As the European Union ramps up its ambitions for continent-wide high-speed rail (HSR), a widening gap is emerging between strategic vision and operational execution. 

The European Parliament recently adopted a report calling for a bigger, more assertive Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027, placing sustainable transport at the heart of Europe’s economic and climate strategies. 

At the same time, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) released its High-Speed Rail Master Plan for Europe, presenting a €546 billion roadmap to connect all EU capitals and major cities by 2050.

A fast, climate-smart, interconnected Europe

The vision is clear: a fast, climate-smart, interconnected Europe. The Parliament backs continued and expanded funding via the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU’s main transport infrastructure tool, while CER calls for a dedicated HSR funding envelope, bolstered by a strategic mix of public and private capital. 

But experts like independent railway commentator Jon Worth argue that unless practical barriers—especially in France—are addressed, this master plan risks being derailed.

“f the European Commission wants to do something about high-speed rail cross-border in the short term, it needs to pick up the phone and speak to Paris“, Worth wrote in a blog post. 

While the Commision focuses on long-term infrastructure investment, Worth urges an immediate, tactical rethink: prioritising better utilisation of existing high-speed lines and rolling stock over building new ones. His thought experiment asks what could be achieved if Europe had a fleet of border-ready, interoperable, 300km/h trains. The answer: a lot more than is currently being done.

Worth identifies several underserved cross-border corridors that rely heavily on existing HSR infrastructure. 

Amsterdam–Brussels–Paris remains underexploited, despite strong demand and mostly complete infrastructure. Eurostar hasn’t added capacity in two decades and prices remain high. 

Paris–London, Cologne, Frankfurt and Zurich could be better connected too—spare capacity exists, but services are limited. 

Routes such as Paris–Frankfurt or Paris–Munich are time-competitive with air travel yet suffer from low frequencies and fragmented service. 

Paris–Barcelona is another clear opportunity: a 6.5-hour trip served just two to three times daily, even though there are six daily trains from Paris to Perpignan. 

Similarly, Paris–Milan sees just four trains daily, though demand and connections via Lyon could support more.

Centre and bottleneck

France, Worth argues, is both the geographical centre of European high-speed rail and its most significant bottleneck. 

It is the only country in Europe to have reduced the size of its high-speed train fleet in recent years. It has removed Spanish signalling systems from some of its TGVs, preventing them from operating across the border into Spain. 

The French national operator has not installed the correct version of the European Train Control System (ETCS) to run on German high-speed lines, and has been slow in adapting its own lines to ETCS, limiting access for international operators. France has also refused to allow Spain’s new Talgo 106 trains to operate on its high-speed lines, citing regulatory grounds—though Worth concedes this last case may be justified.

All of this creates a paradox: France is at the core of nearly all short-term opportunities to expand European HSR, but its reluctance to modernise or share infrastructure stymies progress. Worth’s critique is that technical and regulatory barriers—not just financing—are Europe’s biggest HSR problem today.

2050

Back at the EU level, CER estimates that completing the full 49,400-kilometre high-speed network will require €546 billion by 2050—or about €20 billion annually. While CEF Transport has funded over 1,500 projects since 2014 with €37.5 billion, the scale required dwarfs current allocations. 

CER proposes using green bonds, Public-Private Partnerships, Regulatory Asset Base models, and even carbon pricing revenues—up to €10 billion per year—to help close the gap. The Parliament’s report supports this direction, urging new EU own resources and a bigger, more flexible MFF.

Even if the money is found, CER itself concedes that investment alone won’t solve everything: interoperability, fair track access charges, and harmonised ticketing are essential to making HSR work across borders. 

Predictable, investor-friendly frameworks are key to making routes viable—and the wide variation in track access charges across Member States continues to distort the market.

The alignment between the European Parliament and CER reflects unprecedented political momentum for high-speed rail. 

But as Jon Worth argues, the real test lies in short-term action—especially in breaking down the political and technical barriers that choke off cross-border services.

Europe has the tools. It even has the trains. But without urgent coordination—particularly from France—the dream of seamless, sustainable high-speed travel across the continent will remain just that: a dream.

“With the right regulatory and financial framework, high-speed rail can be not only commercially viable, but also a cornerstone of a competitive, stronger, greener, and more connected Europe”, said CER’s Executive Director Alberto Mazzola.

But as Worth might add: only if Paris answers the phone.

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