22.05.2024
Rose Marietta Reber is a 23-year-old freelancer in the film and television industry who has studied and lived in England, where rail transport and train travel were part of her daily life. Having seen the successful operation and convenient use of the system in London, England as a whole and internationally, she is very much looking forward to Rail Baltica opening up in Estonia as a window to Europe.
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Why did you join the RB youth community?
I joined because I know how good and convenient it is to travel by train. Even during high school, my friends and I talked about going on a trip and discovering the world when we finished school, and in the end, I was the only one who put this plan into action. I also went to university in England and I still divide my life between Estonia and the United Kingdom to this day. While abroad, I saw how nice and convenient it is to travel by train – my home is a 3-hour drive from London, but only a 1-hour and 15-minute train ride away. It is just as easy to travel by train to Brussels or Paris, for example, whether it is for work or just to discover the city. You just get on the train and you are there in a couple of hours. I really wish Estonia were open to the world like this. Riga in a couple of hours and from there to major European cities.
What do you think about Rail Baltica? What is the position of your loved ones?
I am really looking forward to Rail Baltica because I know that it is beneficial for people and necessary in terms of greener transport. Being part of the youth community has definitely increased my knowledge of the trans-Baltic railway connection, and I have also been able to explain better and more precisely to my friends and acquaintances what it is about. Being a member of the RB youth community, I have also been able to dispel myths that acquaintances have had. For example, there was a widespread opinion that in order to build the RB, Estonia would be dug through and a train would be put on it, but in reality, all the steps and stages have been extremely well considered and all kinds of measures have been implemented to restore and preserve the diversity of nature.
What do you want to do with Rail Baltica and for this project as a young person?
A great way to introduce Rail Baltica to young people and get them involved is the DiscoverEU program, which gives them a glimpse of what traveling by train really means and where we are heading in the Baltics. I am especially pleased to see that Rail Baltica is also supporting young people who want to take on this adventure with a scholarship.
But within the youth community, I am very happy to see that we are included. Our thoughts are listened to and acted upon – we can create campaigns and plans together. In the future, I see how Rail Baltica youth could gather across the Baltic States and we could work together to ensure that young people know about and support the construction of Rail Baltica and that they will definitely ride it in the future.
Where will you travel first with Rail Baltica?
I would like to say that I am going to Lithuania, for example, but in reality it would probably be to Pärnu, because that is where my father lives. I could tell him that I am coming to Pärnu and 40 minutes later I would be there. That way I could very conveniently visit my father, even for a day, to spend time with him.
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