All roads lead to Rome. This old proverb, first recorded in 1175 by French theologian Allain de Lille, points to the impressive functionality of Roman roads, interestingly almost seven centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire. Infrastructure was a key element of Roman success.

It was revolutionary compared to other realms at that time. Rather than an isolated A-B pathway, Rome built an extensive network. That enabled economic integration of the provinces to an extent never seen before and subsequently a social and political integration, thus allowing the empire to grow larger.

The European Union, in some ways like the Roman Empire, wants to integrate its member states economically, politically, and socially as much as it can. However, when it comes to one particular aspect of infrastructure—railways—that integration lags far behind other areas.

There is a parallel between Roman roads and the European railway network. Especially in central Europe, it is an extremely dense network, in comparison with low-density railways in other parts of the world, with the exception of Japan and a few other countries. Just like the Roman roads, the European railways were revolutionary at the time of their founding, and they meant a decisive advantage in the industrialisation era, which was further multiplied by favourable geography.

Although the railways certainly aren’t revolutionary technology anymore, they are not to be overlooked. As the EU actively pursues the decarbonisation of the economy, train use will probably grow in importance because of its low carbon emissions in comparison with other motorised means of transport. The EU already promotes the railways through advertising campaigns, such as the 2021 ‘year of rail’ campaign, which had however little to no impact on overall rail usage.

Travelling by train in Europe could be fast, pleasant, and effective—theoretically. But in reality, travelling from Paris to Copenhagen by train can be a nightmare, not to mention trying to cross the Spanish-Portuguese border, for instance. Either very short or hours-long transition times and the usual ever-present chaos, or in some cases, no connection at all. While the railways work relatively well within national borders, when trying to cross multiple borders, problems arise.

This serious lack of cross-border harmonisation is mostly due to the fact that EU member states are largely protectionist about their railways, which are usually managed by a respective national company. Although the EU is gradually uniting the regulations and technical standards of the trains and tracks, their goal of achieving a single European railway area remains theoretical.2

When trying to improve anything through policy, looking at successful models from around the world doesn’t hurt. When it comes to railways, the most famous and apparent example of an effective railway infrastructure is Japan, where the railway system is known for its reliability and punctuality.

Following a long period of pressure for reform, the JNR (Japan’s national railways company) became privatised in 1987 and broken into several smaller companies based on a geographical area. The state retains partial ownership and subsidises some routes. The quality of the railways in Japan subsequently improved dramatically.

The EU could and should take lessons from Japan and pursue a similar policy of privatisation, deregulation, and decentralisation. Dividing railways not by the national borders but by regions into several bigger joint-stock companies, like Scandinavian Railways (RL), Iberian Railways (IR), and others, which would be coordinated by the European Railways Group (ERG), for example, would make more sense than a chaotic excess of national railway companies.

Coordinating such a transition on a European level would be incomparably harder than in Japan, or rather almost impossible, as such a plan would face a likely backlash from at least several states and their respective railway companies. But pursuing privatisation, deregulation, and decentralisation in any member state would be a step forward, though with a lesser effect than if it were implemented EU-wide.

The railway network system in Europe will have to undergo a radical transformation in order to create a single European railway area, which would work in a similar manner and efficiency as the Roman roads. The optimal geography, as well as the actual infrastructure, is there. Only protectionist policies prevent the system from growing to its fullest potential. Should the obstacles be removed, all railways will lead to Rome – eventually.

This article was written by František Sedlák. František is a Czech student and freelance writer.

Notes

European Year of Rail failed to gain traction, new report says by Nick Augusteijn.