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Connecting Europe through high-speed rail

TA-10-2026-0351 · P10_TA(2026)0351 · PE785.224

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 21 Oct 2026

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Parliament's resolution welcomes the Commission's 2025 communication on high-speed rail and calls for an interoperable, accessible European network connecting capitals and regions, including peripheral and under-connected areas. It asks for EU deployment objectives by 2027 and a 2040 modal-shift objective, competitive corridors at 250 km/h with ambition for 350 km/h, and simpler ticketing with onward-travel guarantees. It calls for dedicated funding in the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework, a European high-speed rail deal to close the EUR 345 billion investment gap, and faster ERTMS deployment. It seeks a green industrial strategy for rail, stronger powers for the EU rail agency, climate resilience and safety reporting, and better access to service facilities and rolling stock.

Key points

  1. Calls for a European high-speed network serving all major urban nodes, with Commission mapping of uncovered areas, missing cross-border links and priorities for gradual integration.
  2. Says high-speed expansion must complement, not replace, conventional, regional, suburban and freight rail, backed by predictable long-term funding and a network-first approach.
  3. Asks TEN-T European Coordinators to identify missing links and underserved cross-border connections, with CEF and Interreg money for low-cost, high-impact projects.
  4. Calls on the Commission and Council to ensure dedicated high-speed funding in the 2028-2034 MFF and welcomes a coordinated high-speed rail deal financing strategy.
  5. Wants stations as intermodal hubs, bicycle carriage on high-speed trains, and cooperation with Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to extend the network.
  6. Asks the Commission to set EU high-speed deployment objectives by 2027 and a 2040 modal-shift objective, after an impact assessment and respecting geographic specificities.
  7. Supports corridors at top speeds of at least 250 km/h with ambition for 350 km/h, subject to independent cost-benefit analyses, and explores express freight services.
  8. Welcomes the Passenger Package and expects comparable ticket offers and a legally enforceable onward-travel guarantee when connections are missed across operators.
  9. Calls for simpler permitting via one-stop shops and shorter approval timelines, and for ETS revenues, green bonds and other tools to finance high-speed rail.
  10. Calls for faster ERTMS delivery with binding milestones and penalties, EU-wide vehicle authorisation by 2027, and a strengthened, better resourced EU rail agency.
  11. Wants climate stress-testing for EU-funded rail projects from 2027, efficient heating and cooling in all rolling stock by 2040, and an EU-wide safety occurrence reporting system.
  12. Calls for a green industrial strategy for rail, procurement based on life-cycle costs, a risk assessment of critical suppliers, and fair access to depots and second-hand rolling stock.

Who is affected

  • Member states: asked to align national transport and investment plans with TEN-T priorities and to assess expansion effects on conventional services.
  • Rail passengers: should get affordable fares, transparent pricing, comparable tickets and onward-travel guarantees.
  • Rail supply industry and manufacturers: targeted by the proposed green industrial strategy, procurement criteria and supply-chain risk assessment.
  • Railway undertakings and new entrants: should gain fair access to service facilities, second-hand rolling stock and cross-border services.
  • Peripheral, outermost and under-connected regions: connectivity to the core network treated as a structural entitlement.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 345 billion: estimated high-speed rail investment gap to be closed by 2040.
  • 68,1 %: fall in rail emissions between 1990 and 2019.
  • EUR 45 billion: annual revenues of the rail supply industry and high-speed rail technologies.
  • 1,3 million: workers employed in the EU rail sector.
  • 2027: deadline for the Commission to set EU high-speed deployment objectives.
  • 250 km/h and 350 km/h: minimum top speed supported for corridors and the ambition for connections.
  • 2030, 2040 and 2050: binding ERTMS targets for the core, extended core and comprehensive networks.
  • 2040: deadline for all rolling stock in service to have efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning.