Members of the European Parliament have called for faster expansion of the EU's high-speed rail network and for lower cross-border fares, according to a brief cited by traveltomorrow.com.

The call, framed around shifting passenger traffic from short-haul aviation to rail and cutting transport-sector emissions, comes as cross-border high-speed services in Europe continue to lag national networks in reach and frequency.

What did the MEPs ask for?

The reference, summarised by the travel-industry outlet, sets out two policy lines:

• Acceleration of high-speed rail infrastructure delivery across the EU
• Action to make cross-border tickets more affordable

The item does not name the parliamentary committee, rapporteur or vote count behind the position. The Mainline Report has asked the European Parliament press service to confirm details.

Where does EU high-speed rail sit today?

National operators carry the bulk of high-speed traffic: SNCF in France, Renfe in Spain, Deutsche Bahn in Germany, Trenitalia in Italy and ÖBB in Austria. Cross-border services remain a minority of total high-speed seat-km, although the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam, Paris-Frankfurt and Madrid-Barcelona corridors have built regular international flows.

The legislative anchor is the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) regulation, with deadlines running to 2030 for the core network and to 2050 for the comprehensive network. The European Commission's 2020 Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy targeted a doubling of high-speed traffic by 2030 and a tripling by 2050, measured against a 2015 baseline.

What tools exist for fare affordability?

Passenger rights sit in Regulation (EU) 782/2021 and the successor framework. Domestic competition opened progressively under the Fourth Railway Package, completing in 2019. Ticket prices remain largely a commercial matter for operators, set against infrastructure access charges that differ by member state.

Levers available to push down fares include:

• Capacity-allocation rules on international corridors
• Pricing conditions on publicly subsidised services
• Through-ticketing mandates under booking-interoperability work
• VAT treatment on cross-border tickets

Each option would require coordination between the European Commission, the European Union Agency for Railways and national regulators.

What happens next?

The Parliament's transport committee (TRAN) is the usual lead committee for rail files. Without a confirmed text and vote, the parliamentary call can travel several paths: an own-initiative report, a plenary resolution, or amendments threaded into TEN-T guidance or the next Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy review.

For operators and infrastructure managers, the practical question is funding. The Connecting Europe Facility has been the main EU vehicle for cross-border rail, supplemented by national budgets and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. New high-speed lines — including the Lyon-Turin base tunnel and the Rail Baltica corridor — will add capacity later this decade, with commissioning subject to certification, ETCS signalling harmonisation and cross-border operational agreements.

The next Multiannual Financial Framework, due for negotiation ahead of the post-2027 period, will set the envelope for cross-border rail through the end of the decade.