly available, open source data, the Erasing borders report shows what the (growth) potential could be when borders (such as technical, information and service restrictions) within the European rail market are erased. The results are substantial and show that both the amount and the share of international passenger travel by rail is much bigger than currently realised: 
  • The number of passenger trips by rail could potentially be 20% higher than currently realised, whereas the share of international (in regards to domestic) rail travel could be 25% instead of the current 6%, growing even further towards 2030. 
  • 240 million long-distance trips are not realized by the current operators. From the currently actual running services, 40% of seats is ineffectively offered and as a result 59 million passengers are unserved for international trips. 
Although international train operators state that they know exactly what the passengers want, and that passengers are completely pleased with the services offered, they cannot explain the large gap between the current number of trips and its potential. 

Need for further research

Barth Donners (Technical University of Delft, Royal HaskoningDHV) presented the Erasing Borders report for his MSc graduation, and was awarded an 8,5 from his tutors, including sustainable transport professor Bert van Wee at the Transport, Infrastructure & Logistics (TIL) group of TU Delft. The incredible international opportunities for European rail were debated at a lively symposium on the possibilities for further research. Participants included CaptainTrain / The Trainline, NS International, EUrail, the Dutch ministry for Infrastructure and Environment, Trenitalia, Natuur & Milieu, Royal HaskoningDHV, ROVER and Travel Information Group 9292.

Recognising the need for further research, the participants jointly drew an outline for an extended research programme. Surprisingly basic questions have never been answered before: what barriers do passengers experience that prevent them from travelling by train, and what level of services would convince travelers to take the train? Why is the enormous potential for international rail not being picked up by train companies?

Next steps

From debate and publication of the first research results, Train2EU and its partners are forming a research coalition and an innovative product development programme for the next five years. Rail travel stakeholders and other organisations are cordially invited to join the effort to make international train travel easier for passengers. 
Train2EU is also setting up a passengers’ community to provide valuable insight into what passengers want and test new products and services.

Train2eU - Erasing borders

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  • Home
  • About Train2EU
    • Board
    • Partners
  • News
    • We are looking for you! Board member vacancy
    • International Rail Summit 2016
    • Beer en Pizza Werksessie
    • Train2EU Launched Successfully in Brussels!
    • REISwijzer - Januari 2015 (Dutch)
    • Railforum Magazine - Januari 2015 (Dutch)
    • Railway Gazette International - Januari 2015
  • Research
    • Passenger Rail Potential
    • Research debate
  • Get involved!
    • We are looking for you! Board member vacancy
    • Contact
  • Blog