Main Line for Europe

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| caption = Detail from the map of Europe's high-speed rail lines (colored), where can be seen the Main Line for Europe's route (Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-München-Salzburg-Linz-Wien-Bratislava-Budapest) and its current maximum operational speed.

{{legend-line|#ae00ff solid 2px| Max operational speed 310-320 km/h}}

{{legend-line|#ff0000 solid 2px| Max operational speed 270-300 km/h}}

{{legend-line|#e39d1a solid 2px| Max operational speed 240-260 km/h}}

{{legend-line|#ffee00 solid 2px| Max operational speed 200-230 km/h}}

{{legend-line|#009804 dotted 2px| Under construction for max operational speed ≥ 200 km/h}}

{{legend-line|#777777 solid 2px| Max operational speed < 200 km/h}}

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Parts of the route were formerly served by Orient Express trains, which ceased operations in 2009. Today TGV rail connections exist from Paris to Stuttgart or at longest Munich. The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) currently provide direct Railjet and EuroNight connections between Munich and Budapest in addition to direct Nightjet connection between Vienna and Paris since December 2021.

File:Paris-Gare de l'Est-2009.jpg

The French part of the line is the LGV Est européenne high-speed railway. Its first section as far as Baudrecourt east of Metz has been in use since 2007 whilst the second section to Vendenheim near Strasbourg opened in July 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.eurailpress.de/article/view/4/finanzierungsvereinbarung-fuer-2-phase-der-lgv-est-unterzeichnet.html |title=Finanzierungsvereinbarung für 2. Phase der LGV Est unterzeichnet |accessdate=2011-07-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524184311/http://www.eurailpress.de/article/view/4/finanzierungsvereinbarung-fuer-2-phase-der-lgv-est-unterzeichnet.html |archivedate=2010-05-24 |language=de}} The new railway line provides a maximum speed up to {{Cvt|320|km/h|4=0}} and reduced the travel time from Gare de Paris-Est to the largely refurbished Gare de Strasbourg to {{TimeHMS|1|45}}.[https://www.sncf-connect.com/train/horaires/paris/strasbourg Infos horaires train Paris-Strasbourg] on the sncf-connect website (22 April 2025).

In Germany, the line follows the Appenweier–Strasbourg railway (Europabahn) from the Rhine Bridge to Appenweier and then the Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway (Rheintalbahn) down to Bruchsal. The Europabahn is built for a maximum speed of {{Cvt|200|km/h|4=0}}, while the Rheintalbahn to Rastatt Süd is for {{Cvt|250|km/h|4=0}}. The second part of the new Rheintalbahn (Rastatt Süd to Bruchsal) is to be completed by 2014{{Update inline|date=February 2023}}. At the Bruchsal Rollenberg junction the MoE joins the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed railway which was built for {{Cvt|250|km/h|4=0}}. Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof is currently being rebuilt (scheduled for completion in 2025) as a through station in the course of the controversial Stuttgart 21 project. Despite some protests, a 2011 statewide referendum upheld the majority support and thus the political decision to rebuild the station and let the Magistrale for Europe project proceed.

File:StuttgartHauptbahnhofNordfluegel 2010-08-26.jpg

In Stuttgart, the line joins the Stuttgart–Augsburg new and upgraded railway (including the Stuttgart–Wendlingen and Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway lines replacing the Fils Valley Railway), which Wendlingen- Ulm section is completed at the end of 2022 and provides a maximum speed of {{Cvt|250|km/h|4=0}} between Stuttgart and Ulm and {{Cvt|200|km/h|4=0}} on the Ulm–Augsburg railway line. The Munich–Augsburg railway is being upgraded to separate slower traffic (freight and short-distance trains) from high speed trains, which will be able to reach {{Cvt|230|km/h|4=0}}. From München-Pasing station trains may run directly to München Ost without passing München Hauptbahnhof. Plans for the reconstruction of the Munich main station similar to Stuttgart 21 have been abandoned.

Trains from München Ost shall reach Salzburg Hauptbahnhof via the upgraded Munich–Mühldorf railway, providing a maximum speed of {{Cvt|160|km/h}}, and the Mühldorf–Freilassing railway line. In Freilassing the MoE joins the Rosenheim–Salzburg railway leading across the Austrian border including a new third track serving the Salzburg S-Bahn commuter network.

File:Wien 10 Hauptbahnhof a.jpg

In Austria, the Western Railway line was extended to reduce travel time between Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna to one hour each. The section between the Attnang-Puchheim rail hub and Wels Hauptbahnhof near Linz was already upgraded until October 2012 to provide a maximum speed of {{Cvt|230|km/h|4=0}}. Between Linz and Vienna a new parallel high-speed railway line (Neue Westbahn) for a maximum speed of {{Cvt|250|km/h|4=0}} was completed in 2015, including the Wienerwald Tunnel.

In Vienna, the former Südbahnhof terminal station was demolished and replaced by the new Wien Hauptbahnhof. From here, trains run on the Eastern Railway line to Bratislava-Petržalka railway station, including a connection to Vienna International Airport. East of Vienna, a southeastern branch-off leads via Győr to Budapest.

^{1 It is calculated with the fastest possible durations between the towns.}

^{2 Real duration is longer due to changing.}

^{Source (unless stated otherwise): [https://web.archive.org/web/20090424053903/http://www.magistrale.org/download/rapport%20annuel%20Peter%20Balazs%20DE.pdf annual report 2006/07 of Péter Balázs]}

{{Portal|Trains}}

• High-speed rail in France
• High-speed rail in Germany
• High-speed rail in Italy

{{Reflist}}

• [https://magistrale.org/?lang=en Main Line for Europe]

{{Magistrale for Europe}}

{{Trans-European Transport Networks}}

Category:High-speed railway lines

Category:High-speed rail in Europe