Another bad news for Europe’s travelers: the ambitious new travel system for Europe, known as the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T), has been delayed yet again. The program, first proposed in 2013, was set to launch in 2021. However, due to the complexities of the project and the ongoing crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Commission recently announced that the project has been delayed to 2025.
The TEN-T is part of the European Union’s Transport White Paper and aims to create a fully integrated transport network across Europe. It seeks to develop a unified system, which will make travel by train, air, and road more efficient and less expensive. Additionally, the program seeks to reduce the EU’s environmental impact by encouraging the use of greener transport options.
However, with the new delays, European travelers will be left waiting even longer for the promised benefits. The delay is also expected to add more to the already hefty budget of the project, which is estimated to cost over €747 billion.
The European Commission has said the project will be completed in stages, with priority given to the completion of the core network by 2025. Thereafter, the remaining part of the network will be implemented, with completion expected by 2030.
In the mean time, the Commission is looking into other alternatives for improving Europe’s travel. This includes making it easier for railway operators to use existing cross-border routes, as well as encouraging investment in faster rail connections.
For now, European travelers will just have to keep dreaming of a future in which Europe’s travel is truly seamless and inexpensive. Let’s hope that the projects discreetly in 2025.
