The concept of competitiveness between different means of transport has until very recently been a constant factor in their historical development. So much so that requests for economic resources by executives of the most relevant companies in each transport mode were usually made on the basis of the need to provide a higher quality offer which would enable them to compete on better terms with other rival modes. The aforementioned way of thinking has declined in recent years as it has been seen that substantial increases in movement require the contribution of every mode's qualities, if demand requirements are to be confronted effectively in an economic and environmental context. Rail-air interaction is probably the area which best represents this change of approach in the relative positions of different modes. The introduction of the first high-speed, commercially operated service between Paris and Lyon was seen as the railway's response to the development of airline services. Today, however, the existence of the Roissy TGV station at Charles de Gaulle Airport has, together with the development of new railway infrastructure networks in France, enabled some airline companies to establish collaboration agreements with SNCF. European aviation did, in a parallel fashion, experience a profound transformation over the last decade with the development of the so-called third level air services into true regional services. The rapid progress experienced, with propeller planes being very quickly replaced by jet planes of similar capacity, but undoubtedly more attractive to passengers, introduces a new variable to complementariness between the railway and the airplane. Political leaders are increasingly conscious of the need to encourage complementariness between transport modes. This is the framework for the trend observed towards converting major European airports into real centres for directing traffic onto the railways. Strengthening this mode of transport not only contributes to making the transport system more fluid; it also reinforces environmental protection. The aim of this document in this respect is to provide a series of reflections about the trends observed in passenger travel by both modes in the last few years, as well as indicating certain possibilities for complementing air and railway services in the next few decades.
Samenvatting