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High-speed rail (HSR) has developed in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transport. The first high-speed rail lines on the continent, built in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridors.
Since then, several countries have built extensive high-speed networks, and there are now several cross-border high-speed rail links. Railway operators frequently run international services, and tracks are continuously being built and upgraded to international standards on the emerging European high-speed rail network.
In 2007, a consortium of European Railway operators, Railteam, emerged to co-ordinate and boost cross-border high-speed rail travel. Developing a Trans-European high-speed rail network is a stated goal of the European Union, and most cross-border railway lines receive EU funding. Several countries — France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia and the United Kingdom — are connected to a cross-border high-speed railway network.[citation needed] As of 2024[update], Spain operates the largest high-speed rail network in Europe with 3,966 km (2,464 mi)[1] and the second-largest in the world, trailing only China.[2]
More are expected to be connected in the coming years as Europe invests heavily in tunnels, bridges and other infrastructure and development projects across the continent, many of which are under construction now. Alstom was the first manufacturer to design and deliver a high speed train or HS-Train, which ended up in service with TGV in France.
Currently, there are a number of manufacturers designing and building HSR in Europe, with criss-crossed alliances and partnerships, including Alstom, Bombardier (owned by Alstom since 2021), Hitachi, Siemens, and Talgo.[3] The earliest European high-speed railway to be built was the Italian Florence–Rome high-speed railway (also called "Direttissima").[4]
Early national high-speed rail networks
The first high-speed rail lines and services were built in the 1980s and 1990s as national projects. Countries sought to increase passenger capacity and decrease journey times on inter-city routes within their borders. In the beginning, lines were built through national funding programs and services were operated by national operators.
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Italy
Early developments
The earliest high-speed rail line built in Europe was the Italian "Direttissima", the Florence–Rome high-speed railway 254 km (158 mi) in 1977. The top speed on the line was 250 km/h (160 mph), giving an end-to-end journey time of about 90 minutes with an average speed of 200 km/h (120 mph). This line used a 3 kV DC supply.
High-speed service was introduced on the Rome-Milan line in 1988–89 with the ETR 450 Pendolino train, with a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph) and cutting travel times from about 5 hours to 4.[7] The prototype train ETR X 500 was the first Italian train to reach 300 km/h (190 mph) on the Direttissima on 25 May 1989.[7]
In November 2018, the first high-speed freight rail in the world commenced service in Italy. The ETR 500 Mercitalia Fast train carries freight between Caserta and Bologna in 3 hours and 30 minutes, at an average speed of 180 km/h (110 mph).[8][9]
The Italian government constructor Treno Alta Velocità has been adding to the high-speed network in Italy, with some lines already opened. The Italian operator NTV is the first open access high-speed rail operator in Europe, since 2011, using AGV ETR 575 multiple units.
In March 2011, a contract for the second phase of construction on the Milan–Verona high-speed line was signed. This section will be 39 km (24 mi) long. Construction was originally to be completed by 2015,[10] it is open to Brescia from late 2016.
Current network and projects
| Line | Operating speed (max) | Length | Construction began |
Construction completed or expected start of revenue services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence–Rome | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 254 km (158 mi) | 1970 | 1992 |
| Rome–Naples | 300 km/h (186 mph) | 205 km (127 mi) | 1995 | 2005 |
| Padua–Venice (Mestre) | 220 km/h (137 mph) | 25 km (16 mi) | 2007 | |
| Naples-Salerno | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 29 km (18 mi) | 2008 | |
| Milan–Bologna | 300 km/h (186 mph) | 215 km (134 mi) | 2002 | 2008 |
| Bologna–Florence | 300 km/h (186 mph) | 79 km (49 mi) | 1992 | 2009 |
| Turin–Milan | 300 km/h (186 mph) | 125 km (78 mi) | 2009 | |
| Milan–Brescia | 300 km/h (186 mph) | 67 km (42 mi) | 2012 | 2016 |
| Brescia-Verona | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 48 km (30 mi) | 2016 | 2026[11] |
| Verona-Vicenza | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 44 km (27 mi) | 2021 | 2026[11] |
| Vicenza Crossing | 160 km/h (99 mph) | 6 km (3.7 mi) | 2032[12] | |
| Vicenza-Padua | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 42 km (26 mi) | 2024 | 2029[13] |
| Brenner Base Tunnel | 250 km/h (155 mph) | 56 km (35 mi) | 2006 | 2032[14] |
| Turin-Lyon | 72 km (45 mi) | 2011 | 2030[15] | |
| Verona-Brenner[16] | 180 km (110 mi) | 2021 | 2032 | |