Regarding the infrastructure of the main passenger lines of the TEN-T network, it should ensure the passage of trains at a speed of 160 km/h and higher by 2040. The European Parliament and the European Council reached a preliminary agreement on the review of regulatory requirements in the field of development of the trans-European corridor network TEN-T.
In the new regulatory framework (TEN-T Regulation) it is proposed to establish several main tasks. This is, first of all, the deployment throughout the TEN-T network of the European train traffic management system ERTMS/ETCS. At the same time, obsolete signaling systems must be decommissioned in order to stimulate investment in the supply of equipment for ETCS.
As for the infrastructure of the main passenger lines of the TEN-T network, it should ensure the passage of trains at a speed of 160 km/h and higher by 2040.
In order to increase competitive advantages compared to air transport, the task has been set to connect airports with an annual passenger flow of more than 12 million people by long-distance rail connections.
Expansion of the network of multimodal freight terminals is also envisaged, as well as an increase in their processing capacity, with the connection of such changes with measures to ensure the circulation of freight trains up to 740 m long throughout the TEN-T network.
All large cities in the TEN-T network (430 of them) must have Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, aimed primarily at reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
Another innovation concerns the improvement of transport connections with the countries bordering the EU states, with the aim of their integration into the European transport corridors.
The development of the TEN T network is proposed to be carried out in three stages: by 2030, to complete the formation of the basic network, by 2040 - the expanded basic network, and by 2050 - the network in its entirety.
We will remind that in December, Ukraine and the European Union signed a high-level agreement, which approves the acceptability for both sides of the updated indicative maps of the Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) - road and railway routes.
The joining of new Ukrainian routes will provide an opportunity to attract EU funding, in particular, grants from the European Commission within the framework of the CEF - Connecting Europe Facility tool - for the implementation of infrastructure projects aimed at the development of the Trans-European transport network on the territory of Ukraine. After all, the requirement for the selection of such projects is their location on the TEN-T network.