IFRAME: https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N9RMBBF Subscribe now Login * Subscribe Now * Login * Please wait.... * * News + UK + World + US + UK Politics + Brexit + Tech + Science + Education + Environment + Health + Business + InFact * Politics + Brexit + Conservatives + Labour + Lib Dems + SNP + Green Party + DUP + Boris Johnson + Jeremy Corbyn + US Politics * Voices + Editorials + Shappi Khorsandi + Mary Dejevsky + Robert Fisk + Mark Steel + Janet Street-Porter + Chuka Umunna + John Rentoul + Jenny Éclair + Matthew Norman + Sean O'Grady + Tom Peck * Sport + Football + Rugby union + Cricket + F1 + Boxing + Tennis + Cycling + Golf + Miguel Delaney + Podcast + US sports * Culture + Film + Music + TV & radio + Books + Art + Photography + Theatre & dance + Streaming Hub + Geoffrey Macnab + Clarisse Loughrey + Ed Cumming + Crosswords & puzzles * Video * Indy/Life + Travel + Women + Fashion & beauty + Food & drink + Dating & relationships + Health & fitness + Tech + Money + Design & home + Motoring * IndyBest + Christmas + Home & garden + Kids + Books + Travel & outdoors + Fashion & beauty + Food & drink + Tech + Sports & fitness * Long Reads * indy100 * Vouchers + TUI + Groupon + Argos + Hyperoptic + Just Eat + Currys + Nike + Travelodge + National Trust + boohoo * Premium + Chris Blackhurst + Hamish McRae + Janet Street-Porter + Mary Dejevsky + Matthew Norman + Jenny Éclair * 20 Pledges * Please wait.... * + UK Edition + US Edition Subscribe Now Subscribe Now * News + UK + World + US + Politics + Brexit + Tech + Science + Education + Environment + Health + Business + InFact + Long reads * Politics + Brexit + Conservatives + Labour + Lib Dems + SNP + Green Party + DUP + Boris Johnson + Jeremy Corbyn + US Politics * Voices + Editorials + Shappi Khorsandi + Mary Dejevsky + Robert Fisk + Mark Steel + Janet Street-Porter + Chuka Ummuna + John Rentoul + Jenny Éclair + Matthew Norman + Sean O'Grady + Tom Peck * Sport + Football + Rugby union + Cricket + F1 + Boxing + Tennis + Cycling + Golf + Miguel Delaney + Podcast + US sports * Culture + Film + Music + TV & radio + Books + Art + Photography + Theatre & dance + Streaming Hub + Geoffrey Macnab + Clarisse Loughrey + Ed Cumming + Crosswords & puzzles * Indy/life + Travel + Fashion & beauty + Food & drink + Health & fitness + Dating & Relationships + Tech o iPhone o Tech news o Tech culture o Gaming o Cryptocurrency + Motoring + Women * Video * IndyBest + Christmas + Sports & Fitness + Home & Garden + Kids + Books + Fashion & Beauty + Food & Drink + Travel & Outdoors + Tech * Money + Mortgages + Loans + Savings + Pensions + Money transfers + Health insurance + Money Deals * indy100 * Voucher Codes + TUI + Groupon + Argos + Hyperoptic + Just Eat + Currys + Nike + Travelodge + National Trust + boohoo * Premium + Subscription offers + Independent Premium app + Daily Edition app + Chris Blackhurst + Hamish McRae + Janet Street-Porter + Mary Dejevsky + Matthew Norman + Jenny Éclair * 20 Pledges * UK Edition + UK Edition + US Edition Please wait.... Log in using your social network account OR Log in directly with The Independent {{message}} ____________________ Please enter an email address Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address ____________________ Please enter a valid password [ ] Keep me logged in (BUTTON) Submit Forgotten your password? Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to Independent Premium. View offers Hi {{fullName}} * My Independent Premium * Account details * Help centre * Logout (BUTTON) Passengers wait for a Thalys train in Brussels ( Getty ) Eurostar and Thalys could combine to form high-speed train network in response to climate change ‘The challenge of climate change and the demand for eco-responsible travel calls for an ambitious response’ * Helen Coffey * @LenniCoffey * Monday 30 September 2019 12:52 {{^moreThanTen}} * {{total}} comments {{/moreThanTen}} * Plans are afoot to merge two high-speed train companies – Eurostar and Thalys – to form one mega rail network spanning five countries, in a response to increasing demand for more sustainable travel options. SNCF, the French state railway operator that owns a majority stake in both brands, has dubbed the project “Green Speed” and presented the idea to its board. The idea is to create a sustainable European high-speed rail travel company, offering greater incentive for consumers to opt to take the train rather than flying or driving. Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines (BUTTON) Download now The aim is to up capacity from the current 18.5 million passengers a year to nearly 30 million by 2030, “providing a response to the growing demand for environmentally-responsible travel". Merging the two operators would provide travellers with a more seamless experience, with one ticket for the whole journey, improved schedules for quick connections, and enhanced digital tools. Created with Sketch. World's best train journeys Show all 10 Created with Sketch. Created with Sketch. (BUTTON) Created with Sketch. World's best train journeys 1/10 Belmond Andean Explorer Explore Peru with this luxury train service Belmond 2/10 Coast Starlight Gorgeous: take in the scenery on a train ride from Seattle to Los Angeles Amtrak 3/10 TranzAlpine See stunning views on this New Zealand train journey TranzAlpine 4/10 Rovos Rail This rail service takes you to the heart of Africa Rovos Rail 5/10 Interregional Portugal Explore all the beauty Portugal has to offer by train Interregional Portugal 6/10 Glacier Express Take in jaw-dropping views of Switzerland from a train Glacier Express 7/10 East Lancashire Railway Travelling back in time in northern England East Lancashire Railway 8/10 Durango & Silverton Enjoy one of America's most scenic train rides Durango & Silverton 9/10 Caledonian Sleeper Wake up to the beauty of Scotland with this overnight train Peter Devlin 10/10 Belmond Eastern & Oriental A breezy observation car on a luxury Asian train Belmond 1/10 Belmond Andean Explorer Explore Peru with this luxury train service Belmond 2/10 Coast Starlight Gorgeous: take in the scenery on a train ride from Seattle to Los Angeles Amtrak 3/10 TranzAlpine See stunning views on this New Zealand train journey TranzAlpine 4/10 Rovos Rail This rail service takes you to the heart of Africa Rovos Rail 5/10 Interregional Portugal Explore all the beauty Portugal has to offer by train Interregional Portugal 6/10 Glacier Express Take in jaw-dropping views of Switzerland from a train Glacier Express 7/10 East Lancashire Railway Travelling back in time in northern England East Lancashire Railway 8/10 Durango & Silverton Enjoy one of America's most scenic train rides Durango & Silverton 9/10 Caledonian Sleeper Wake up to the beauty of Scotland with this overnight train Peter Devlin 10/10 Belmond Eastern & Oriental A breezy observation car on a luxury Asian train Belmond SNCF has also highlighted its desire to maximise the use of renewable energy for its fleet by 2030 and further reduce carbon emissions over the next decade. Once fleshed out, the proposal will have to be approved by the companies’ various boards, as well as the European Commission. Read more * Eurostar to launch direct Amsterdam-London train in December Guillaume Pepy, chairman of SNCF, said: “The challenge of climate change and the demand for eco-responsible travel calls for an ambitious response. Bringing together the strengths of Eurostar and Thalys would be a powerful response to this challenge. “The creation of a combined European high speed rail company would deliver a compelling alternative to road and air travel for our 18.5 million passengers and would herald a new era in the development of European high speed rail services.” Sophie Dutordoir, CEO of SNCB and chairman of Thalys, added that the merger is based on the conviction that “now more than ever, the train is the safest, most sustainable, fastest and most efficient solution for travelling inside Europe". Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Eurostar currently connects 14 cities across the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, while Thalys serves 26 destinations in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany. The news comes as the flygskam (flight shame) movement continues to gain traction across Europe, with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's decision to travel to the US and back by boat heightening awareness of the campaign even further. More about Eurostar | SNCF | Show{{#moreThan3_total}} {{value_total}} {{/moreThan3_total}} comments INDY/GO newsletter Time to Travel! ____________________ Enter your email address (BUTTON) Continue (BUTTON) Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in receiveIndyTravelNew [ ] I would like to receive news on where to go and what to know, every Saturday by email Update newsletter preferences Comments Share your thoughts and debate the big issues Learn more (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comment{{/singleComment_p}}{{^singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comments{{/singleComment_p}} (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comment{{/singleComment_open}}{{^singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comments{{/singleComment_open}} Open Comments Join the discussion (BUTTON) Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. * You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully * Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable * Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties * We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique Only letters and numbers accepted ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Post (BUTTON) {{#moreThanOne}} * Newest first * Oldest first * Most liked {{/moreThanOne}} Loading comments... {{^comments}} There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts {{/comments}} {{#comments}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{/replies}} {{/replies}} {{/comments}} Loading comments... {{^comments}} There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts {{/comments}} {{#comments}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) Post (BUTTON) {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) Post (BUTTON) {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{/replies}} {{/replies}} {{/comments}} {{#showMore}} (BUTTON) Read more {{/showMore}} Minds Comments Join the discussion (BUTTON) Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. * You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully * Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable * Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties * We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. {{^nickname}} Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique {{/nickname}} ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Post (BUTTON) {{#moreThanOne_p}} * Newest first * Oldest first * Most liked {{/moreThanOne_p}} Loading comments... {{^comments}} There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts {{/comments}} {{#comments}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{/replies}} {{/replies}} {{/comments}} Loading comments... {{^comments}} There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts {{/comments}} {{#comments}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) (BUTTON) Post {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} Reply {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} Create a commenting name to join the debate ____________________ (BUTTON) Submit Please try again, the name must be unique ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) (BUTTON) Post {{#replies}} {{sender.name}} {{dateTime}} {{{commentText}}} {{#sender.isSelf}} Delete {{/sender.isSelf}} (BUTTON) {{posVotes}} (BUTTON) {{negVotes}} {{/replies}} {{/replies}} {{/comments}} {{#showMore_p}} (BUTTON) Read more {{/showMore_p}} (BUTTON) Follow comments Enter your email to follow new comments on this article. ____________________ (BUTTON) Subscribe Thanks for subscribing! {{errorMessage}} (BUTTON) Vote Are you sure you want to submit this vote? (BUTTON) Submit vote (BUTTON) Cancel You must be logged in to vote. (BUTTON) Report Comment Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) Flag comment This comment has been flagged. (BUTTON) Subscribe to Independent Premium to debate the big issues Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. (BUTTON) Subscribe Already registered? Log in (BUTTON) Report Comment Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? (BUTTON) Flag comment (BUTTON) Cancel This comment has been flagged. (BUTTON) Delete Comment Are you sure you want to delete this comment? (BUTTON) Cancel (BUTTON) Delete comment Deleting comment... This comment has been deleted. This comment has been deleted. (BUTTON) About The Independent commenting Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. (BUTTON) Subscribe Already registered? Log in Sponsored features {{title}} * Get in touch + Contact us + Jobs + * Our products + Subscriptions + Install our apps + Archive * Other publications + Evening Standard + Novaya Gazeta * Extras + All topics + Voucher codes + Advertising guide + Syndication * Legal + Code of conduct and complaints + Contributors + Cookie policy + Privacy notice + User policies [unip?en=page_view]