The European interregional long-distance transport segment is prioritized as the European policy has to be focused on territorial cohesion, domestic market and connectivity of community regions. Therefore, when it comes to building passenger transport coaches, the railway industry stresses the development of new concepts that will focus the attention of the passenger customer towards railway transport.
Recent Eurostat data show that in seven European Union member states long-distance transport represents approximately 20% of the total passenger/km segment.
To maximize the potential of high-speed long-distance railway transport, transport operators need innovative equipments that meet new requirements for interoperabi-lity, economy, reliability, energy efficiency and the ability to ride both dedicated and conventional tracks.
New interior design concepts are needed to be able to use passenger coaches in a more flexible way and to make sure that this flexibility does not interfere with the attractiveness of vehicles in different market segments. The purpose of innovative comfort concepts for railway vehicles is to improve the competitiveness of railway long-distance transport as compared to short-distance air transport. Currently, there are new opportunities for a holistic approach of the cars designed for specific systems. The design of coaches in railway transport meets several important functions, including the aesthetic, comfort and energy-efficiency functions. The materials traditionally used in the construction of coaches are also selected wisely in order to have a positive answer to fire standard tests and considering the results of these tests, new approaches can provide additional opportunities for the railway safety as well as a competitive advantage.
By providing innovating solutions for the interior design (flexible plans for class I and II seats and efficient plans for the conversion of sleeping coach seats into regular coach seats), the performance and competitiveness of long-distance railway transport will be improved compared to short-distance air transport.
A more flexible use of rolling stock on long distances can generate significant improvements in terms of efficiency thus leading to a most cost-efficient and more competitive railway passenger transport.
In terms of innovating concepts, the industry has offered more and more attractive ticketing solutions so as to make long-distance railway traffic more attractive and a viable competitor to short-distance air transport. However, a major disadvantage consists of the integrated ticketing system for long-distance passenger transport services which is still a complex issue, as shown by a study elaborated in 2012 by the European Parliament, the Department of Internal Affairs.
Its feasibility encounters a number of le-gislative, technical and competition-related hurdles resulting from the differences between the many transport environments that have to be combined. Integrated ticketing system is not an objective per se: it is rather a means of making multimodal transport more attractive for users and of promoting more efficient use of existing infrastructure and services.
Only limited statistics are available as regards the long-distance intermodal travels and there is no common definition across Europe of long-distance trips. This makes it difficult to provide a precise overview of the main characteristics and size of the long-distance travel market.
Nevertheless, it can be said with absolute certainty that long-distance integrated ticketing system remains a limited pheno-
menon, restricted to certain niche markets.
However, stakeholders suggest that, even though it may be difficult to estimate, the potential for such a market does exist and may grow in the longer term.
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