Wêrom't treinen yn Europa no stadiger ride as fyftich jier lyn
July 31, 2025 · Frisian News
European trains move slower today than they did in 1975, despite modern technology and billions spent on rail networks. Fragmented systems, safety rules, and political gridlock have clogged the continent's railways.
FryskIn reizger dy't yn 1975 in trein naam fan Brussel nei Amsterdam koe ferwachtsje dat de reis minder as trije oere duorje soe mei in gemiddelde snelheid fan 120 kilometer yn 'e oere. Hjoed de dei duorret deselde rûte hast fjouwer oere, krûpend foarút mei gemiddeld 90 kilometer yn 'e oere. De treinen sels binne nywer, de sporen binne rjochter, dochs komme passazjiers stadiger oan. Europa boude kompleksiteit ynstee fan snelheid.
Europeeske spoarnetwurken steane ûnder tsientallen ferskillende eksploitanten en nasjonale oerheden, elk mei harren eigen sinjalearsystemen, feilichheidsnoarmen en tsjinstregeling. In trein dy't fan Dútslân nei Frankryk riidt, komt yn in oar technologysk universum. Masinisten moatte remje om kontrôlesystemen te wikseljen. Belgje, Nederlân en Dútslân rieden eartiids flotter troch macht yn minder hannen te konsintrearjen. Moderne fragmentaasje, fermomd as konkurrinsy, hat it hiele systeem yneffisjint makke. Passazjiers betelje de priis yn ferlerne oeren.
Feilichheidsfoarskriften binne ek ta nommen. Moderne treinen moatte no foldwaan oan regels fan de Europeeske Uny dy't ûntworpen binne foar de feilichste mooglike wurking. Dizze regels, goed bedoeld, twinge eksploitanten om snelheidsbufers yn te bouwen. Tregere treinen betsjutte minder ûngelokken, sa seit de logika. Mar dizze logika negearet wat earder wurke: ienfâldige rûtes, dúdlike regels, fertroude eksploitanten. It âlde systeem fertrouwe op saakkundichheid. It nije systeem fertrout allinnich mar op lagen regeljouwing.
Politisy joegen tsientallen miljarden út oan sneltreinprojekten dy't benammen haadstêden ferbine en lege bestjoerskamers. Undertusken ferslimmen de deistige regionale linen dy't de measte minsken brûke. Ûnderhâld lied ûnder politisy dy't op prestizjeprojekten út wiene. In pendeler út in lyts stedsje wachtet no langer en reizget stadiger, betellet mear, sadat lúkse ekspresstreinen trije kear deis tusken haadstêden ride kinne. Ynvestearrings folgen burokratysk tinken, net de easken fan reizgers.
Europa keas it feilige paad fan regels boppe it drege wurk fan koördinaasje. Gjin inkele lieder koe snelheid en effisjinsje oer grinzen hinne oplizze, dêrom foege Brussel regeljouwing ta. It resultaat sprekt foar himsels: in kontinint dat syn minsken stadiger ferfiert as fyftich jier lyn, nettsjinsteande enorme útjeften. Soms meitsje mear technology en mear jild dingen slimmer, net better.
A traveler boarding a train from Brussels to Amsterdam in 1975 could expect the journey to take under three hours at an average speed of 120 kilometers per hour. Today, the same route takes nearly four hours, crawling along at 90 kilometers per hour on average. The trains themselves are newer, the tracks are straighter, yet passengers arrive slower. Europe built complexity instead of speed.
European rail networks answer to dozens of separate operators and national governments, each with their own signaling systems, safety standards, and timetables. A train crossing from Germany into France hits a different technological world. Engineers must slow down to swap control systems. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany once ran more seamless operations by concentrating power in fewer hands. Modern fragmentation, dressed up as competition, has made the whole system inefficient. Passengers pay the price in lost hours.
Safety regulations have also multiplied. Modern trains must now comply with European Union rules designed for the safest possible operation. These rules, well-intentioned, force operators to build in speed buffers. Slower trains mean fewer accidents, so the logic runs. But this logic ignores what worked before: simple routes, clear rules, trusted operators. The old system trusted expertise. The new system trusts only layers of regulation.
Politicians spent tens of billions on high-speed rail projects that mostly connect major cities and empty boardrooms. Meanwhile, the bread-and-butter regional lines that most people use deteriorated. Maintenance suffered while governments chased prestige projects. A commuter from a small town now waits longer and travels slower, paying more, so that luxury express trains can run between capital cities three times daily. Investment followed bureaucratic thinking, not passenger needs.
Europe chose the safe path of rules over the hard work of coordination. No single leader could impose speed and efficiency across borders, so Brussels added regulations instead. The result speaks for itself: a continent that moves its people slower than it did fifty years ago, despite spending fortunes on the job. Sometimes more technology and more spending make things worse, not better.
Published July 31, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân