National Railways is also involved.
In September, German Transport Minister Volker Vissing pledged to allocate 40 billion euros, or about $43.6 billion, to revitalize the country’s railway network. “Rail infrastructure has been neglected for decades and has reached its limits,” Dr. Wessing said in a statement. “This is no longer acceptable and does not befit a progressive economic nation. We need railways as a climate-friendly means of transportation.
In Spain, the government opened the high-speed rail network to private sector competition with great success. The national railway company, Renfe, recently began direct services between Madrid and the French coastal city of Marseille, and between Barcelona and Lyon, France.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron promised in 2020 to revitalize the country’s railway network to promote the country’s “ecological transition.” Night services have recently resumed between Paris and Nice, Paris and Vienna, and Paris and Aurillac in the south.
Paris now also has a direct night service to and from Berlin, as a result of cooperation between the national railway companies of France, Germany, Belgium and Austria. French Transport Minister Clement Beaune was among those on board the inaugural train, which arrived at Gare de l’Est station in Paris on the morning of December 12.
“It was great,” Mr. Boone told a reporter waiting to greet him at the podium. “It’s the symbol we need right now.”
Paige McClanahan, a frequent Travel contributor, is the author of The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Powers and Perils of Travel, forthcoming from Scribner in June 2024.
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