Paper short abstract:

This paper explores emic experiences of (im)mobility on the European railway network. Using data from ethnographic fieldwork in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion and the Eastern Pyrenees, we explore how these experiences influence imaginaries of European mobility and perceptions of the continent itself.

Paper long abstract:

With an increased need for sustainable modes of transport in Europe, public and political attention is returning to its extensive international railway network. It holds promises both to those aiming to slow down travel as well as those seeking high-speed and emission-free forms of transport. But despite their potential, the European railways face significant challenges. The network remains divided into multiple national systems, which function to varying degrees internally but often face political and structural obstacles when connecting to neighbouring countries. Incompatible ticketing systems and timetables, differing security practices and infrastructure standards are just some of the difficulties travellers may face, all of which result in varying experiences of immobility, for example: waiting in stations, interrupted journeys or being stuck on trains in-between destinations.

This dysfunctional travel environment serves as a starting point for exploring the meaning-making processes that emerge when traversing bicultural regions and experiencing their diverse structural, political and social aspects. The paper seeks to unravel the complexities of “imaginaries of (im)mobility” (Salazar, 2011: 577) that emerge in transnational rail journeys. Following an ethnographic approach, the authors will compare their experiences of (im)mobility with the emic experiences of travellers and railway operators they meet on the way while travelling through the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion and the Eastern Pyrenees. In doing so, this paper explores how (im)mobility is experienced on cross-border rail travel in Europe, how it influences the imagination of future European mobility and how this converges with perceptions of the continent itself.