The Trans-European high-speed rail network is one of the European Union's three Trans-European transport networks, along with road and waterways.The aim of this EU is to achieve the interoperability of the European high-speed train network at the various stages of its design, construction and operation.The network is defined as a system consisting of a set of infrastructures, fixed installations, logistic equipment and rolling stock.



High-speed rail is emerging in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transportation. The first high-speed rail lines in Europe, built in the 1980s and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridors. Since then, several countries have built extensive high-speed networks, and there are now several cross-border high-speed rail links. Rail operators frequently run international services, and tracks are continuously being built and upgraded to international standards on the emerging European high-speed rail network. In 2007, a consortium of European rail operators, Railteam, emerged to coordinate and boost cross-border high-speed rail travel. Developing a Trans-European high-speed rail network is a stated goal of the European Union, and most cross-border rail lines receive EU funding. Today only the core countries of Western Europe are 'plugged in' to a cross-border high-speed rail network. This will change rapidly in the coming years as Europe invests heavily in tunnels, bridges and other infrastructure and development projects across the continent.

The European Rail network gradually spread out to other cities, and into other countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. Due to the early adoption of high-speed rail and the central location of France in Western Europe, most other dedicated high-speed rail lines in Europe have been built to the same speed, voltage and signalling standards. The most obvious exception are the high-speed lines in Germany, which are built to existing German train line standards. Also, many high-speed services, including TGV and ICE utilize existing rail lines in addition to those designed for high speed rail. For that reason, and due to differing national standards, trains that cross national boundaries may need to have special characteristics, such as the ability to handle different power supplies and signalling systems. This means that not all European Lines are the same, and there are interoperability considerations.

Westeren Europe has no high-speed trains of its own yet. French TGV and German ICE lines extend into Switzerland, but given the dense rail traffic, short distances between cities and the often difficult terrain, they currently do not attain speeds higher than 160 km/h there. The fastest trains are the ICN tilting trains, operated by the Swiss Federal Railways since May 2000. They can reach higher speeds than conventional trains on the curve-intensive rail network, however the top speed of 200 km/h can only be reached on high-speed lines.