EU Inaugurates New High-Speed Rail Line

EU Vice President and Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot today inaugurated a new 185-mile "TGV" high-speed rail line between Paris and Baudrecourt in Lorraine, France, the first section of a 900-mile European line that will link Paris and Bratislava (Slovakia) via Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Munich, and Vienna and also cut travel times by half. The European Union provided nearly 250 million euros in project co-financing, roughly seven percent of the total cost of this important new trans-European transportation corridor. Vice President Barrot said, “The movement of people is one of the keys to the building of Europe and to trade... The high-speed line will create new economic prospects for the cities and regions through which it passes [and] will make it possible to increase mobility while at the same time expanding what is the safest and most environmentally friendly mode of transport."

MORE

EU NewsBrief is an electronic publication issued regularly by the Delegation of the European Commission to the United States. To receive updates on specific issue areas, click on this link.