Proposal to reinvigorate trans European train connections

The German ministry of transport has issued a proposal to reinvigorate the trans European train connections. The core of the proposal named TEE 2.0 after the German railways' iconic TEE trains (Trans Europa Express) centers on a number of long day trains but also includes a number of sleeper lines.

https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Anlag ... cationFile TEE 2.0 proposal (in German)

The proposal is to create a new pan European passenger carrier, founded jointly by German DB and French SNCF, and with other national carriers getting shares as they join the network. The idea is to integrate the new international trains (all lines cross at least three countries) in the already running national intercity and cross border traffic tying together existing train lines.

The network has plans to reconnect a number of countries and cities with lines reaching Stockholm, Warsaw, Budapest, Zagreb, Rome, Barcelona and Paris. The emphasis is to use already existing infrastructure to start a core network as soon as possible and add lines as some planned mega infrastructure projects like the Brenner base tunnel and the Femern Belt crossing comes on line.

Germany currently holds the EU chairmanship, and this initiative is part of this. Hence the notable absence of connecting the UK to the plans.

Thank you for sharing this news.

I just found a link to the English language version of the presentation,

TEE 2.0
International high-speed and overnight rail services to promote climate change mitigation
https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/EN/Docum ... cationFile

Its amazing how far we in the U.S. are from concepts like the one's shown in the TEE 2.0 presentation.

Train60 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:23 pm Its amazing how far we in the U.S. are from concepts like the one's shown in the TEE 2.0 presentation.

I've actually heard this TEE 2.0 presentation described as: "This sounds like AMTRAK-style operations for Europe. Who needs that?"

Principal criticisms being:

• use of tertiary stations in the outskirts, especially outside Germany (incl. bypassing Paris on one route, bypassing Kopenhagen, using a commuter rail station in Strasbourg, stations where no long-distance trains stop in Milan and Lyon...)
• zero impact on transit patterns due to extremely low frequency (once per day per route...) that only overlap within Germany
• seemingly primarily used as an advertising tool for German infrastructure investments financed anyway
• heavy focus on DB and SNCF, to the detriment of about any other rail operator on those routes - the impact it'd have on RENFE AVE routes in particular is ridiculous
• within Germany ridiculous and seemingly solely political focus on Berlin.

trainviews wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 3:54 pm Hence the notable absence of connecting the UK to the plans.

That would have more to do with the incompatibility of integrating cross-border trains with the UK into any European network (as in, the British border posts in Paris and Brussels, a concept that you won't see penetrating any further into the EU now that the UK is out...).

Rail Gazette International 's article on the proposal /
https://www.railwaygazette.com/passenge ... 2020200925