His plans for the car as a means of transport have recently caused Andreas Scheuer a lot of trouble.
Now the CSU minister wants to bet on a "revolution" in the railways - literally.
Berlin
- According to the Latin root, the term “revolution” actually means “turn back”.
And
Andreas Scheuer's Ministry of Transport
is now
hoping
for
just such a revolution in its literal sense
for cross-border
rail traffic in Europe
: a train that has been forgotten for decades should return - and thus bring together Europe's states (again) in terms of transport technology.
Scheuer is now focusing on rail: "Trans-Europ-Express" is set to celebrate a comeback
The magic word is
“TEE”
, “
Trans-Europ-Express”
.
From 1957 to 1987 this type of train connected many major European cities.
Only with 1st class, uniform paintwork and - for the conditions at the time - extremely fast and luxurious.
The electro legends Kraftwerk also created a musical monument for the train.
EuroCity
later took over
.
The "TEE" became a museum object.
Now Scheuer wants to turn the train time back and forth at the same time: "It's about fast and continuous train connections," said the
CSU minister to
the newspapers of the
Funke media group
on Saturday.
"Based on the example of the Germany-Takt we want to establish a Europe-Takt - people should get through Europe better by train." This Monday he wants to
talk
to EU colleagues about
"TEE 2.0"
.
Scheuer and the railways: New high-speed and night trains - and direct from Munich to Stockholm?
According to Scheuer, trains that are
comfortably
equipped and
can be used across borders
are
necessary
: "For this we need an EU funding program," said the CSU politician.
In addition, a
digital platform is
needed through which
European rail connections
can be booked.
Continuous
high-speed and night trains are being considered
.
The latter seemed to be on course for a revival anyway.
As an example, he cited a connection from
Paris via Brussels, Cologne and Berlin to Warsaw
: “A train that leaves Paris at 9:00 could be in Cologne at 12:15, Berlin at 16:45 and Warsaw at 22:15 . “In June, Scheuer also mentioned the routes from
Berlin via Frankfurt and Lyon to Barcelona
and from
Paris via Brussels, Hamburg and Copenhagen to Stockholm
as further possible examples
.
Between 1957 and 1987 it was possible to travel through Europe at 200 km / h in the Trans-Europ-Express.
More than 30 years ago when we in Europe were really only led by the most anti-progressive and incompetent politicians: inside ever.
pic.twitter.com/gOSmnICOTI
- Fayad Mulla (@FayadMulla) September 20, 2020
Der
Spiegel was
already speculating about other possible routes.
The magazine named a
route from Amsterdam via Cologne and Basel to Rome
.
In a second step,
Stockholm
could also
be connected to
Rome via Munich or Berlin
by train.
According to the ministry, major European infrastructure projects are necessary for further expansion.
For example the
bridge over the Fehmarnbelt
between the Baltic Sea islands of Fehmarn and Lolland.
Until recently, train ferries ran there.
If it did, it would be a massive change of course: international connections were discontinued in the 10s - around 2014, the long-running
night train from Munich to Copenhagen
.
Deutsche Bahn: European speed network as early as 2025?
These trains could be used
"A network for high-speed and night train offers can be in place by 2025," said Scheuer of the
Funke media group
.
"We want to
convince
as many railway companies as possible in the European Union of our
TEE concept
so that a declaration of intent can be signed by the end of the year." There
is particularly great interest
in
Scandinavia
.
According to
Spiegel, it
could also become clear what the trains might look like: According to the report, experts see the French
TGV Euroduplex
train
as a candidate - or the
Velaro MS from
the manufacturer Siemens, which also
rolls through Germany
as the
"new ICE3"
.
Just a year ago, Deutsche Bahn had introduced a new train to replace old IC and EC wagons.
However, it does not appear to play a role in these plans.
Deutsche Bahn has recently been heavily criticized - among other things because of a budget gap and a possibly questionable practice in the Corona crisis.
Scheuer also got his fat off here.
(
dpa / fn / AFP
)