The objective is to develop rail transport infrastructure projects on the Comprehensive Network of the TEN-T.

Studies related to:

• construction/upgrading of cross-border and missing links;
• capacity and performance upgrade of existing lines, including removal of level-crossings and upgrades necessary for 740 meters long trains and upgrades necessary to facilitate international rail passenger and freight transport;
• capacity increase in nodes, including as regards a better articulation of long-distance and local traffic;
• interconnections between rail and other modes of transport, in particular inland waterway and maritime transport and actions aimed at the integration of the rail and air networks to make the feeder network for long-haul flights more sustainable. Actions located exclusively within the perimeter of inland ports and maritime ports shall be submitted under those priorities respectively;
• connections of freight terminals to the TEN-T Network;
• electrification of line tracks and upgrade of electrification systems.

Support will not be given to railway stations, except for railway infrastructure components. If the Action includes such components, they shall be presented as a separate work package. Neither shall support be given to activities related to the Class B systems. Actions shall comply with the provisions of Directive 2016/797 on the interoperability of the rail system (Directive 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union which replaces Directive 2008/57/EC as of 31 October 2020 (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, p. 44)) and with the related Technical Specifications for Interoperability. Where relevant, Actions shall also be compatible with the alignment of operating procedures accross borders in order to ensure the most effective use of the supported infrastructure.

Facilities and infrastructure supported under CEF must be accessible for use by all operators on a non-discriminatory basis.

The foreseen duration of the action should be 2-3 years maximum.