2 November 2026

BSR Urban Mobility workshop: Urban Nodes at the core of TEN-T

Cities and regions urge greater role in TEN‑T corridors, clearer responsibilities, better local alignment and more funding for urban mobility projects.

With the revised TEN-T Regulation, cities have taken on new responsibilities for sustainable urban mobility, from mobility planning to multimodal connections and data. How do they manage, and what support do they still need from regions, Member States and the EU? The BSR Urban Mobility project platform brought these questions to Brussels. To explore these questions in a dedicated workshop, BSR Urban Mobility and the Scandria Alliance teamed up with POLIS and Oslo Region Europen Office and invited cities, national authorities and EU representatives to the Nordic House in Brussels on 1 October 2026.

The workshop looked at urban nodes, sustainable urban mobility planning and the revised TEN-T regulation. Speakers discussed how cities are adapting to their new responsibilities and support they still need. Neri di Volo (European Investment Bank) and Merlin Rehema (National SUMP Contact Point, Estonian Ministry of Climate) gave presentations. They were followed by a panel with Annabel Keerd (EUSBSR Policy Area Transport), Chelsea Tschoerner-Budde (State of Hessen) and Cecilia Aketch Akanga (City of Umeå). After the panel discussion, participants moved into a World Café format to exchange their experiences in small groups.

Group discussions during the urban nodes workshop in Brussels

A key message from the discussion on TEN-T corridors was that urban nodes sit at the heart of these corridors but are still not sufficiently involved in corridor governance. Many cities do not take part in corridor fora and others find the discussions too far removed from local planning. Participants called for a clearer definition of roles, enhanced communication between corridor fora and cities, and greater consistency between the TEN-T objectives, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, and investment priorities.

Member States and regions were identified as key intermediaries between the European and local levels. Specifically, participants proposed, as a next step, organizing a regular meeting at the EU level bringing together urban nodes from different corridors, possibly as part of the Connecting Europe Days.

Funding was another recurring theme. Urban mobility is largely a public good, so private investments remain difficult unless it is linked to sectors such as housing, health or commercial development. Participants stressed that funding instruments need to recognise the value of small-scale urban projects, which often lose out to large infrastructure schemes. Examples from Leuven, Eindhoven, The Hague, South Holland and Umeå showed how much can be gained by linking local mobility plans with wider corridor objectives.

The workshop provided valuable input for ongoing discussions on how cities can help shape the future TEN-T network and how EU and national funding can better support their role. The BSR Urban Mobility project will continue to carry these messages into the dialogue with regions, Member States, corridor coordinators and European institutions.

To follow the work of the BSR Urban Mobility project platform, visit its website and sign up to receive updates.

BSR Urban Mobility urban nodes