Travel times on international high-speed trains could halve with new EU plans

The European Commission has announced a new high-speed rail action plan with the aim of creating a faster and better-connected rail network in Europe to make travelling by train more attractive than flying. Travel times between popular European destinations could be cut by half, and the number of trains running could double by 2030. 

New EU plans to cut journey times for international high-speed rail

In a new transport package, the European Commission has committed to accelerating the roll-out of Europe’s high-speed rail network and investing in renewable and low-carbon fuels. The goal is to “make the EU transport system more efficient, interconnected and accessible, guided by the principles of competitiveness and sustainability”.

New targets include doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030, from 2015’s numbers, and tripling it by 2050. Under the new plans, trains would reach speeds of 200 kilometres per hour or faster, which means travel times between European cities would be a lot shorter.

Travelling between Copenhagen and Berlin would take four hours instead of seven, and between Sofia and Athens would take just six hours instead of 13 hours and 40 minutes. Other routes, such as the ones between Paris and Rome, Vienna and Ljubljana, and Madrid and Lisbon, would also be faster. Even the travel time from Amsterdam to Berlin would be 15 minutes shorter. 

There would also be new cross-border links for faster and more efficient journeys, as well as improved connections to Baltic cities. For example, Lisbon-Madrid-Paris and Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw. 

Europe to welcome more competition on high-speed rail network

Aside from making European train travel faster with more connections, the European Commission also wants to make it easier for passengers to purchase cross-border tickets when using multiple rail operators. Additionally, the commission would like to see more competition for international rail travel.

Looking at Spain and Italy, it is evident that improved competition results in “reduced prices and growth in passenger numbers”, according to the commission. To make this possible in more European countries, the new plans include removing barriers to entry for new rail operators, such as “restricted access to stations, depots, and ticketing systems, high track access charges, costly investments in rolling stock, and differing training requirements for train drivers”.

“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,” said EU commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas. “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.”