Bausch (déi Gréng) spoke during a plenary session in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday after member of parliament Diane Adehm (CSV) had asked why a planned TGV route between Paris and Berlin doesn’t stop in Luxembourg.

“We cannot force anyone to go via Luxembourg,” the transport minister said, adding that railway companies operate in a free market.

Bausch said he’s not convinced by the de-regulation of the railway market, “but it is what it is.” The state should be able to intervene when the market isn’t meeting objectives, such as connecting more European capitals, he said, adding that European Commission policy is contradicting its own objectives, such as reducing the number of short distance flights.

“We must try to get good connections to Metz,” Bausch said. This would help get Luxembourg better linked to destinations further afield on France’s network. The grand duchy is co-financing infrastructure to increase the number of trains to the neighbouring city, he said.

It is too late to build a railway link to Saarbrücken in Germany, he said, as the area connecting the city to Luxembourg is built-up in many places already. However, Bausch said he is in discussions with the German government. “We are dependent on the traffic plan of the Germans,” he said.

On the other side of the country, “there are concrete ideas” with partners in Belgium and France to add Luxembourg to their networks of night trains. Southern France and Switzerland are among the more promising destinations, he said. “We’re staying on the ball.”