The European strategy for developing rail

Published on Updated on

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.

The green deal

Launched in 2020, the European Commission's Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy implements the transport component of the Green Deal. It aims to fundamentally transform the European economy to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions and climate neutrality by 2050. In particular, this European Green Deal proposes to shift up to 75% of domestic freight currently carried by road to rail and inland waterways.  

The European Commission's objectives

The European Commission's ambition is to "put European transport on track for the future". To achieve this, it describes 82 initiatives in its action plan aiming to:   

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by at least 55% by 2030 and by 90% by 2050 to become the first climate-neutral continent.  
  • Accelerate technological and digital innovation to develop smarter and more multimodal mobility.   
  • Make a high-performance European transport network (TEN-T) operational to strengthen the sector's resilience.    
Read the Commission's text

A two-stage strategy for trains

The Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy sets out specific, phased objectives for the rail sector.

European targets for 2030

  • double high-speed passenger rail traffic across Europe   
  • achieve carbon neutrality for collective travel of less than 500 km  

Major projects to be undertaken

Implementing interoperability, creating a single rail market, doubling passenger and freight traffic, etc. Find out more about the actions required to achieve the objectives of the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.  

The challenges facing Europe's railways

SNCF Réseau fully mobilised

SNCF Réseau plays a key role in implementing the European Commission's strategy. As part of the construction of Europe's railways, we maintain an ongoing dialogue with institutions and infrastructure managers in other member countries. Our Europe Division designs and leads SNCF Réseau's European strategy, working closely with all the company's departments.   

SNCF Réseau’s European action

Find out more