Skip to main content

EU identifies priorities for trans-European transport network until 2030

The European Commission has published nine studies on the state of play and the development needs of the Ten-T core network corridors. The studies have identified infrastructure development needs which represent approximately US$811 billion of financial investment until 2030. They highlight the importance of optimising the use of infrastructure along the corridors, notably through intelligent transport systems, efficient management and the promotion of future-oriented clean transport solutions. This is the
January 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The European Commission has published nine studies on the state of play and the development needs of the Ten-T core network corridors. The studies have identified infrastructure development needs which represent approximately US$811 billion of financial investment until 2030. They highlight the importance of optimising the use of infrastructure along the corridors, notably through intelligent transport systems, efficient management and the promotion of future-oriented clean transport solutions. This is the first time that tens of thousands kilometres of rail, road, inland waterway connections, ports, airports and other transport terminals have been studied in such a comprehensive way and with a common methodology.

Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport said, "We have to step up our efforts to make sure the core network will be fully operational by 2030, to ensure smooth transport flows for passengers and goods throughout the EU. Now is the time to invest in TEN-T projects and to maximise the benefits of the Connecting Europe facility and the Commission's US$365 billion investment plan. After all, the Trans-European Transport Network is crucial for a Union striving for more growth, jobs and competitiveness. As Europe is slowly stepping out of the economic crisis, we need a connected Union, without barriers, in order for our single market to thrive."

A team of external experts undertook a comprehensive study for each Trans-European Transport corridor. They analysed the current infrastructure status, located problems hampering traffic flows for passengers and freight, and identified action to be undertaken from now to 2030. They include preliminary lists of projects which aim at completing cross-border and other missing links, removing bottlenecks, inter-connecting transport modes and enhancing interoperability – notably for railway traffic.

The results of these studies will be taken into account when deciding on the allocation of EU funds for the period 2014-2020, under the Connecting Europe facility. The project pipeline resulting from these corridor studies constitutes a particularly important source for the US$365 billion European Investment Plan, which was published by the Commission in November 2014.

Related Content

  • Kapsch to install GSM-R on trans-European train route
    April 29, 2014
    Slovakia’s state railway operator Železnice Slovenskej Republiky (ŽSR) has awarded a US$27.7 million contract for signalling and communications systems on the trans-European railway to Czech company AZD Praha, which will supply the ETCS (European Train Control System) Level L2 signaling system on the section of the route from Žilina via Čadca to the Czech-Slovakian border. Kapsch CarrierCom is to install GSM-R technology along the entire route from Bratislava to the Czech border.
  • Include ITS in policy decisions from the start, not as an afterthought
    February 1, 2012
    DG TREN's Fotis Karamitsos, on why the European Commission's new ITS Action Plan is looking to the past for future direction. The European Commission's (EC's) new Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe, which was announced as 2008 drew to a close, intends that transport and travel become 'cleaner; more efficient, including energy efficient; and safer and more secure'. At first sight, that wording might be interpreted as marking a significant policy shift within Europe, wit
  • Impact of extreme weather phenomena on European transport system
    January 23, 2012
    The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland's Pekka Leviäkangas writes about the initial results of the EWENT project, which was set up to research the effects of severe weather on the European transport network. The European EWENT (Extreme Weather impacts on European Networks of Transport) project, financed by the European Commission under 7th Framework Programme for Research, recently issued its first Work Package (WP1) report. This is a review of extreme weather phenomena and their effects on the Europe
  • EU to invest in studies on Timisoara airport development
    November 12, 2014
    The EU's TEN-T Programme is to co-fund studies for the construction of an intermodal terminal at Timisoara International Airport in Romania with the aim of promoting the integration of freight transport within the air, rail and road TEN-T network. The project includes a feasibility study and technical, economic and environmental studies that will form the basis for the terminal's design and construction. Once completed, it is expected to contribute to the intermodal growth of freight transport, thus pro