wins cross-border rail travel

Eliminating bottlenecks in the international rail connections has made some significant wins.

Faster travel, less hassle
Improving the rail lines and scheduling high-speed trains, without the need to transfer, with a universally accepted ticket for a transparent rate. Together, these measures would result in comfortable international train connections with much shorter travel times.

Better for the environment
The Netherlands and Germany are connected by seven motorway connections, but only two rail connections with Intercity service. The Netherlands and Belgium are connected by five motorways, but there is only one fast rail connection since the spring of 2018. That makes it difficult for travellers to choose between the train and the car. Travelling by train is by far preferable to travel by car when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions and saving our climate. And study after study has proven that shorter travel times and greater comfort automatically attract more travellers. That applies to the standard routes, but travel by train is also a good alternative for European journeys of up to 800 kilometres.

Economic growth
Eliminating the bottlenecks would connect the important economic centres of the Randstad, Brainport Eindhoven, the Flemish Diamond and the Ruhr district. Better accessibility is also of crucial importance for the entire Euregion. Regions that work on developing their infrastructure are significantly more attractive as a location for businesses.

Knowledge and cultural exchange
Fast and comfortable rail connections also expand peoples’ world culturally. Universities and other knowledge institutions in cities such as Eindhoven, Maastricht, Aachen, Liège, Hasselt and Leuven would be able to work more closely together. That would ease the flow of knowledge; ideal for sharing scientific and creative ideas, and for encouraging student exchange programmes.