ETF reaction: “Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail”

The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) takes note of the European Commission’s Communication “Connecting Europe through High-Speed Rail”. ETF welcomes the renewed political attention to Europe’s rail network and the Commission’s emphasis on better coordination across borders. Strong, publicly led coordination is exactly what is needed to plan, fund, and operate a truly connected European rail system.

However, ETF is deeply concerned by the Commission’s misplaced confidence that further market liberalisation and competition will deliver this transformation. Experience has shown that competition and fragmentation do not build rail infrastructure, public investment and cooperation do. High-speed rail requires substantial public funding, long-term planning, and a clear public service mandate, not a race to the bottom between private operators.

ETF calls on the Commission and Member States to recognise that:

• Public funds are indispensable. Building and operating high-speed rail cannot rely on private capital. The EU must mobilise major public investment, supported by fiscal rule reforms that enable Member States to fund strategic infrastructure sustainably.
• Coordination, not competition, must be the model. The cross-border planning mechanisms proposed by the Commission show the right approach: cooperation between public authorities, infrastructure managers, and operators should replace market fragmentation and duplication. In the 1970s, many European cities were still connected through direct day and night train services, and the Trans Europe Express network stretched from Spain to Austria, and from Denmark to southern Italy, before it was abandoned in 1995. These past achievements could only be reached as a result of cross-border cooperation between rail operators, and through cooperation of European member states.
• Public service should guide all planning. High-speed rail must serve citizens, workers, and regional development, not only profitable corridors. Public ownership and democratic control are essential to guarantee long-term accessibility and social cohesion.
• Workers’ rights and job quality must be central. Expanding cross-border operations without harmonised monitoring of labour standards risks social dumping and unsafe working conditions. The EU should implement binding digital monitoring of driving and rest times, and require all HSR beneficiaries to commit to decent work, collective bargaining, and workforce training.
• Conventional and regional rail must not be left behind. High-speed lines must complement conventional lines used for every-day mobility and not cannibalise on the funding for existing services. EU funding must be conditional on protecting regional connections and maintaining public service obligations.

ETF urges the European Commission to move beyond its faith in market competition and instead commit to a publicly planned, publicly funded, and socially just rail renaissance. Only with strong public leadership, investment, and coordinated governance can Europe’s high-speed rail vision truly connect people.

ETF stands ready to work with EU institutions, national governments, and all stakeholders to make this vision a reality for all Europeans.