In 2023, the European Union railway network had 200,947 km of railway lines, with the highest densities being found in and around main cities and other population hubs, a Eurostat blogpost reveals. 

The highest railway network density was registered in Czechia, with 123.2 metres of railway lines per km². Other EU countries with high densities included Belgium (119.2 m/km²), Germany (109.5 m/km²) and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (104.8 m/km²). Outside the EU but in Europe, Switzerland is the uncontested champion with 133.4 m/km².

On the other end, the lowest railway network densities were found in Greece (14.0 m/km²) and Finland (19.4 m/km²). Low densities were also recorded in Sweden (26.8 m/km²), Estonia (27.2 m/km²), Portugal (27.8 m/km²), Latvia (28.9 m/km²) and Ireland (29.8 m/km²). 

With 9 m/km², Albania is the worst off. Norway (10.7 m/km²), Turkey or Türkiye (14.9 m/km²) and the Republic of Georgia (16 m/km²) don’t score well either. These countries are not part of the EU, but are listed. Not listed are the United Kingdom, Belarus and Russia.

Expansion of high-speed railway lines in the EU

In the EU railway network, high-speed railway lines designed for speed of 250 km/h or more often span national borders, facilitating seamless high-speed travel across the EU. 

This interoperable network has seen significant growth over the past decade. From 2013 to 2023, it expanded by 2 744 km (+47.2%) to 8 556 km. 

In 2023, Spain led the way with 3 190 km of high-speed lines, an increase of 66% from 1 919 km in 2013, followed by France with 2 748 km (+35% from 2 036 km), Germany with 1 163 km (+32% from 881 km) and Italy with 1 097 km (+63% from 675 km). 

Belgium recorded 211 km of high-speed lines and the Netherlands 90 km (both unchanged from 2013). Denmark accounts for 57 km, inaugurated in 2019.

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