ZAGREB, 6 Nov (Hina) - The European Commission unveiled an action plan for high-speed rail aimed at improving cross-border and long-distance train travel across Europe.

"The new High-Speed Rail Action Plan sets out the steps that we need to create a faster, more interoperable, and better-connected European rail network by 2040", said Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto.

Completion of high-speed links between EU capitals would provide an alternative to short-haul flights and long car journeys.

Building and upgrading the network requires significant long-term investment, with an estimated €345 billion needed to complete the planned TEN-T high-speed network by 2040. An ambitious network exceeding 250 km/h could cost €546 billion.

Funding will require a mix of public and private investment, as well as loans and guarantees from institutions such as the European Investment Bank and national development banks.

The plan, building on the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), foresees connecting key hubs at speeds of 200 km/h or more.

Croatia to be linked to Mediterranean, Rhine-Danube, Baltic-Adriatic and Western Balkans–Eastern Mediterranean corridors

Croatia, in addition to the Mediterranean and Rhine-Danube corridors, will also be linked to the Baltic-Adriatic and Western Balkans–Eastern Mediterranean corridors, with rail access to Split and the ports of Split and Ploče now part of the core TEN-T network.

The Commission highlighted that travel from Zagreb to Budapest would drop from six hours to 4 hours 15 minutes, Berlin to Copenhagen from seven hours to four, and Sofia to Athens from 13 hours 40 minutes to six hours.

"Europe's 12,000 km of high-speed rail are still concentrated today in just a few member states, in Spain, France, Italy and Germany, while Central and Eastern Europe remain unfortunately still poorly connected. And this must change," said Sustainable Transport and Tourism Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas.