No more borders for trains in the EU

Freight trains should soon run from Antwerp to Athens or Lisbon to Liverpool without stopping at borders or changing locomotives or train crews, as states a report on measures to revitalize the railways by removing obstacles to the free circulation of trains throughout the European network.

Adopted last month, the report raised questions in terms of mutual acceptance of both existing and new railway stock specifications, as the rapporteur José Ortuondo Larrea declared.

For the moment, the committee adopted a compromise text drafted by rapporteur Paolo Costa, which makes it clear that someone must be designated as responsible for checking that each vehicle is well maintained.