Europe has declared its ambition: high-speed rail must become the backbone of long-distance mobility. With 2026 shaping up as the Year of High-Speed Rail, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas has a unique opportunity to turn vision into results.

But one lesson is clear: “build it and they will come” is not a strategy – it is a risk. High-speed rail will not succeed through supply-driven megaprojects alone. Europe has already seen underused high-speed lines and costly cross-border links where passengers never materialised because market conditions were wrong.

If 2026 is to mark a true high-speed breakthrough, Europe must focus on demand-driven growth – putting passengers, choice, and affordability at the centre. And it is private operators that will deliver that growth.

That means:

➤ Impartial retail at rail ticket vendors with Significant Market Power (SMP) so they show and sell all available high-speed services, not just those of incumbents;

➤ Framework agreements and long-term access certainty to ensure private investors are attracted – relieving the burden on the taxpayer;

➤ Fair and predictable track access charges that allow new and existing operators to grow;

➤ Neutral rolling-stock leasing and access to finance, so high-speed trains are available to all operators.

2026 can be the Year of High-Speed Rail. However, investment must not default to closed, national, supply-driven models that bundle infrastructure, rolling stock, maintenance, and operations into systems designed to create a dominant position for a single operator.

Instead, the EU needs an open, competitive, cross-border single market for high-speed rail that rewards any operator who fills seats, lowers fares, and increases frequencies.