Brussels, July 2, 2024 (Lusa) - The rail link to the city of Lisbon is one of the six worst on the European continent, according to an assessment made by Greenpeace on the use of the railway in the countries of the EU bloc.

According to Greenpeace's assessment, released on Tuesday, Lisbon, Athens (Greece), Pristina (Kosovo), Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Skopje (North Macedonia) and Tallinn (Estonia) are the six worst-connected cities in Europe, with no connection to any other major European city.

In contrast to these six cities, Vienna, the capital of Austria is the city with the best railway connections, with 17 direct links between the Austrian city and other capitals.

In Greenpeace's analysis, Munich is next on the list, with 15 direct links between that German city and another capital, then Berlin, with 14, Zurich and Paris, each with 13 direct links.

However, the non-governmental organisation warned that there is a general lack of use of the railway, particularly the lines. Although Vienna is the city with the most direct connections, trains only use 59% of the available routes, so there could be 12 more direct connections.

The other cities on this list could also gain more routes, for example Munich and Berlin could have 14 more direct connections, Zurich 15 more and Paris 16 more.

Greenpeace reports that the number of passengers taking night trains across Europe has plummeted since 2001 and in 2019 there were only 445.

For this reason, the environmental organisation called on the European Union and national authorities to rethink transport investments and take advantage of the potential of the railways.

AFE/AYLS // AYLS

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