UNIFE has presented a funding plan for the European Commission’s (EC) high-speed rail (HSR) initiative. This is based on the EC vision published in autumn 2025, which aims to establish continuous connections between Europe’s major urban centres at speeds of at least 200 km/h and to raise the TEN-T minimum requirements for HSR lines to well over 250 km/h. The EC estimated the funding requirement up to 2050 at EUR 345 billion for a 200 km/h network and EUR 546 billion for a 250 km/h network. UNIFE proposed revenues from emissions trading for aviation and other major emitters, infrastructure bonds to involve private investors such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, funds from the new EU Competitiveness Fund amounting to EUR 409 billion and an increase in the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme from EUR 51.7 billion to EUR 100 billion in the next EU budget for 2028 to 2034. UNIFE also called for a review of the EU public procurement directives to take greater account of security risks posed by state-controlled foreign bidders in the case of critical infrastructure. The EC intends to present the financing plans at the end of September 2026.
