On Wednesday 5 November 2025, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive plan to accelerate the development of high-speed rail across the European Union, offering passengers significantly reduced travel times. By boosting fast, comfortable, safe, and reliable rail services, the plan supports the EU’s twin goals of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness.

Building on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the plan sets the ambition of cutting the duration of many popular rail journeys across Europe by half compared to today. By 2030, passengers will be able to travel from Berlin to Copenhagen in four hours instead of seven. 

By 2035, Sofia and Athens will be just six hours apart by rail, while new cross-border connections will link the Baltic States (Rail Baltica) and enable passengers to travel from Paris to Lisbon via Madrid.

The plan aims to deliver a well-functioning and faster high-speed rail network by 2040, with key actions structured around four pillars.

Accelerating investment and harmonising a truly interoperable network

The Commission proposes to accelerate investment and harmonise standards to achieve a genuinely interoperable European high-speed rail network. It plans to remove cross-border bottlenecks through binding timelines by 2027 and explore options for higher speeds—well above 250 km/h when economically viable.

A dedicated EU financing strategy will be developed in the coming months, supported by a strategic dialogue with Member States, industry, and financial actors. The goal is to better coordinate funding sources and private investment, strengthening the EU’s financial ecosystem for high-speed projects. This will culminate in a High-Speed Rail Deal—a multilateral commitment to mobilise the necessary investments for priority projects.

Creating an attractive and competitive rail market

Legislation will support a second-hand market for rolling stock. In 2027, the Commission will propose measures to ban the anticompetitive scrapping of safe, functioning trains and to establish transparent resale and operation conditions across all Member States.

A 2026 proposal will aim to improve cross-border ticketing and booking systems, making it easier for passengers to plan and buy seamless journeys while ensuring passenger rights across multiple operators. The Commission also intends to remove barriers for new high-speed operators by improving coordination of track capacity, setting fair access charges, and ensuring non-discriminatory access to service facilities.

Supporting innovation and interoperability

A 2026 Europe’s Rail research call will fund next-generation high-speed rolling stock and innovations to remove technical barriers preventing trainsets from operating seamlessly across borders. 

EU rules will be revised to simplify train driver certification and facilitate cross-border operations. The 2026 European ERTMS Deployment Plan will promote interoperability through a harmonised rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS or ETCS).

Strengthening EU-level governance

Infrastructure managers will be legally required to cooperate to provide predictable and attractive cross-border capacity for long-distance services. Barriers to new routes between key cities will be discussed in stakeholder roundtables, and progress will be tracked through a new Commission scoreboard. 

The mandate of the European Union Agency for Railways will be revised in 2026, enabling it to remove redundant national rules and issue certifications more efficiently.

Beyond faster journeys, the plan aims to ease congestion, increase capacity on conventional lines, and improve regional and night services. It also strengthens Europe’s security by facilitating the rapid movement of troops and equipment alongside civilian freight.

Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said: “High-speed rail is not just about cutting travel times – it is about uniting Europeans, strengthening our economy, and leading the global race for sustainable transport. With today’s plan, we are turning ambition into action: breaking down barriers, mobilising investments for modern infrastructure, and making cross-border rail the backbone of a carbon-neutral, competitive, and secure Europe. Citizens across the Union will benefit from faster, safer, and more affordable journeys that bring Europe closer together.”

An accompanying map illustrates future travel times—such as Berlin–Copenhagen in four hours and Paris–Lisbon via Madrid in under ten—based on available timetable data from April 2025.

The plan complements ongoing work to complete the TEN-T network, which already supports 804 rail infrastructure projects across the EU with €34.4 billion through the Connecting Europe Facility, accounting for almost 69% of total CEF investment. In preparation, Commissioner Tzitzikostas held an Implementation Dialogue with stakeholders from the rail industry, passenger groups, cities, civil society, trade unions, and investors.

All capitals?

The press release is accompanied by a map. Can you name all the capitals?

Okay, you can excuse Dublin and Helsinki not being showed, but Luxembourg may feel left out.

European Rail Sector applauds Commission’s vision for high-speed rail, urges faster delivery

The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), representing Europe’s state-owned and private railways, welcomed the Commission’s plan, calling it an ambitious step toward connecting the continent. CER, with over 40 years of high-speed experience among its members, praised the initiative and expressed readiness to help bring the vision to life after contributing to the master plan over the past four years.

CER highlighted the significant economic and environmental benefits of high-speed rail: every €1 million invested generates 2.8 job-years, while the completed network could save 11.6 billion barrels of oil and 5 billion tonnes of CO₂ by 2070. Overall net benefits are estimated at €750 billion.

By 2040, journey times such as Warsaw–Berlin, Vilnius–Berlin, and Budapest–Prague could drop to around four hours, while Berlin–Brussels, Madrid–Paris, and Munich–Rome could be covered in roughly six hours. 

The sector welcomed the Commission’s endorsement of 250 km/h standard speeds and above, ensuring rail can compete with short-haul flights and match the performance of networks in Japan and China.

CER also welcomed efforts to harmonise train path allocations, accelerate vehicle certification via the EU Agency for Railways, improve rolling stock compatibility, and ensure effective ERTMS deployment. However, it stressed the need for massive investment and a level playing field with aviation, including VAT exemption for international rail and taxation of aviation fuel. Seamless, user-friendly ticketing—based on the Open Sales and Distribution Model (OSDM)—was also highlighted as a crucial step.

CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola stated: “The true ambition of today’s High-Speed Deal is not only an investment in infrastructure but a direct investment in the quality and competitiveness of European travel. With a credible definition of high-speed rail infrastructure now in place, the focus must shift to rapid delivery. CER urges Member States and EU institutions to prioritise dedicated funding and coordination to build the European High-Speed Rail network and unlock its massive benefits for all citizens.”

When a plan’s not a plan: Jon Worth’s critique

Not everyone was convinced by the Commission’s announcement. In his blog post ‘When a plan’s not a plan, and a revolution isn’t a revolution‘, independent railway commentator and rail policy analyst Jon Worth offered a sharply critical view.

“Only it’s not a plan,” Worth wrote of the Commission’s press release. “And this is no revolution.”

He argued that the communication, ‘Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail‘, lacks the substance to justify its ambitious tone. While it gestures towards faster trains and new cross-border links, it provides little clarity on where lines will actually be built, who will build them, or how the projects will be financed.

Worth ridiculed some of the journey time claims—such as Sofia–Athens in six hours by 2035—as ‘laugh out loud funny’. 

He pointed out inconsistencies in the accompanying map, where realistic routes like Paris–Madrid are labelled as new, while completely hypothetical ones like Sofia–Athens are also presented as imminent.

He argued that the Commission’s plan fails to specify which projects are priorities, or how the EU will ensure that Member States—who ultimately control railway construction—will deliver them. “Everyone is one step further back than the Commission seems to think,” he noted, suggesting a lack of political will rather than just a lack of money.

Only a wish list

On operations, Worth said that while the document acknowledges key issues—like the scrapping of usable trains, rolling stock financing, and coordination of train paths—it offers only “a wish list” of actions, proposals, and future consultations. He lamented the absence of concrete commitments to train frequency, timetabling, or guaranteed connections—a Europatakt-style service pattern that he believes is essential.

Worth welcomed the forthcoming legislation on cross-border ticketing but described it as long overdue and not specific to high-speed rail. Summing up his critique, he concluded: “I can find very little I disagree with in this Communication. But likewise I cannot point to any line or service that is going to be more likely to be built or be run as a result of today’s document. We want more high-speed rail, sure, but what? Where? By who? In whose interest? Hard to say.”

He ended by quoting CER’s own press release, which said it had worked four years on this master plan and stood ready to deliver it. Worth’s final verdict: “Four years of work for an outcome this thin – that’s damning about the state of Europe’s railways.”

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