Download
Europe does not have a coherent strategy to fund rail that will make cross-border travel a reality for millions of Europeans, a new T&E report has found. Just seven projects got 31% of the EU’s main funding envelope for transport, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), between 2021 and 2023, according to the analysis. Meanwhile, 84 urgently needed key upgrades received only 27% of these funds.
In total, €6.6 billion was allocated to seven particularly large megaprojects – Rail Baltica, Brenner base tunnel, Lyon Turin tunnel, Porto Lisbon high-speed line, Fehmarnbelt tunnel, Y Vasca and Stuttgart 21 – over the three-year period. Most of these massive works are fundamental to building a truly integrated rail network in Europe, T&E said, but in future there should be less emphasis on megaprojects as they are leading to the CEF being consistently oversubscribed and often take a lot of time to be completed. In one of the CEF’s latest calls for projects, the funding sought was three times the total budget available.
The focus on megaprojects is having a particularly worrying impact on the roll-out of ERTMS, the EU’s standardised signalling system, whose implementation is key to boosting cross-border connections and improving capacity on existing lines. This key infrastructure upgrade only received €0.7 billion between 2021 and 2023, 3% of the CEF Transport envelope for that period, further analysis found. And while CEF funding for ERTMS is set to increase significantly in 2024, according to preliminary data, it is still lagging behind many other upgrades and receives less than half of the overall funding allocated to electrification. This is despite ERTMS needing to be integrated in the core TEN-T network by 2030 and some countries like Germany, France and Poland having a very slow roll-out so far.
If more rail projects per country get funding, more Europeans will have access to better rail connectivity, T&E said, while a focus on short and medium-term fixes to the network is the fastest way to get more people on trains.
Carlos Rico, rail policy officer at T&E, said: “Megaprojects have helped give rail the boost it needs, but they’re draining resources from other vital parts of the network. The EU must address this imbalance and ensure that the Connecting Europe Facility supports all necessary upgrades along TEN-T corridors — especially the accelerated roll-out of the ERTMS. For the first time, funding in 2024 is set to provide a good balance between megaprojects and ERTMS. It can serve as a blueprint for the next CEF.”
As negotiations on the next multiannual EU budget unfold, T&E estimates that a 25% increase in the CEF rail budget would double the funding available for crucial upgrades. Prioritising these core improvements would not jeopardise existing megaprojects and would still leave room for new, essential ones.
The renewed focus on military mobility also provides an opportunity to boost passenger rail while responding to potential external aggressions. For instance, ERTMS did not receive any funding under the CEF’s military mobility budget. Integrating ERTMS into upcoming military mobility funding calls could enhance the cyber resilience of Europe’s rail infrastructure.
Carlos Rico concluded: “Boosting rail is vital for Europe’s economy and defence, but funding must match infrastructure goals. The EU budget, high-speed rail plan, and the Military Mobility strategy should prioritise key upgrades and dual-use projects.”
