Rail freight corridors needed for more combined rail-road transport
European transport ministers met in Luxembourg on 9 October to discuss dossiers concerning transport safety and the greening of transport.
On invitation of the French EU Presidency, CER Executive Directive Johannes Ludewig presented to the ministers the role of rail freight corridors as the backbone of combined transport: - Combined rail and road transport will be the future of greener European transport,- Ludewig said. - International freight corridors for long-distance rail transport must be developed through a coordinated effort on the ministerial level, Railway Market-CEE Review reports according to RZD-Partner.
The intention of creating international rail freight corridors in Europe is very much appreciated by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). CER was one of the initiators of the European corridor approach in 2003 and has always been a driving force behind this idea.
- However, to be efficient, the corridor structures must be politically wanted and steered at the highest level,- Johannes Ludewig reminded the European transport ministers during a lunch meeting of the Transport Council.
CER strongly promotes the idea of organising ministerial conferences along corridors, he explained. In such meetings, all transport ministers of countries which share an international corridor would discuss with each other those investments in rail infrastructure which are needed most to make long-distance rail freight corridors a market success.
- What we need most is a strong political commitment with a clear mandate from you, the transport ministers,- he said. The perimeters of the corridors need not be defined by law, Ludewig said. This is expected to be too static to meet market demands. The best way to proceed in developing corridors would be a flexible approach: once governments have agreed to establish a certain corridor, they could define and adjust the exact perimeters of a corridor together with infrastructure managers and railway companies.
- With market demand being central to the success of a corridor, we find it essential to include railway companies alongside government officials and infrastructure managers in the governance of such corridors,- Ludewig concluded.