The European Rail Passengers Union

Before anything else, the tl;dr: If you want better cross border rail in Europe then come join us at erpu.eu — we are bringing passengers together to advocate for the trains we all need and deserve. Go sign up at erpu.eu and then come back here to read the rest of this.

With that out of the way, I want to explain why I’m excited to be part of this. Yes, trains are cool but, for me, there is more to it than that. This project sits at the intersection of bigger issues.

First, there isn’t a magic bullet to reducing climate change. But, a massive modal shift away from air and road travel to rail is clearly needed. Shouting at and shaming people to change their behavior doesn’t work. Right now, flying and driving are often cheaper and easier in Europe. That is, assuming a train connection is even possible. Trains have be to a real option for everyone, not just train nerds who know the tricks for multiple different websites, remember the quirks of misaligned schedules, and are willing to pay extra and be inconvenienced. And the thing is, we don’t even need trains to be amazing; we just need them to be less shit. This is an area where, with a bit of collective action, we have an opportunity to implement readily available solutions and make a real impact on the future of climate change.

Second, thirty years ago the Schengen Agreement gave us the vision of a Europe without borders. We need a rail network that lives up to that vision. This goes to the core of our right to freedom of movement, because rights that cannot be practically exercised by everyone aren’t worth much. Insisting on this ideal is especially crucial right now. We live in a moment when Schengen, and the vision of an open world, is under pressure from those who only know how to amplify exclusion and blame the “other”.

And when we talk about fostering openness and connection I don’t just mean linking capital cities for business travelers with attache cases. A united Europe shouldn’t just be a united economy and bureaucracy. I mean cross-border transit that is truly accessible and affordable for everyone so that our borders become more traversable and permeable. I want to see the Europe we will build when we can all move more freely¹ and have transit that brings us closer together.

And lastly, many of the challenges facing cross border rail are technical—matters of dense public policy and the details of train operations. I, by nature, have a nerdy disposition. I like this stuff. But, I am not at my core a train nerd. Luckily many of the others involved are. This is a team effort! What I am is an organizer. Linking the technical nerd shit with solid, community based, organizing and then translating that into concrete wins is my jam. So that’s why I’m not just excited that this is happening but excited that I get to be part of it.

And the organizing challenge here is particularly important. Because this is a transnational problem we are building a transnational, direct membership, organization. And, even though many of our political problems in Europe are shared and transcend borders, our political parties, organizations, and avenues for addressing them as individual citizens all too often don’t. It shouldn’t just be corporations, lobbying consortiums, and the political elite that have access to Brussels. That’s why this kind of EU-first, cross-border, direct organizing is key for meeting the moment we’re in. It mirrors the world we want to see and I think is something we are all going to have to figure out how to get better at.

So yes: trains are cool and I want to be able to get from my home in Barcelona to visit my family in Naarden more easily. That alone should be a good enough reason to improve cross border rail. But it’s also vital for our future sustainability, openness, and democratic culture.

Uncategorized trains cross border rail organizing eu politics