The European Commission has selected 134 projects to receive over EUR 7 billion grants under a 2023 CEF Transport call for proposals, of which 80% representing around EUR 5.7 billion is the investment for rail projects.
Funding will go to major projects to improve cross-border rail connections along the TEN-T core network including Rail Baltica which received almost EUR 1.2 billion, the link between France and Italy (Lyon-Turin rail) with EUR 700 million, and between Denmark and Germany, the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, which obtained EUR 159.5 million.
Furthermore, cross-border points between Ukraine and Moldova and EU countries including Romania, Hungary, and Poland will be improved to allow smoother traffic flows for Ukrainian imports and exports. At the same time, the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will be largely deployed on trains and railway lines across the EU to improve interoperability and the safety of rail transport.
The projects will build or upgrade transport infrastructure to enhance rail infrastructure as well as to install trackside and on-board ETCS signalling system as well as modernisation, construction or expansion of multimodal terminals for both passengers and freight.
For rail infrastructure projects, the European Commission will provide grants totalling EUR 5.3 billion. The ERTMS projects will receive more than EUR 253 million, of which EUR 167 million will be delivered for trackside deployment and EUR 85.9 million will support the ETCS onboard installation for 1 825 vehicles. The National Railway Company of Belgium (SNCB) secured EUR 27.8 million, the largest investment for ETCS onboard deployment, which will support the deployment of ERTMS by upgrading to Baseline 3 around 500 passenger trains for international and national traffic.
The European Commission will also provide grants totalling EUR 88.6 million for rail-road terminals, hubs and multimodal terminals for both passenger and freight transport.
In total, 408 applications were submitted under the 2023 CEF Transport calls for proposals that closed on 30 January 2024. Following the evaluation, 134 proposals were selected for funding, amounting to around EUR 7.1 billion with a total funding requested of EUR 22.2 billion.
The Connecting Europe Facility is a success story that keeps delivering on its commitment to provide new and upgraded transport infrastructure to EU citizens and businesses that is fast, safe, interconnected and sustainable,” said Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), Paloma Aba Garrote.
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