The High Speed Rail Network is expected to be completed in 20 years and a European study estimates the cost of implementation will be €546 billion.
Fancy a trip from Athens to Istanbul in four hours? Or perhaps hopping on board in Madrid and getting off in Milan is more to your taste.
It sounds like a train travellers dream but that's the plan for the European High-Speed Rail Network, promoted by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and expected to be adopted by the European Commission.
The ambitious network, connecting all major EU cities, is expected to cover more than 49,400 kilometres of track carrying trains travelling at speeds from 250 km/h to 350 km/h.
Speaking in Athens, CER's Executive Director Alberto Mazzola told Euronews that the European Commission's Sustainable Transport and Tourism Committee is putting train travel at the top of the list of priorities for greener and more resilient transport.
