Why Europe's Green Deal rail dream isn't turning into reality

Euractiv

6 days ago

Once touted as the bloc's best bet for clean cross-continental transport, Europe's railway network hasn't improved much over the last few years.
As the EU aims for climate neutrality by 2050, the European Green Deal sets out a clear path to cut emissions across all sectors – especially transport, which makes up about a quarter of the EU's total.
Rail, which accounts for less than 1% of transport emissions, was supposed to be the future: clean, efficient, and continental. Deploying trains to cut back on emissions was the aim of Europe's rail plan, with goals including doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and tripling it by 2050.
Crumbling infrastructure, high fares, and fragmented governance have turned what should be the backbone of green mobility into a symbol of political stagnation and missed opportunity.
A civilian failure
In theory, the EU's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) was supposed to create a sleek, high-speed rail network that would connect cities and rural areas while cutting emissions – making it an ideal alternative to flying.
But in practice, Europe's grand rail vision hasn't taken off yet - and fragmentation is the main culprit.
Every country runs its own system, with different rules, timetables, and ticketing platforms – turning cross-border trips into a jigsaw puzzle for consumers. A journey from Brussels to Budapest might mean booking on multiple websites, long layovers, and no easy way to plan it.
And then there's the price tag: while budget airlines often offer cross-border flights for under €50, rail fares frequently way exceed double the price for the same route.
While countries like France and Spain show off their high-speed TGV and AVE lines, they rarely connect across borders – and in Eastern Europe, the situation's even worse. In Romania, for example, intercity trains now run slower than they did in the 1980s due to poor infrastructure.
Despite heavy public investment – like the allocated TEN-T's €60 billion in co-funded rail, road, and port projects since 2014 – passengers continue to face high fares, poor connectivity, and sluggish travel times, making flying cheaper and faster in many cases.
A defence liability
With the continuation of the war in Ukraine and rising defence budgets across the continent, there is a growing concern over the ability to move troops, heavy armour, and supplies across Europe quickly and efficiently.
A 2025 report from the European Court of Auditors confirmed what many already feared: that military mobility progress has been slow and uncoordinated . Of the 500 identified priority projects, only a handful have begun construction.
In early 2024, a NATO exercise involving the rapid deployment of tanks from Germany to Romania was delayed by more than a week due to outdated bridges that couldn't support the weight, military convoys missing customs clearances, and a lack of compatible rail cars.
Just like commuters, modern militaries runs on railways too, and as it stands, Europe's train network just isn't fast enough to keep up.
(jp)