Overview
The Atlantic Corridor stretches from the ports of the Atlantic flank of the Iberian Peninsula to the ports of Le Havre, Brest and Nantes in Northern France, and cities of Strasbourg and Mannheim on the French/German border. The corridor’s railway component will feature new high-speed rail links and parallel conventional lines, providing for cross-border continuity between Lisbon, Madrid, Porto, Vigo, Paris, Strasbourg, Mannheim and Le Havre. The corridor has strong multimodal dimensions, utilising rail, road, inland waterway and maritime routes. Key projects for the corridor include the Basque Y rail connection and a new high-speed rail connection between Madrid and Lisbon.
Main bottlenecks and missing links
Overall, the Corridor has been progressing well. However, some challenges remain, namely the following:
- The development of the Corridor’s main missing link: the cross-border high-speed rail connection between Lisbon and Madrid.
- The completion of the Y-Basque in Spain and of the second phase of the GPSO Project, connecting Bordeau-Dax in France, as well as the connection between Dax and the Spanish border.
- The electrification of the Algeciras-Bobadilla railway line.
- The need to ensure interoperable standard track gauge across the Corridor, and how alternative solutions for simplified track gauge migration (e.g. polyvalent sleepers, gauge changers and third rail) can be considered.
- Ensuring and improving last-mile rail connectivity to ports and airports of the Corridor.
- The integration of urban nodes in line with the revised TEN-T Regulation.
Success stories
In July 2017, the €7.8-billion Tours-Bordeaux high-speed rail line, based on the first public private partnership agreement for a high-speed rail line in France, entered into operation, six years after the signature of the agreement. It had received significant backing from the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) and includes a 50-year concession contract that covers the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the high-speed line.
The Spanish high-speed network is one of the most developed and longest high-speed networks in the world and the longest in Europe. Its length spans over 3 400 kilometres and is interoperable with the 1 435 mm standard EU track gauge.
Spain has worked on expanding its high-speed rail network further. In particular, the Y Basque project is on track to be completed on time, ahead of 2030. Spain and Portugal are seeking to accelerate the works on the Madrid-Lisbon high-speed line.
It is also worth highlighting the recent decision of the Portuguese government on the location of the new Lisbon Airport and the third Tagus Bridge, which will be crucial for ensuring the completion of the high-speed rail connections in Portugal.
The Atlantic Corridor is a frontrunner for ITS and C-ITS deployment, and it is becoming fully compliant regarding the availability of clean fuels. The road sections of the Corridor are compliant with the TEN-T requirements for motorway/express roads.
The ports of the Atlantic are crucial gateways for liquified natural gas, positioning themselves as major energy hubs. The port of Huelva boosted its connectivity with the Canary Islands, ensuring important maritime links with one of the EU’s outermost regions. New transport connections between France and Ireland are offered, which are crucial to ensure maritime connectivity to Ireland, especially after Brexit. This highlights the strong maritime dimension of the Atlantic Corridor.
European Coordinator for the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor, Professor Carlo Secchi
Professor Carlo Secchi was born in Italy on February 4, 1944. He was appointed European Coordinator for the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor on 12 March 2014. His mandate was renewed on 9 September 2024.
In addition to his European Coordinator role, Professor Secchi provides consultancy services to various national and foreign research institutes and universities, to Italian public institutions (including CNR – the Italian National Research Council) and the European Union.
Mr. Secchi has previously undertaken a TEN-T Coordinator role between July 2009 and December 2013, overseeing the implementation of Priority Project 3 and Priority Project 19 (railways) between France, Spain and Portugal. Mr. Secchi also chaired the Expert Group on TEN-T financing that contributed to the revision of TEN-T and the launch of the Connecting Europe Facility in 2013.
Previous assignments
2023-2024: Co-author of the TEN-T Coordinators’ Position Paper “Connecting Europe – A transport funding and financing that is adapted to the challenges ahead”
2014-2019: Co-author of the Christophersen-Bodewig-Secchi reports on facilitating infrastructural projects and financial schemes
2013-2014: Chairman of the High Level Group on Business Services (DG ENTR and DG MARKT)
2000-2004: Rector, Bocconi University in Milan
2000: Member of the High level group of the European Parliament for the reform of the Statute and financial treatment of the Members of the European Parliament
1994-1999: Member of the European Parliament in the IV Legislature and Vice-President of the Economic, Monetary Affairs and Industrial Politics Commission (Deputy Chairman)
1994-1996: Member of the Italian Senate in the XII Legislature
1990-1993: President of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes
1988-1993: Vice-President of CEMS - The Global Alliance in Management Education (formerly the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies)
1978-1999: Visiting professor at Erasmus University of Rotterdam (1978), the HEC in Paris (1988-1990), the Wirtschaft Universität of Vienna (1991) and the Centre for European Studies of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok (1999). He has taught at the Universities of Milano, Sassari and Trento, where he directed the Department of Economics.
1970-1972: Researcher at Netherlands Economic Institute of Rotterdam
Current tasks
Professor Emeritus of European Economic Policy at Bocconi University in Milan
Chairman of the Supervisory Body of Pirelli, Milan
Member of the Advisory Board as former Vice-President, Institute of International Political Studies (ISPI), Milan
Member of the Board of 'Alcide de Gasperi' foundation, Rome
Honorary Member of the Research Ethics and Integrity Committee, CNR, Rome
Professor Carlo Secchi, European Coordinator
move-atlantic-etc
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (move-atlantic-etc[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Ms Julie Buy, Adviser of the European Coordinator
Julie [dot] buyec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Julie[dot]buy[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
+ 32 (0) 2 295 63 36
Postal address:
Atlantic ETC / TEN-T
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
Rue de Mot 28
1049 Brussels
Belgium