The Connecting Europe Express - a symbol of rail's power to connect

The Connecting Europe Express was the flagship initiative of the European Year of Rail. A special
train which crisscrossed Europe, the project was a showcase of rail’s strength as a driving force for
sustainable mobility, economic activity and European identity.
Initiated by the European Commission, the project was coordinated on the technical and operational side by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). From the beginning, CER, its members and project partners actively engaged to facilitate the smooth journey of the train across the continent. They also helped ensure the train received a warm welcome wherever it stopped, with arrival ceremonies, site visits and conferences all along the route. Such events helped to promote rail locally across Europe, part of a key goal of the EU Year of Rail: to promote the use of rail among citizens and businesses and realise the shift to rail required for the EU to achieve its decarbonisation ambitions under the EU Green Deal.

[@Pragmatic_Optimist_MCR]

Love it! The EU does so many infrastructure projects that are incredibly useful and promising, but I rarely hear about it. This video does a great job to communicate what the European Express is all about and is once again an everyday example why we need the EU and more European integration ✊✊

[@tasky479]

Amazing video! Europe CONNECTED BY train, I love it.

[@realhawaii5o]

Problem is, Portugal still doesn't have a standard gauge high speed railway. It's very frustrating.

[@psilver8057]

We have to start somewhere.

[@Creepex]

CFR Călători

[@peterdavidson3268]

Rail industry leaders are reported to have gathered in Lyon, June 2022 and declared a bold aim to replace the vast majority of short-haul intra-European flights with rail borne, potentially net-zero energy powered, alternatives - BUT unless they have ALL political leaders across Europe on board with them any ensuing plans will fall short in achieving their long term goals - why - because in the absence of concerted and sustained (over a thirty year period?) political willpower underpinning that broad strategy, the infrastructure absolutely necessary for successful implementation will remain unfulfilled/incomplete?
I agree that such ambitious targets ARE achievable but ONLY if rail services are empowered to compete, head to head on a level playing field, with their short-haul airborne rivals - we only need to look at travel between specific city pairs for evidence to support this conclusion?
Paris - Bruxelles, London - Paris, Paris - Marseille, Barcelona - Madrid, Milano - Roma; rail services between these population centres have secured a clear majority (virtually 100% in some cases) of passenger demand in these markets but consumer travel patterns between some second tier city conurbations illustrate why there is still a long way to go in supplanting short haul air as the ubiquitous first choice for most customers?
The reason why is all too obvious - the necessary true high (250km/h or greater) speed lines are either incomplete or non-existent across large swathes of the European continent - the required solution is therefore equally transparent - the need to construct those true high speed lines in their entirety and/or complete missing links to complete a comprehensive pan-European network of High Speed lines - do that and the public will make the modal shift from short haul air to high speed rail services in their droves - then and only then will the grandiose aims set out by rail leaders in Lyon become remotely credible?

[@Maloenton-Agency]

Europe does not exist ..... Different countries, different languages, different egoisms, different peoples united only by mutual hatred! 😊👍

[@richardgruning9753]

Where do you come from?

[@Maloenton-Agency]

@@richardgruning9753 Italy

[@Frazv]

@@Maloenton-Agency Man, so do Italy is composed by different regions, different languages, different people and different egoisms. Am I wrong? From an Italian c:

[@Maloenton-Agency]

@@Frazv
Exactly ..... If already in Italy we do not get along well between the Padanians of the North, the Etruscans of the Center and the Bourbons of the South, let alone between Poles, Greeks, Irish or Swedes! 😁👌

[@Frazv]

@@Maloenton-Agency What about making an EU federation in order to preserve the regional differences all over the continent? For example: Lombardy being a federated state of the EU, such as Bavaria or even Galicia. Neither Spain, France or Germany have an homogeneous culture or language, not only Italy.
e poi, amico mio, sottolineare le differenze non ci porta da nessuna parte. trovo più realistico e produttivo evidenziare ciò che abbiamo in comune, non ciò che ci divide. detto ciò, rispetto il tuo pensiero, ma non lo condivido.