The Connecting Europe Express, a train traveling across the EU to promote the benefits of rail during the European Year of Rail 2021, will also stop in Bucharest this September, the state-owned railway operator CFR Călători said, announcing it is a partner in the project.

The Connecting Europe Express will stop in most European capitals, and events and other activities are planned at the local level, taking into account local Covid-19 measures.

The project is also meant to raise awareness of the importance of financing sustainable infrastructure such as rail, and EU support for such investment, including through the recently agreed new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), worth EUR 33.7 billion.

The project is coordinated by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Managers (CER), and it will be run in cooperation with European rail operators and infrastructure managers. Railway companies from different EU countries are providing rolling stock to configure this train.

“The Connecting Europe Express will be a real, tangible example of the power of rail to connect. At each of the almost 40 stops, events will bring together the rail sector at large, as well as civil society organizations, local and regional authorities, and the wider public, to discuss the benefits of rail, as well as what still has to be done so that rail can become the number one option for passengers and business,” EU commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said.

The train will begin its journey in Lisbon and end it in Paris. “The points of departure and arrival are also emblematic. The train will begin its journey in Lisbon in September, passing through many capitals, including Ljubljana, and finish it in Paris. So the journey will take us between the two EU Presidencies of 2021 – with a few detours along the way – to the first Presidency of 2022 – France,” the transport commissioner explained in a speech marking the kick-off of the European Year of Rail.

Among other scheduled events associated with the European Year of Rail, Bucharest will host a discussion on funding and financing opportunities for rail.

(Photo: Jaroslaw Wiechecki | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com