The Global Infrastructure Index 2026 by the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA) and Ipsos has found rail is increasingly becoming a national investment priority for the public worldwide.

Rail rose as an investment priority in the survey – ranking behind only water supply and new housing.

The Index, conducted by Ipsos across 29 countries, surveyed over 21,500 adults on their attitudes towards national infrastructure delivery, benefits, headwinds, and sources of funding.

Prioritisation was highest across European countries such as Hungary (64%), Sweden (63%), and Spain (58%). Rail also consistently ranks highly as an investment priority in countries such as Germany (the public’s second highest national priority), the UK (third highest), and France (fourth highest).

Across all 29 countries, rail infrastructure was seen as a national priority by one in three survey respondents. This fell to one in four when just considering investment priorities for their local area – a trend observed in the Index in lower prioritisation for local versus national infrastructure.

This serves as an important reminder of the bigger picture amidst Europe’s drive to improve cross-border regional interconnectivity via high-speed rail.

While the Global Infrastructure Index specifically asked respondents about track and station infrastructure, GIIA members indicate that rolling stock is currently the primary entry point for private investment – remaining mobile, able to be reassigned across networks, and financeable on an asset-backed basis.

Unlike fixed rail infrastructure – which also includes depots, trackside substations, and maintenance centres – rolling stock can be leased across operators, reassigned across corridors, and underwritten independently of a single project’s revenue profile.

GIIA has previously set out targeted recommendations to the European Commission to address the barriers that currently constrain deployment, including recognising this segment within the EU’s High Speed Rail Action Plan Financing Strategy.

Europe’s wider high speed rail ambition is already clear. Delivering the Trans-European Transport Network (TENT) core network by 2040 will require an estimated €345 billion – public instruments, including the Connecting Europe Facility, InvestEU, and lending from the European Investment Bank since 2016, account for roughly €140 billion in committed support.

Jon Phillips, Chief Executive of GIIA, said: “As the European public change the way they commute and travel to be more sustainable, better rail service should focus on giving people faster, easier and more reliable journeys.

“The public themselves have sent a message that investment in rail should be prioritised, and Europe’s high-speed rail ambitions can deliver many of these improvements – but only if investment keeps pace.

“Investors are interested not just in the track infrastructure needed to expand networks, but also in the rolling stock that will put more modern, efficient trains on those lines.

“Policymakers now need to remove barriers holding back that capital, to keep Europe on the right track.”

Alberto Mazzola, Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), Executive Director, said: “Mobility is a huge part of people’s daily lives, and they are increasingly looking to rail for a better way to travel. Over long distances, 3 in 4 Europeans would take the train if a high-speed rail service existed.

“It is important to meet this growing interest and demand by investing where it matters, in maintaining the railway network for safe, smooth punctual journeys, in optimising it with digital technologies, and in expanding it with new and high-speed lines that truly connect the continent.

“These are long-term investments that need supportive policy frameworks to give certainty to investors, railways and the public who depend on them.”