High-Speed Network to Make European Short Flights Obsolete

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EU's €345 billion plan promises to slash journey times between capitals while countries increasingly ban domestic flights.

The European Commission unveiled its "Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail" plan this week. The goal is clear: triple high-speed rail traffic by 2050 and create a network that makes flying between European cities unnecessary.

Racing Against Time

Currently, a Paris-Madrid journey takes over 8 hours by conventional rail. By 2040, high-speed connections will cut this to just 3 hours. The travel time from Prague to Vienna drops from 4.5 hours to 2 hours and 25 minutes. These changes put rail in direct competition with aviation.

France has already banned domestic flights where train alternatives exist and the travel time is under 2.5 hours, eliminating routes like Paris-Lyon. Austria has similar restrictions, and the Commission's plan essentially makes such bans continental policy by default – not through regulation, but through infrastructure that renders short flights pointless.

European Commission

The Climate Imperative

According to the Commission's data, high-speed rail produces concerable less CO2 per passenger kilometre, compared to flights.

-The planned high-speed rail network will be electrified, and this will provide a powerful contribution to achieving the EU's commitment to sustainable transport," the European Commission emphasises, noting that increasing renewable energy in the electricity mix will make rail even cleaner.

Improving railway connections, particularly high-speed rail services, in conjunction with airports, would strengthen rail as an alternative to short-haul and possibly longer flights within Europe. 

The Commission will analyse the connectivity of 40 major airports, including high-speed, long-distance rail, to identify investment gaps and showcase best practices for improving airport connectivity. 

Business Travel Transformed

For business travellers, the benefits extend beyond environmental considerations. The Commission explicitly highlights that railway companies can operate competitively across borders under the new framework, with improved capacity allocation ensuring predictable and attractive cross-border services.

The Warsaw-Berlin corridor, cut to 2.5 hours, eliminates the need for morning flights and overnight stays. Multi-city business trips become single-day affairs, with professionals working productively during travel rather than losing hours to airport procedures.

Tourism's New Landscape

The Commission's plan is calling for member states to ensure adequate funding for high-quality infrastructure and create fair competition among competing modes of transport.

Weekend breaks gain new possibilities when Prague and Vienna are just 2 hours and 25 minutes apart, or when Copenhagen to Berlin becomes a comfortable 4-hour journey. The environmentally friendly multi-city vacation becomes accessible.

Infrastructure Reality Check

The Commission acknowledges challenges. "In 2023, high-speed rail traffic had only increased by 17% compared to 2015," far short of the doubling targeted for 2030. Central and Eastern Europe remain poorly connected, with most existing infrastructure concentrated in Western Europe.

The price tag is substantial: €345 billion to complete the network by 2040, potentially rising to €546 billion for speeds well above 250 km/h. However, the Commission estimates this would generate "a net positive benefit to society in the range of EUR 750 billion.