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Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) appeared satisfied when he appeared in front of the press on Monday in Berlin. The weekend saw in the media an image with an old locomotive, which “has been discussed well,” he proudly remarked. It showed the Trans-Europ-Express as it looked at the time. He has taken up this name again, he calls it TEE 2.0, that is, “in the context of a Europe that has grown and grown united”.
TEE is Scheuer’s new favorite song. The legendary luxury train from bygone economic boom times, which was discontinued in 1987, is supposed to shed a little shine on the ailing minister. He also focused on the reactivation of the TEE in a meeting during the EU Council Presidency with its European counterparts. One now has to “fill this idea with life” again. Modern international trains should cross the continent again, at high speed, by day and also at night. In about 13 hours from Amsterdam to Rome, from Paris to Warsaw and from Berlin to Barcelona. “The technology for this is available,” he said, announcing that transport ministers would sign a declaration of intent at the end of the council’s presidency at the end of the year.
His hymn of praise to TEE is also a nicely packaged critique of Deutsche Bahn, whose main owner is the German state. Because the railway already offers a whole range of European connections. It is not enough, as could be seen in Scheuer’s words at the press conference. When asked if his TEE was some kind of wake-up call for the railroads, Scheuer replied, “Whether it’s a slap, pressure, or initiative, I’ll leave it open. The politicians want it.”
Scheuer’s unmistakable message at the press conference should have been clearly heard by the Deutsche Bahn representative, also present, Infrastructure Director Ronald Pofalla. Scheuer wants his prestigious project, and he is also making it very clear who is in charge of the railway: he, the minister himself.
According to SPIEGEL’s information on the enthusiasm for Scheuer’s tea, the Bahn Tower is not at all happy. They discreetly refer to the ministry that there are a number of European connections. “They are already enjoying great popularity with customers,” says Deutsche Bahn headquarters, and they are also expanding. Rail links with France and Switzerland would be welcomed and consequently strengthened. The Vindobona Express between Berlin, Prague and Vienna has been back in operation for several years. The night train service that Deutsche Bahn had interrupted will also be reactivated with a cooperation between the Austrian ÖBB and the Swiss SBB.
Railway chief Richard Lutz introduced himself in a LinkedIn post last week as an ardent European criticizing the fact that the European idea was not getting widespread enough these days. “For the European idea to become more entangled, we are all being asked,” he wrote: “The railways can also help Europe move forward.” He recalled sending an ICE with blue stripes and the name “Europe” on the way last year. And then it lists all the connections that already exist: so you can “get to Marseille on the Mediterranean in one day”. London is just over six hours by train from Frankfurt. “Even Stockholm, in the extreme north of Europe, can be reached in ten or eleven hours from Hamburg,” writes the railway chief: “You can reach about 150 European cities by train directly from Germany.”
But if you look at the old textbooks from the pre-Easyjet era, there was a lot more international rail traffic than the little Lutz now offers in his LinkedIn post. At that time, the terminal was not Graz, Vienna or Marseille, but Brindisi, Rome, Rijeka, Split, Athens or Istanbul. Day and night trains once ran from Germany to the Spanish border, to Narbonne. The Hispania-Express from Hamburg to Narbonne was the first train to be allowed to travel at 160 kilometers per hour. Stockholm and Oslo can also be reached by sleeping car. At times, Athens had two daily trains from Munich, including one with car transport and air-conditioned cars, the Akropolis Express. And it was also better for closer destinations: from Munich, North Rhine-Westphalia or Stuttgart there were connections to Ancona, Milan and Nice, day and night.
European funding for TEE 2.0
Rail insiders don’t believe the coincidence that Lutz accidentally posted on LinkedIn shortly before the TEE breakup of his top boss and Transport Minister Scheuer. However, you should also like the fact that Scheuer is now demanding European funding for the TEE offering. At the same time, he also expressed his additional support for the expansion of the Fehmarnbelt link. Then, Scheuer said, you could also travel by taxi from Stockholm overnight to Germany and then to other European metropolises, and not use the plane. “Traveling by train is an active protection of the climate”, Scheuer put it off as a mantra at the EU ministerial meeting, and for this, the federal government is currently ready to fill the railroad with billions in taxpayer money.
Some observers suspect that the project could also be a lever to enforce construction projects that are controversial in terms of their benefits, both economic and ecological. Regarding the content, the project presented does not go very far. Given the presentation, it was unlikely that the TEE 2.0 would actually compete with the aircraft. In the case of European connections, only a couple of trains a day are discussed and not a train system with a set frequency.
By the way, the rights to the TEE name are owned by Deutsche Bahn.
