2009-01: EC funds rail infrastructure projects to tune of €1.7 billion

The EC has recently funded 11 rail infrastructure projects under the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) programme. The confirmation of funding for these projects was announced recently in Verona during a high-level conference to discuss the future of TEN-T policy. The 11 new projects concern important railway works in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary. The total value of the projects amounts to around €1.7 billion.

Some of the projects were actual improvements to railway lines, such as the Lyon to Turin base tunnel, whilst others, such as the cross-border section between Trieste in Italy and Divača in Slovenia, were for designs and studies. The EC hopes that the projects will also have two-fold economic benefits for the EU. EC Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport, Antonio Tajani, said of the projects, 'Investing in key European transport infrastructure today is a demonstration that the European Union can respond to the economic crisis, in the short term by accelerating infrastructure projects, and in the medium term by creating the core rail network that will sustain Europe's competitiveness and meet the challenge of climate change'.

Further information
EC Press Release IP/08/1891 of 5 December 2008 is available at: http://europa.eu/rapid

The EC pages on the TEN-T programme are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/ten/transport/index_en.htm