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Mobility and Transport

The Baltic - Adriatic corridor

Corridor description

The total length of the Baltic – Adriatic corridor (BAC) is 4 910 km, including the Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF 2) extension. It crosses 6 countries: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.

This corridor runs in the North-South direction on the European continent and constitutes a European axis backbone between the Baltic and the Adriatic seas, linking their relevant ports (Trieste, Venice, Ravenna, Koper, Gdansk/Gdynia), with primary hinterland cities (Vienna, Bologna, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Brno, Krakow, Wroclaw) between Poland and Italy.

ERTMS deployment on the corridor

The following image shows the state of play and deadlines for the ERTMS deployment in the BAC corridor, considering the dates of the EDP:

Baltic-Adriatic Corridor: Passenger & freight

Overall, ETCS is operational on 29% of BAC, while GSM-R on 59% of the corridor. In March 2023, 61% of the BAC length planned in the EDP by 2023 was in operation with ETCS. According to the TEN-T Guidelines, the whole BAC corridor is expected to be equipped by 2030.

The deployment status per Member State where the BAC corridor runs is as follows:

  • In Poland, most of the lines planned in the EDP by 2023 are already in operation and all the BAC sections will be in operation by 2030.
  • Czech sections in BAC planned in the EDP by 2023 are currently in operation, including cross-border sections with Poland and Austria. The remaining sections are planned by 2030.
  • Slovak deployment is also following the EPD deadlines. Slovak cross-border sections with Poland and Slovenia will be in operation by 2030.
  • There is only one ETCS section in operation in Austria on the BAC, being a cross-border section with Czechia. According to the Austrian plan, the other lines planned in the EDP by 2023 are delayed until 2024-2026. The remaining sections are planned for 2030.
  • Most of the lines planned in the EDP by 2023 are already in operation in Slovenia, including the Slovenian section next to the Italian border. BAC sections will be in operation by 2030 according to the Slovenian plan except for the planned high-speed line between Ljubljana, Divača and the Italian border.
  • In Italy, there are no BAC ETCS lines in operation. According to the Italian plans, lines planned in the EDP by 2020 are delayed until 2023. Other BAC sections in Italy will be commissioned progressively by 2030.