Abbreviations and glossary Executive summary Introduction Paragraph I - XI 1 - 13 1-2 3-4 5-9 5-7 8-9 10-13 14-20 21-95 21-36 21-22 23-26 27-36 37-58 37-44 45-48 49-51 52-58 CONTENTS High-speed rail in Europe The EUŐs high-speed rail network is growing in size and in rate of utilisation EU policies for high-speed rail Transport policy Cohesion policy EU support for building high-speed lines: significant, but a fraction of total cost Audit scope and approach Observations EU co-funded investments in high-speed rail can be beneficial, but there is no solid EU-wide strategic approach High-speed rail is a beneficial mode of transport which contributes to the EUŐs sustainable-mobility objectives The Commission's powers are limited, and its plan to triple the length of the high-speed rail network is unlikely to be achieved Member States plan and decide on their national networks, leading to a patchwork of poorly connected national high-speed networks Decision-making lacks reliable cost-benefit analyses ŇVery high speedÓ is not needed everywhere Cost-efficiency checks are rare Cost-benefit analyses are not used as a tool for decision-making in the Member States Cost overruns, construction delays and delayed entry into service: a norm instead of an exception 2 A citizenŐs view: a real-life assessment of travel times, prices and connections, of passenger-services and of stations and their catchment area Travel times and ticket prices, are important factors for success Further improvements needed to rail ticketing, and in monitoring passenger-services data The number and location of stations are both important High-speed rail sustainability: effectiveness of the EU co-funding at risk Passenger data analysis: three of the seven completed high-speed rail lines carry fewer passengers than the benchmark of nine million per year Catchment-area analysis of the number of people living along the lines: nine of 14 audited high-speed lines and stretches do not have sufficient high number of potential passengers The competitiveness of high-speed rail compared to other modes of transport: there is no Ňpolluter-paysÓ principle yet Seamless and competitive cross-border high-speed rail operations: not yet universal With many barriers still existing, there is a long way to go before markets become open and competitive on high-speed lines in the EU Track access charges: overly complicated, and a potential hindrance to competition A strong and independent regulator: necessary, but not always a reality Conclusions and recommendations High-speed rail operations have many advantages but there is no realistic long term EU plan, and there is no truly EU high-speed network The principles of sound financial management have not consistently been applied for the audited high-speed rail infrastructure investments Assessing the situation for the EU citizens highlights the advantages of high-speed rail, while the sustainability of the EU co-funding to high-speed lines is at risk Seamless and competitive cross-border high-speed rail operations are still some way off 59 - 77 59 - 63 64 - 67 68 - 77 78 - 85 79 80 - 82 83 - 85 86 - 95 86 - 88 89 - 92 93 - 95 96 - 106 96 - 98 99 - 100 101 - 103 104 - 106 3 
Skratky a glosár Zhrnutie Úvod Bod I – XI 1 – 13 1–2 3–4 5–9 5–7 8–9 10–13 14–20 21–95 21–36 21–22 23–26 27–36 37–58 37–44 45–48 49–51 52–58 OBSAH Vysokorýchlostné železničné trate v Európe Vysokorýchlostná železničná sieť v EÚ sa rozrastá z hľadiska veľkosti aj miery využívania Politiky EÚ týkajúce sa vysokorýchlostných železníc Dopravná politika Politika súdržnosti Podpora EÚ na budovanie vysokorýchlostných tratí: významná, ale len zlomok celkových nákladov Rozsah auditu a audítorský prístup Pripomienky Investície do vysokorýchlostných železníc spolufinancované EÚ môžu byť prospešné, neexistuje však spoľahlivý strategický prístup na úrovni EÚ Vysokorýchlostná železnica je prínosným druhom dopravy, ktorý prispieva k dosahovaniu cieľov EÚ v oblasti udržateľnej mobility Právomoci Komisie sú obmedzené a jej plán strojnásobiť sieť vysokorýchlostných železníc sa pravdepodobne nesplní Členské štáty samy plánujú svoje vnútroštátne siete a rozhodujú o nich, čoho výsledkom sú slabo prepojené vnútroštátne vysokorýchlostné siete Pri rozhodovaní chýbajú spoľahlivé analýzy nákladov a prínosov Tzv. veľmi vysoká rýchlosť nie je potrebná všade Nákladová efektívnosť sa kontroluje len zriedka V členských štátoch sa ako nástroj pri rozhodovaní nepoužívajú analýzy nákladov a prínosov Prekračovanie nákladov, oneskorenia výstavby a oneskorenia spustenia prevádzky: nie výnimka, ale norma 2