Leading EU regions in rail electrification

In 2022, there were around 202 100 km of railway lines across the EU and more than half, 56.9%, were electrified. 

Within the EU, there were 6 regions classified at level 2 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2) where practically all (100.0%) of the railway lines were electrified in 2022. This was the case in the Spanish regions of Comunidad Foral de Navarra, La Rioja and Illes Balears, the Dutch regions of Drenthe and Flevoland and the Croatian capital region of Grad Zagreb.

In addition, at least 95% of all railway lines were electrified in 8 other regions: Luxembourg, the capitals of Poland, Sweden and France, the eastern Bulgarian region of Yugoiztochen, as well as Liguria and Umbria in Italy and Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Electrified railway lines offer a number of benefits over diesel-powered trains running on non-electrified lines. They generally have lower operating costs, reduced emissions (especially if powered by renewable energy sources) and noise, improved performance and higher energy efficiency.

Would you like to know more about regional transport in the EU?

You can read more about regional data on transport in the EU in the dedicated section of the Regions in Europe – 2024 interactive edition and in the Eurostat regional yearbook – 2024 edition, also available as a set of Statistics Explained articles. The corresponding maps in the Statistical Atlas provide a full-screen interactive map.

This article marks World Sustainable Transport Day, celebrated on 26 November.

For more information

• Thematic section on transport
• Database on transport 
• Thematic section on regions and cities
• Webinar on regional statistics
• Webinar on transport statistics

Methodological note

This article relies on the data from Eurostat regional yearbook – 2024 edition, published on 26 September 2024. Note that some of the data may have been updated since its publication.

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