Rail – studies, works or mixed
European Commission · Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
Posted 18 Jun 2026 · 6 days left
In plain terms
The European Commission funds rail transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T core network, including construction and upgrading of cross-border links and interconnections with other transport modes. A total of 260 million euros is available for studies and works, with applications due by 6 October 2026; eligible applicants must be based in EU Member States or associated countries.
A generated summary of the donor's text; the original wording is below.
Summary
Objective:
The objective of this call is to develop rail transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T core[1] network.
Scope:
Works and / or studies related to:
Construction/upgrading of cross-border and missing links;
Interconnections between rail and other modes of transport, namely inland waterway and maritime transport (including port hinterland connections) and projects aimed at the integration of the high-speed rail and air networks to make the feeder network for long-haul flights more sustainable.
Priority will be given to projects fostering the development of high-speed rail in line with the Commission communication on high-speed rail [2].
Support will not be given to railway stations, except for railway infrastructure components. If the project includes such components, they shall be presented as a separate work package. Support will not be given to track side ERTMS deployment, electronic interlockings and/or Class A radio communication (5G/FRMCS/GSM-R) components. Support will not be given to activities related to the Class B systems nor to rolling stock.
Projects shall comply with the provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/797 [3] and with the related Technical…
Excerpt from the donor's page. The full text, annexes and forms are on the original call.
Eligible regions
- eu_only
Who can apply
- ngo_cso
- academia_research
- private_company
- government
- un_agency
Eligibility and conditions
Show the eligibility text from the source
">Conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in section 5 of the call document.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries
described in section 6 of the call document.
3. Other eligibility conditions
described in section 6 of the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in section 7 of the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described section 8 of the call document and the Online Manual.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
described in section 9 of the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in section 4 of the call document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in section 10 of the call document.
Call document and annexes:
CEF-T-2026-CORECOEN
Application form templates
Standard application form — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Detailed budget table per WP
Letter of support/MS agreement
Timetable (Gannt Chart)
Simplified CBA calculator
Full CBA cash flow template
Environmental compliance file
Additional documents:
Amended Work Programme 2021-2027 - 5 June 2026
CEF Regulation 2021/1153
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
Decision on unit costs for SME owners
Decision on unit costs for personnel (usual cost accounting practices)