The EU needs more high-speed trains.
There is an EU petition going around to get the European Commission to put in place a legally binding act to establish a European high-speed train network, connecting EU capitals, as quickly as possible.
The link to the petition, as well as the site with more information, are in the pinned post.
These official EU petitions are actually meaningful, and are not your typical online petition, as they require confirmation of identity (e.g., through DigID). It is only open to residents of the EU.
Please consider signing it if you are a resident of the EU.
Obviously this initiative would only be part of the solution. What we really need are more regional trains throughout Europe, and better public transit for everyone.
Nevertheless, a trunk of high-speed train routes between capitals would go a long way towards building a viable alternative to flying and driving within Europe. Just as the Shinkansen (literally “new trunk line”) do in Japan.
My point here is: don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Please sign and share the petition, and let’s get the EU committed to trains.
Petition: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/035/public/#/screen/home
More information: https://www.connect-capitals-hsr.eu/
Jason of Not Just Bikes on YouTube
I’ve signed, this is really important. Trains are vital for domestic travel, but also really important for international travel, about once a year I’ll need to go to another EU country and look for a rail option, often it’s not feasible. I really hope this succeeds, flying is unsustainable.