Modal shift to rail will remain incomplete without seamless integration of multimodal ground collective public transport (otherwise known interchangeably as ‘ground‑based’ or ‘land’ or ‘land-based’ collective public transport – i.e. no flights). Contrary to car travel, rail transport suffers from a lack of visibility, granularity and reliability for day-to-day journeys.

Merely two weeks after its launch in the framework of the Paris Olympic Games, the new joint SNCB/SNCF Paris-Brussels train's length was halved due to a lack of passengers resulting from the fact that SNCF's in-house ticket retail channels do not sell it.