Karol Delga: “The state must start a railway revolution”

LThe train remains a new idea. Almost two hundred years after the first railway line opened in England in 1825, a new railway revolution is underway: free transport. Every century has its share. If in the nineteenth^e then to XX^e At the turn of the century, transport infrastructure first served economic development, and now it should primarily serve the fight against global warming.

This paradigm shift is not a utopia. This is not a choice, it is a necessity and it is happening before our eyes. And it is time for France to catch up so as not to miss the train of history.

In Germany, the federal government decided in May to pay 9 euros for the entire local and regional network of the country, reducing inflation by two points in three months, 10% of transport from road to rail and saving 1.8 million. tons of CO₂. Due to this result, the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is considering extending the measure…

In Spain, the government of Pedro Sánchez has just introduced free transport for the next four months in the twelve largest cities and suburbs: Renfe. [équivalent de la SNCF] An estimated 75 million additional trips will be made during this period.

In Occitanie, the train in the region has been set at 1 euro for many years: 3 million tickets have been sold per year (according to the Occitanie region and SNCF), half of which in summer, thus allowing residents of all areas, seasonal workers. , tourists to travel economically and sustainably. In Montpellier, the metropolis that is still the largest in France, free transport is voted for, and towns and villages take initiatives in this direction almost every day.

Political voluntarism

Yes, there is a revolution going on. And it is accelerating because of a climate and social emergency that is disrupting our habits and thinking. France needs clarity and political voluntarism.

certainty to reinvest in its rail network. On August 28, we inaugurated the re-opening of the line on the right bank of the Rhône between Pont-Saint-Esprit and Nîmes, which had been closed since 1973 by the State and the SNCF. When I decided in 2016 that the train would return after listening to the population, elected officials, and economic actors of this Roon-Garde area, I was told: “This is impossible, Madam President. »