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Mobility and Transport

The Mediterranean corridor

Corridor description

The total length of the Mediterranean corridor (MED) is 11 410 Km long, including the Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF 2) extension. It crosses 6 countries: Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary.

The MED CNC links the Iberian Peninsula with the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. It follows the Mediterranean coastlines of Spain and France and crosses the Alps towards the east through northern Italy, leaves the Adriatic coast in Slovenia and Croatia heading towards Hungary.

ERTMS deployment on the corridor

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

Mediterranean Corrdor: Passenger & freight

Overall, ETCS is operational on 19% of MED, while GSM-R is operational on 49% of the corridor. According to the EDP, 3 135 km are expected to be operational by 2023. In March 2023, 54% of the MED length planned in the EDP by 2023 was in operation with ETCS. According to the TEN-T Guidelines, 11 325 km are expected to be equipped by 2030.

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

  • In Spain, most of the lines planned in the EDP by 2023 are already in operation, including one of the cross-border sections with France. According to the Spanish plans, all MED sections will be operational by 2030.
  • In France, there are already some lines in operation on MED. The Marseille - France/Italy border line is planned to be equipped with ERTMS by 2030, with a first section equipped by 2027. However, French plans do not support those sections planned in the EDP beyond 2023 which will be in operation by 2030.
  • In Italy, most sections planned in the EDP by 2020 are delayed until 2023. According to the Italian plans, other MED sections will be in operation by 2030.
  • Most of the lines planned in the EDP by 2023 are already in operation in Slovenia. The Divaca – Koper line is delayed to 2025. According to the Slovenian plan, MED sections will be operational by 2030, except for the planned high-speed line between Ljubljana, Divača and the Italian border.
  • In Croatia, no lines will be equipped with ETCS by 2023, in line with the EDP deadlines. According to the Croatian plan, MED sections will be in operation by 2030 except for the planned line Oštarije - Rijeka and a bypass in Zagreb.
  • In Hungary, lines planned in ERMTS EDP by 2020 are delayed until 2021-2030. Sections planned in the EDP beyond 2023 are not included in the Hungarian deployment plan. Some of the existing sections are equipped with ETCS pre-baseline 2 and are going to be upgraded to Level 2 Baseline 2.