CYPRUS: The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026 has drawn new attention to long-standing hopes of developing a railway network on the island.
The 762 mm gauge Cyprus Government Railway closed in 1951, and two mining railways ceased operation in the 1970s. Various rail and light rail proposals have since been put forward.
In November 2025 the Cyprus Railways Consortium which describes itself as ‘a coalition of the world’s leading [but unspecified] railway manufacturers, funders, legal experts, constructors and operators’ called for the creation of a National Rail Development Council to bring together government, industry, academia and civil society to define a ‘bold, all-island railway vision’ and long-term rail masterplan.
CRC said it had developed conceptual designs for a north-south and east-west network, including tourist lines serving Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paphos and urban light rail systems in Nicosia and Limassol. However, no formal feasibility study has been undertaken.
In December, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport & Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas told local media that a railway connecting Larnaca International Airport, Limassol and Nicosia ‘would be a positive development for Cyprus and its transport infrastructure, and the European Commission would be willing to offer support for such a project’. He said the Cypriot presidency could be a good opportunity to discuss the concept.
Supply industry association UNIFE has also said it supports the concept, saying the presidency offers an opportunity for ‘kick-starting planning’.
CRC head Yiannakis Kaponis said ‘a modern transport system should unite Cypriots from every community and region — from Paphos to Famagusta — and connect Cyprus internally as well as to the wider region’. CRC plans to organise a stakeholder meeting in London in March 2026 to discuss the case for a railway network.
