With a total of €5.7 million from the TEN-T Programme, the European Union will co-finance four projects aimed at preparing the implementation of four Rail Freight Corridors across Europe. According to the European Commission, the projects focus on establishing fully operational rail freight corridors providing optimal rail freight transport and increasing rail transport competitiveness across the EU.

The European Union will co-finance four projects aimed at preparing the implementation of four Rail Freight Corridors across Europe. The funding granted, a total of €5.7 million, were selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call. Recently, it was also published that over €12 million from EU funds will be allocated to three projects forming part of a new high speed rail line in the Basque country.

In particular, the first will prepare the managerial structures and activities needed to establish Rail Freight Corridor number 2, a trans-national rail freight axis starting in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and then, via Belgium, Luxembourg and France, reaching Basel (Switzerland) and Lyon (France). The second project covers the preparatory studies and activities needed for the organisation of Corridor 8. This axis runs from the key ports of Bremerhaven (Germany), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium) to Kaunas (Lithuania), crossing northern Europe on an east-west path. The third project will run along the south of Europe from Almeria and Madrid in Spain to Záhony in Hungary, crossing France, Italy and Slovenia. The final project will prepare the implementation of Rail Freight Corridor 4, which runs from Lisbon, Sines and Leixões (Portugal) to Algeciras, Madrid, Bilbao, San Sebastián and Irun (Spain) and all the way up through Paris and into northern and eastern France. The project will undertake the required analyses for the freight corridor and prepare the implementation plan.

All four projects are set to be completed by December 2014, and will be managed by the TEN-T Executive Agency. The Commission highlighted that establishing the managerial and operational structures of these four rail corridors is of paramount importance as they will have to coordinate and bring together all the relevant stakeholders to ensure an improved rail freight flow along each individual corridor, to enhance the interoperability and to foster cooperation among the Rail Freight Corridors.