Freight trains should soon run from Antwerp to Bratislava or Lisbon to Liverpool without stopping at borders or changing locomotives’ train crews.

So say three co-decision legislative reports on measures to revitalise the railways by removing obstacles to the free circulation of trains throughout the European network.

All three have now been adopted by MEPs.

However, MEPs stressed that much needs to be done to improve the inter-operability of the European railways.

National procedures for the approval of locomotives are seen as the main barrier to creating an EU-wide railway system.

So mutual acceptance of both existing and new railway stock specifications needs to be facilitated.