The long journey towards a shift to rail in the European long-distance passenger transport market.

The European long-distance passenger transport market is rapidly changing. There is a striking discrepancy between the relevance of long-distance travel for emission reduction goals and the lack of knowledge to support its design, planning and policy making. A conceptual representation of this market is provided, and four key scientific challenges are identified and discussed along with a brief review of the state-of-the-art, related knowledge gaps and a corresponding research agenda.