Strasbourg: The European Parliament has asked for a high-speed rail network that links every region of the Union, not only its capitals. On 20 October 2026, MEPs adopted a resolution on the Commission’s high-speed rail action plan by 558 votes to 23, with 73 abstentions, a margin that signals broad support across political groups.
Rapporteur Vicent Marzà Ibáñez of the Greens/EFA group said that fast links between the main European cities could bring a massive shift in travel from aeroplanes to trains. The Commission adopted its action plan in November 2025 and aims to deliver a faster, interoperable high-speed rail network by 2040, so the vote gives that plan a parliamentary mandate before the money talks begin.
The text asks for a network that is interoperable, innovative, accessible and intermodal. It wants connections between major urban centres in every region and with key neighbouring countries, which would reduce territorial disparities and improve service for peripheral and less developed areas. Completing the trans-European transport network, known as TEN-T, sits at the heart of that demand, and MEPs want the Commission to identify missing links, poorly served routes and valuable cross-border sections.
Money decides whether any of this happens. EU programmes have allocated more than 100 billion euros to rail infrastructure since 2014, according to the figures cited around the vote. Parliament wants the next long-term budget for 2028 to 2034 to strengthen the Connecting Europe Facility and to make full use of existing and future EU funds. Lawmakers also back green bonds for rail, provided the instrument does not harm commuter and regional services.
Passengers get attention too, because a high-speed rail network lives or dies by its fares. The resolution calls for affordable tickets through fares, discounts and subscription schemes, along with greater price transparency. It supports the Commission’s passenger package, which aims to make rail offers interoperable, visible and easy to compare across operators and borders. A high-speed rail network can only compete with short flights if travellers can find and buy a through ticket without juggling several booking sites.
Several questions stay open. A resolution does not bind the Commission or the member states, and it carries no price tag or legal deadline. National infrastructure managers still run different signalling, power and ticketing systems, and many cross-border sections depend on works that lag far behind schedule. The high-speed rail network that Parliament describes will therefore depend on decisions in the Council and on how much room the Connecting Europe Facility receives in the 2028 to 2034 budget.
What to watch next is the Commission’s response to the report and the first drafts of transport spending lines in the new budget. If the 2040 horizon holds and funding follows the rhetoric, a connected high-speed rail network could move a visible share of intra-European trips from airports to stations. If funding falls short, the 558 votes will remain a statement of intent rather than a timetable.
