Europe seeks rail reform to rival budget air travel

The European Commission unveiled on Wednesday, plans to overhaul international train services in Europe to keep up with soaring cut-price airlines. The commission's plans would open up competition in cross-border passenger rail links--including high-speed links like Eurostar and Thalys--to spur competition between rival operators by 2010, reported the Agence France Presse. The railways' proportion of the total European passenger travel dropped from 10% in 1970 to 6% in 1998, according to commission data. This decline risks accelerating with the boom across Europe of cut-price airlines, which have transformed the air industry in recent years after its deregulation, said the AFP.