Europe plans to complete a continent-wide high-speed rail network by 2040, a proposal the European Commission says would dramatically cut travel times between major cities and expand the EU’s existing 12,128km system.
Announced on November 5 in Brussels, the initiative is based on the updated Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) regulation adopted in 2024, which obliges member states to complete the core and extended corridors by 2040 and establish continuous high-speed links between all EU capitals.
The plan sets minimum standards that require all upgraded lines to support at least 200 km/h and all new high-speed lines to support 250 km/h more.
Officials said the move aims to shift passengers from short-haul air routes to electrified rail, reduce emissions in the transport sector and increase capacity on key north-south and east-west corridors.
To meet the binding 2040 target, which requires all high-speed cross-border segments of the TEN-T core network to be completed by this year, the Commission is ordering each member state to present new national implementation plans by 2027.
The plans must include detailed construction timetables, cross-border commitments and national funding strategies. They also need to figure out how countries will address remaining bottlenecks on major corridors such as the Scandinavian-Mediterranean, North Sea-Baltic, Rhine-Danube and Mediterranean routes.
The Commission’s long-term vision extends beyond 2040, with the aim of a unified continent-wide network by 2050 operating above 200 km/h, where feasible, “well above 250 km/h”. Achieving this broader system would require substantial expansion far beyond the legally mandated basic construction.
Concept vs Cost
Although the Commission did not provide a single figure for capital costs in its formal communication, Bloomberg reported that the agency estimates that around $371 billion will be needed to complete the TEN-T core and extended core high-speed network by 2040.
Charts from the European Commission provide new high-speed rail connections and projected future journey times between major cities as part of the EU’s core network build in 2040 and the long-term 2050 vision for a unified system.
Image courtesy of the European Commission.
The Guardian cited a figure of $587bn linked to a wider Commission analysis of what it would cost to expand the network beyond the 2040 core build and increase operating speeds above 250km/h in a system roughly three times its current size.
Implementation depends heavily on standardization of technology between countries, particularly signaling through the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).
The plan calls for all core network high-speed corridors to be fully equipped with ERTMS by 2040, replacing the patchwork of national systems that limit cross-border operations. Commission staff noted that ongoing interoperability failures continue to hinder performance and prevent anticipated travel time reductions.
“Without the full deployment of ERTMS on the core network, high-speed services will continue to face technical barriers at national borders that limit their speed, frequency and reliability,” the Commission said in its November 5 communication.
Travel time projections from the Commission’s internal analysis include cutting journeys from Berlin to Copenhagen from seven hours to four by 2030 and cutting journeys from Sofia to Athens from around 14 hours to six by 2035.
Journeys from Lisbon to Madrid could drop to around three hours under upgrades already scheduled to Portuguese and Spanish infrastructure plans.
Major new construction will be required for several corridors, particularly in eastern and southeastern Europe. The Commission’s technical annex identifies significant gaps in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic states, where high-speed mileage remains limited.
The chart illustrates the projected reductions in travel times between major European cities under the European Commission’s high-speed rail targets for 2040, based on current network performance and planned upgrades to the TEN-T corridor.
Graph by ENR. Sources: Bloomberg, European Commission.
Open the full size chart in a new tab
These countries will have to build most of their required segments as new lines, including tunnels, viaducts and dedicated high-speed alignments to connect Warsaw, Bucharest, Sofia and Vilnius to the wider network.
Western Europe will need fewer greenfield projects, but faces substantial capacity upgrades in high-density corridors in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Funding is based on a combination of EU instruments and national resources. The Commission said it hopes to use the Connecting Europe Facility, InvestEU and the European Investment Bank loan programs to support high-speed packages, especially for cross-border segments where EU co-financing rates are higher.
The effort spans several EU budget cycles, meaning large portions of the network will depend on funding decisions made after 2028.
Analysts warn that meeting the 2040 deadline will require sustained political support from the 27 member states. Jon Worth, a European rail expert, told the Guardian that the plan “is more like a kind of wishful hope, because member states have not shown a real will to build the necessary tracks.”
Even so, several national governments already have large high-speed projects in place that align with the EU’s vision.
Spain continues its expansion of high-speed LAV routes, Germany is advancing improvements between Hanover and Bielefeld, Italy is building the Terzo Valico dei Giovi megaproject and Poland is preparing sections linked to its Centralny Port Komunikacyjny high-speed program.
With national implementation plans due in 2027, contractors will soon have a clearer understanding of which segments will be prioritized first and how Europe intends to undertake its largest coordinated rail expansion yet.
