The European Commission has drawn up a €345 billion high-speed rail action plan, which will reduce travel time from Rome to Berlin to 10 hours.
The plan, due to take effect by 2040, will make trains more competitive with airplanes: it will be possible to travel from Berlin to Copenhagen in four hours instead of the current seven, from Sofia to Athens in six hours instead of the current 13 hours and 40 minutes, and from Madrid to Lisbon in about three hours instead of nine.
Reducing travel times between major European hubs
As reported in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, there will also be a reduction in time for services departing Rome: Berlin will take 10 hours and 15 minutes instead of the current 14 hours and a half (and to Munich it will take six instead of the current 9 hours and 30 minutes), while to Paris it will take 8 hours and 45 instead of almost 11 hours. New cross-border connections are also planned: the Paris-Lisbon route via Madrid and the Warsaw-Vilnius-Riga-Tallin route. The plan is to connect the main nodes at speeds of 200 kilometres per hour or more.
Europe’s 12,000 kilometres of high-speed lines are in just a few countries
The Commission has also developed a plan to stimulate investment in renewable and low-carbon fuels for the aviation and maritime transport sectors. “Aviation and maritime transport are much more difficult to electrify, which makes the rapid deployment of sustainable fuels even more crucial,” said executive vice-president Raffaele Fitto when presenting the new plans with transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who pointed out that "the 12,000 kilometres of high-speed railway lines in Europe are still concentrated in a few member states: Spain, France, Italy and Germany, while central and eastern Europe unfortunately still remains poorly connected. And this must change.”
“It will bring tourists closer and simplify business across the EU”
Fitto recalled that when it comes to railways “Europe is already a leader in terms of sustainability,- pointing out that the new plan - is crucial for competitiveness, but it also has an important dimension of cohesion: it will bring tourists closer and simplify business across the EU.”
Improving cross-border railway reservation and ticketing systems
The completion of the planned high-speed network by 2040 will cost around €345 billion, “while a more ambitious network operating at very high speeds (over 250 km/h) – according to the - could cost up to €546 billion by 2050.” Brussels also intends to take action on the travel purchase front: in early 2026, the Commission will propose a law to improve cross-border railway reservation and ticketing systems, thus making it easier for passengers to plan and book journeys involving the use of several trains in different countries.
