The building of a reliable, seamless and high-quality trans-European transport network (TEN-T) will ensure sustainable connectivity across the European Union. The Council today adopted a general approach regarding the proposal of the Commission for a Regulation on EU guidelines for the development of a trans-European transport network.

The decision will help to develop reliable transport on backbone arteries and to raise funds for projects in the field of sustainable travel, primarily the development of trans-European rail networks. “Today’s agreement is important for us from the perspective of our Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as achieving it was one of our priorities,” says Transport Minister Martin Kupka.

This network will contribute to the achievement of the EU‘s sustainable mobility objectives, the proper functioning of the internal market, and the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU. The rail network should be developed step by step, while the proposal sets clear deadlines for the completion of the trans-European transport network: the core network should be completed by 2030, the extended core network by 2040, and the comprehensive network by 2050.

“We have also kept our important political promise to extend, through the TEN-T network, the European Transport Corridors into Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. We will thus create a truly interconnected Europe all the way to the Sea of Azov,” added the minister of transport.

The Czech Presidency also saw success in the case of the text of the Regulation, where it negotiated a compromise between the EC and the Member States on the length of freight trains, the clearance height for container trains, and the minimum train speed of 160 km/h for passenger transport on the TEN-T core network.

The length of trains that should run on the core network will be 750 m, the profile height should be 400 cm, and based on Member State requests the Czech Presidency was able to negotiate an exception regarding the 160 km/h parameter that it need not be maintained for the whole length of the TEN-T core network.