Every year, the European Commission supports the modernisation and development of the French rail network by awarding grants to the most promising projects. On what criteria are they chosen? What funding is allocated? Find out more.
Since 2014, the European Commission has been making strategic investments to support the development of efficient, sustainable and interconnected trans-European networks in the transport, energy and digital sectors. The grants awarded are managed by a dedicated mechanism: the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The CEF is now one of the main tools for financing transport in Europe.
These acronyms refer to different funding periods: CEF-1 corresponds to the 2014-2020 programme and CEF-2 to the 2021-2027 programme. For each, our Europe Division and our project managers worked together to identify the projects eligible for European funding.
Over the period of CEF 1 funding, between 2014 and 2020, more than 60% of the applications submitted have been subsidised for a total amount of €1 billion. Among the projects selected, the Paris-Lyon High Speed Line has been awarded €117 million for the deployment of ERTMS, and the Rail Upgrades North of Toulouse (AFNT) project has been awarded €11 million to increase capacity on the Bordeaux-Toulouse line.
The CEF 2 programme has been the subject of two calls for proposals: in November 2022, 4 projects were selected for a total amount of €36 million. Then in June 2023, 5 other projects were selected for total funding of €126 million.
Projects subsidised in 2014-2020
Projects subsidised in 2021-2027 - 2022 call for proposals
The development of rail in Europe is orchestrated and supported by the European Commission through an ambitious sustainable mobility strategy. Its ambition is to build smart and greener European railways.
Doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and goods transportation by rail by 2050: these are the targets set by the European Commission in its Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. So where do we stand today?
Europe is the natural extension of SNCF Réseau's playground. We are working hand in hand with the various European rail players and public decision-makers to create the rail network of the future. Find out more about the scope of our actions here!