Two hours and three minutes to link Brussels and Luxembourg after 2034. The aim still seems like a minor revolution. It seems rather modest at a time when the European Union (EU) is seeking to build a genuine rail network capable of speeds in excess of 200 km/h between its major cities – namely Berlin–Copenhagen in four hours, Sofia–Athens in six hours and Paris–Lisbon via Madrid. Or even at 250 km/h where economically viable.
On Tuesday 20 October, the European Parliament adopted its recommendations to speed up this roll-out. MEPs are calling for better connections between cities and regions, the removal of cross-border bottlenecks and the provision of “sufficient, predictable and long-term” European funding. Their resolution does not open any new lines or commission any trains. It is intended to influence the implementation of the plan presented by the European Commission in November 2025. This plan sets the target of a high-speed European network operational by 2040.
A “missing link” between three capitals
Luxembourg does not feature amongst these examples. It is not, however, absent from the European map. The Brussels–Luxembourg–Strasbourg route forms part of the European North Sea–Rhine–Mediterranean corridor. The Commission continues to identify EuroCapRail as one of its “missing links”. The project aims to modernise the link between the three European capitals in order to create a “high-performance” line.
The proposal makes an important distinction. The European Commission does not describe EuroCapRail as a future high-speed line. The works currently planned in Belgium are intended to raise the design speed to 160 km/h along most of the route between Brussels and the Luxembourg border.
The contrast is as much political as it is technical. Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg are home to the main European institutions. Yet the connection between these three cities is said to be slower than the new links the EU intends to develop elsewhere on the continent.
A new funding opportunity
Above all, the new European initiative could reopen the debate on funding and the timetable. Belgium had requested European support in order to bring forward the completion of its works to 2029. Luxembourg had backed this request in a letter. The Luxembourg government has not disclosed the amount requested, the response received, or the additional funding that would have enabled this deadline to be met.
The Commission is now drawing up a coordinated strategy to fund high-speed rail. Discussions have already begun with Member States, the industry and investors. These are set to result in a “High-Speed Rail Deal” designed to mobilise European, national and private funding for priority projects.
The coordinators of the European corridors must also identify the main rail bottlenecks. The Commission then plans to set binding timetables for their removal in 2027 and to designate the sections capable of accommodating very high speeds.
EuroCapRail meets several criteria: a cross-border link, three European capitals, a project that has been on the agenda for several decades, and work that is already underway. However, its inclusion in a corridor does not guarantee its selection as a priority project, nor does it guarantee new funding or an increase in speed beyond 160 km/h.
A question of Luxembourg’s ambitions
The country already has a high-speed rail link to Paris. A modernised conventional line to Brussels is planned. Direct services to Strasbourg remain limited. To reach the major German transport hubs, passengers must travel to Cologne via Koblenz, Saarbrücken or Mannheim.
The development of a European network operating at speeds of over 200 km/h could therefore lead to a paradoxical outcome: bringing several major cities closer together whilst leaving Luxembourg connected to this network via slower lines. The European Parliament’s resolution specifically emphasises territorial cohesion and access for under-connected regions. It advocates an approach in which national lines should be conceived as components of a continental network, rather than as isolated projects.
For Luxembourg, the challenge now is to ensure that the Brussels–Luxembourg–Strasbourg route is recognised as a priority within this network. The government will need to clarify whether it intends to propose EuroCapRail as part of the future European funding agreement, call for a binding timetable by 2027, and advocate for a more ambitious project than the works already planned.
