The European Parliament adopted a report on high-speed rail in plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 20 October 2026. The text passed with 558 votes in favour, 23 against and 73 abstentions. Because it is non-binding, it sets out the chamber's position rather than new law. It responds to the high-speed rail action plan that the European Commission adopted in November 2025, and it asks the EU to back that plan with dedicated financing.
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MEPs want high-speed services to connect not only EU capitals but also the main urban centres in every European region and in neighbouring countries. In their view, this would narrow territorial gaps and improve links to peripheral and less developed regions. The report urges completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), along with identification of missing links, abandoned or poorly served sections, and cross-border connections with high added value. The Parliament noted that high-speed networks are largely built at national level and that cross-border links are lacking, so it asked for closer cooperation with Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The report asks that the next EU long-term budget, covering 2028 to 2034, provide adequate and specific funding. MEPs want the Connecting Europe Facility preserved and strengthened, and they also back investment carried out through national plans. The programme's allocation in the budget currently in force was 25.81 billion euros for modernising trans-European transport networks. The rapporteur, Spanish MEP Vicent Marzà Ibáñez, drafted the text.
MEPs also call on governments and rail operators to make high-speed fares more affordable through accessible prices, reduced fares and season or subscription passes. The report further asks for greater transparency in how tickets are priced. Romanian MEP Gheorghe Falcă, a PNL member of the Parliament's transport committee, told Agerpres that the target is a train running at a minimum of 250 km/h on a modern network.
“We are talking about a train that must run at a minimum of 250 km/h on a modern rail network.”
Falcă said a journey from Bucharest to Budapest, which now takes about 15 hours, would gain more than six hours. He added that Romania has already completed the route study for links to Budapest and Sofia. A partnership agreement signed in late September 2026 in Brussels by Romania, Bulgaria and Greece covers further studies and the prospect of three new bridges over the Danube. He warned that Romania is also behind on medium-speed rail and urged authorities to prioritise pre-feasibility and feasibility studies so the country can access EU funds.
Romanian MEP Ștefan Mușoiu, a PSD member of the transport committee and the report's shadow rapporteur, said the aim is to narrow the gap between East and West. He set an objective of covering a journey from Paris or Madrid to Bucharest in under 24 hours. Falcă pointed to Spain as the country with the most high-speed rail, saying its network runs to thousands of kilometres. The Commission's goal, as cited in the coverage, is to connect major European cities by 2040 with trains running at least 250 km/h.
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The Parliament's non-binding report, passed 558 to 23 with 73 abstentions, calls for high-speed trains to link regional cities, cheaper tickets and dedicated EU funding for 2028-2034.
AI text based on reports by ANSA.it, SAPO, adevarul.ro and other publishers. Published .