EUROPEAN commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, has outlined a series of measures the European Commission (EC) is pursuing to realise the ambitious vision for a trans-European high-speed network presented in the EC’s High-Speed Rail Action Plan, which it launched on November 5.
The comprehensive package aims to accelerate the rollout of a pan-European high-speed railway network by 2040 by enhancing the existing Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The plan foresees trains operating at 200km/h and above between major cities across the European continent, slashing journey times and overcoming current issues with network interoperability to improve cross-border connectivity.
Europe’s high-speed network has only grown by 17% to around 12,000km over the last 10 years, well short of the around 50,000km network now operational in China. Tzitzikostas presented various steps to deliver the objectives of each of the plan’s four pillars during an address to an event organised by the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and Eurocities at the European Parliament on November 5.
To achieve the first objective of accelerating investment and increasing the interoperability of the European high-speed network, Tzitzikostas said the EC will set binding timelines to remove all recognised national network bottlenecks by 2027. He said this will be followed by a dedicated EU financing strategy “based on dialogue with member states, industry and financial actors across Europe,” to address the key question of where funding will come from to deliver the estimated €546bn cost of completing the network.
“We want to coordinate all the financial resources, attract financial investment and strengthen the financial ecosystem for high-speed rail,” he said. “This is the right approach to complete the TEN-T network by 2040. The multilateral high-speed rail deal will mobilise the investments that are needed for the priority projects.”
Kristian Schmidt, land transport director at the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DGMove) at the EC, also told the forum that with the EC only requesting an approximate €50bn budget for the next Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) that will run from 2028 to 2032, significantly less than the total funding required, private sector involvement is essential.
“We need a plan that attracts private investors and therefore it needs to be realistic,” he said.
Regulatory framework
Moving to the second pillar - strengthening the regulatory framework - Tzitzikostas says a forthcoming 2026 proposal will seek to improve cross-border rail ticketing and booking systems, “making it easier for passengers to plan and book seamless journeys.” Passengers are also set to benefit from improved rights when using multiple operators.
“You will be able to use your mobile phone as your ticket with just one click from your phone or your laptop, just as we do today with planes for cross-border travel,” Tzitzikostas said.
He also vowed to remove the entry barriers for new entrants to the high-speed operations market, including through better coordination of track capacity, fair access charges and non-discriminatory access to maintenance and servicing facilities. Tzitzikostas said more competition will result in better and more affordable high-speed rail services for Europe, citing the successful conclusion of continuing negotiations over the Infrastructure Capacity Regulation as essential to the delivery of these conditions. The legislation aims to create a European framework for the allocation of train paths, with a focus on digitalisation and multi-annual agreements that will encourage long-term stability in capacity planning.
“The sector is calling for better management and use of the rail network, and adopting the regulation before the end of the year would be the best possible answer,” Tzitzikostas said. He added that the EC will in 2027 propose measures to support a second-hand market for rolling stock, banning what Tzitzikostas described as the anti-competitive scrapping of safe and functional trains while ensuring transparent conditions for resale and operation.
Schmidt also backed competition within a new market based on cross-border operations as essential for delivery of services that carry 7-8 million passengers annually, which he considers the tipping point for a commercially viable operation, but at the moment he says is limited to just a few routes in Europe.
“We need new entrants, including companies you haven’t heard of yet, to say I’m going to buy rolling stock and launch a new brand,” he said.
Industrial innovation
The third pillar concerns supporting a strong and innovative European rail industry, with Tzitzikostas revealing that from next year the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking will focus on developing next-generation high-speed rolling stock, an area where he feels European industry already shines. “Research and innovation will help us to overcome the technical barriers that still prevent trains from running seamlessly across Europe,” he said.
In addition, in 2027, Tzitzikostas revealed that rules governing train driver certification will be simplified. Interestingly, he also confirmed that the mandate of the European Union Agency of Railways (ERA) will be strengthened “finally to remove redundant national rules and issue authorisations more efficiently.”
“It is high time that we strength the role of ERA,” Tzitzikostas said.
Finally, to deliver the objectives of the fourth pillar - managing rail capacity more effectively - Tzitzikostas said infrastructure managers will legally be required to cooperate to provide predictable cross-border capacity for long-distance services. “We will create a scoreboard to monitor progress on high-speed rail,” he said. “Let me assure you that I will keep contacting the member states continuously to make sure we stay on track.”
He added that expanding high-speed infrastructure will have the added benefit of releasing capacity on existing main lines for additional regional services which he “wants to grow as well” while increasing journey speeds will enhance Europe’s ability to move troops and equipment. The EC is set to present its Military Mobility package in the next two weeks, Tzitzikostas confirmed.
Concluding his address, Tzitzikostas pointed to a statement in the joint declaration issued by CER and Eurocities in response to the high-speed action plan, which praises the European Union’s commitment to triple high-speed traffic by 2050 and was presented to Tzitzikostas following his address.
“We commit ourselves to work with EU institutions and the member states to achieve our common goals. Not only do we share the same perspective, but we share the same ideas, the same vision for European rail of tomorrow,” Tzitzikostas said.
