EC - European Transport Networks

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Results fromthe transport research programme

EUROPEAN TRANSPORTNETWORKS

E U R O P E A N

C O M M I S S I O N


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Information on the wider transport activities of the European Union is also available

on the Internet. It can be accessed through t he Europa server

(http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html).

Manuscript completed in October 2001.

Luxembourg : Office for Official Publicat ions of the European Communities,2001

ISBN 92-894-1554-1

European Communities, 2001

Photographs shown on page 7 have been provided by Eureka Slide (2 and 4).

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.Printed in Belgium.

This brochure w as produced by the EXTRA consort ium for DG Energy and Transport and represent s

the consortiums views on research into Europea n transport netw orks.These views have no t been adopted

or in any w ay a pproved by the Commission and should not b e relied upon as a statement of

the Commission's or DG Energ y and Transport 's views.

The European Commission does not gua rantee the a ccuracy of the d at a included in this brochure,

nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.

Common acronyms

ATM Air traffic mana gement

ERTMS European rail traffic management system

ETCS European train control system

ETIS European transport policy information system

GDP Gross domestic productITS Intelligent transport systems

PPP Public-private partnership

RIS River information services

SEA Strategic environmental assessment

SPV Special purpose vehicle

TINA Transport infrast ructure need s a ssessment

VTMIS Vessel traffic mana gement a nd informat ion services

Additional information on the transport research programme is available on the Internet.

The prog ramm es Know ledg e Centre (http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/extra/home.html)provides:

structured guides to the results and projects for particular topics;

summa ries and final reports of individua l projects;

a ccess to project w eb sites and ot her contact d etails.

References to some projects are included in this brochure, to help the read er access

further information quickly through the Knowledge Centre.


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KEYRESULTS

A number of projects have suppor ted

the development of European t ranspor t networks.Here are some highlight s.

Managing traffic onEuropean networks

armonised approaches to traffic

manag ement are needed at

a European level to improve

interoperability and make more

efficient use of t he existing infrast ructure in

road,air,rail and waterborne transport.

The transport research programme ha s

target ed the use of variab le message signs

and strateg ies to mana ge speeds on

European roads. Substantial cont ributions

have also been made to the development

of the European air traffic manag ement

(ATM) system, the Europea n rail tra ffic

management syst em (ERTMS), the European

vessel traffic mana gement and information

services (VTMIS) concept and the river

information services (RIS) concept.

Strategic assessment

of trans-European networks

System-wide and long-term effects need to

be t aken into a ccount in the assessment of

trans-European transport networks in addition

to the immediate transport impacts. The

transport research programme has provided

tools for evaluating wider socio-economic

and regional effects.New indicators of

regional accessibility have been developed,

and different approaches tested for impact

assessments tha t take account of

the interaction between transport investmentand regional economic development.

H

Studies concluded that automated

speed enforcement w ith speed ca meras

should be installed on European

motorways.Busy motorway sections

should have variable speed limitschang ing according to traffic and

wea ther conditions,and variable message

signs wa rning drivers of hazardous

situations.Speed limits should be

harmonised on European motorw ays

and top speed limiters installed on

vehicles in the longer-term.

Managing speed on European roads4

EKA

Eurek

aSlide,DeLeu


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EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORKS

4 5

Research has produced a model ab le to

forecast the effects on regional production

and employment resulting from bet ter

accessibility broug ht b y trans-European

netw ork investment. Results show thatas a consequence of the trans-European

netw ork projects, the trend tow ards

economic polarisat ion of the EU wo uld

only be mitiga ted, with a slightly less

polarised d istribution o f accessibility

and economic growth among the

regions tha n in other scenarios. All

regions would benefit from increased

accessibility,w ith higher gains for the

Iberian peninsula. Most regions in

cohesion countries would experience

gains in GDP while the richer regions

wo uld experience losses.

Other research has developed a modelfor assessing the long-term effects of

stepwise implementation of policy

packages. Construction of the trans-

European transport netw ork wa s

assessed to b e profitab le in the long

run,compa ring t he chang e in GDP in

2026 with the total investment.

The result applies to a scenario w here

fuel taxes are ea rmarked for investment

in the network.

Accessibility and economic impacts5

In a ba seline scenario, growt h of

tonne-kilometres in the EU is projected

at 42%from 1994 to 2010,exceeding

the 24%grow th in person-kilometres.

Air is the mode with the highest g rowth

in passeng er travel,w hile road has the

highest growt h in freight transport.

Agg regate emission levels of CO2 and

SO2 wo uld continue rising overall, by

40%and 60%respectively from 1994 to

2010, while a ll other emissions w ould fa ll.

Implementa tion o f trans-European

network projects would increase furtherthe overall rate of g rowth of freight

transport, with significant shifts to rail

and inland w aterw ays. Tota l passenger

transport wo uld g row less than in the

baseline scenario, with a shift from car

and air to rail. As a result, the neg at ive

trends in overall CO2 and SO2 emissions

wo uld be mitigated but not reversed.

Pilot strategic environmental assessment6

Evaluating environmentalsustainability

A pilot strateg ic environmental assessmentcarried out in the transport research

programme has provided the first

comprehensive, q uantified forecasts of the

impact s of t rans-European netw ork policies

and infrastructure on travel demand a nd

emissions at the EU level.

Revitalising European railways

Development o f a European t raffic

mana gement system,liberalisation ofthe rail sector and improved o rganisation

of services are elements o f the EU strateg y

to improve the competitive position of

railwa ys. A trans-European rail network

ded icated to freight has been proposedand evaluated.

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Financing trans-Europeannetworks

Public-private pa rtnership (PPP) can offer

an at tractive option for successful and

accelerated implementat ion of t rans-

European network projects.Guidelines have

been provided to a ssist in the decision-

making process on the use of PPP to finance

and operate such projects.

Heading East

Development of pa n-European corrido rs is

a key step in the integration of the EU

accession countries.In-depth assessment of

transport ma rkets w ithin the broad er socio-

economic and political context is needed to

aid prioritisation of infrastructure investments.

The d edicated netw ork includes three

sub-netw orks according to their exclusive

or mixed utilisat ion by freight and

passeng er trains.Traffic assignment

modelling has shown that less than

22%of the netw ork could support ab out

60%of the present volume of freight

traffic.The ded icated netw ork could

reverse the decreasing trend in rail modal

share, taking the share back up to 20%by

the yea r 2020.In addition, time-savings

in 2020 could be up to 50%relative to

the current t rend scena rio.The increase

of rail tonne-kilometres would bring

a pro-rata increase in the environmenta l

burden o f up to 80%, but this would be

outweighed by the environmental

benefits from reduced road traffic.

Dedicated trans-European network for rail freight7

Three types of PPP have been identified

as most co mmon to trans-European

netw ork projects: joint ventures,concessions,a nd hybrid types w here

the project is split into several project

components w ith a public SPV (special

purpose vehicle) in control of the overall

project. Recommendations have been

provided o n how to orga nise the different

phases of the PPP process to avoid

possible barriers, and on criteria t oallocate different types o f risk to part ies.

It is recommend ed that the Commission

takes a co-ordinating role regarding user

charging and netw ork-level effects in

cross-border projects.

Implementing public-private partnerships8

Research has developed a tool for strategic

assessment of pan-European corridors.

Imag es of the future were built combining

tw o socio-economic scenarios (low a nd

high growth) with two political scenarios

(slow and fast integrat ion).Various

alternat ives for corridor developments

were then a ssessed,focusing on

accessibility,environmental and socio-

economic factors.Combinations of road

and rail projects w ere found to offer the

greatest benefits, while at the same time

meeting the ob jectives of the na tional

transport policies. Results st ressed the

role of intermodality and patterns of

inter-regional co-operat ion. Creat ion o f

a sing le pan-European regulatory

framework is a key strategy for increasing

the use of the Danube wa terway for

East -West cargo flows.

Evaluating East-West European corridor developments9

EurekaSlide,Louagie


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AREASOF RESEARCH

esearch o n trans-European

transport netw orks has aimed a t

supporting the evaluation and

implementation of the investment

programme,including:

development of tools and method ologies

to a ssist the planning and funding of

infrastructure,and

demonstration o f innovative technological

and operational solutions for traffic

management and intermodality.

The ma in research lines are listed b elow.

Interoperable European networks

Identifying organisational strateg ies t o

improve interoperability, and developing

innovative techno logies for freight

terminals and combined transport.

Managing traffic and navigation

Assessing speed ma nag ement systems

for road transport, developing European

systems for traffic management in air,rail

and waterborne transport,and assessingthe po tent ial for Galileo.

Evaluating trans-Europeannetworks

Assessing regional and econo mic

impact s and ba rriers to implementat ion,

and developing strateg ic tools

and method s for forecasting t raffic and

environmental impacts.

Interconnecting multi-modal

networksIdent ifying new solutions for freight

terminal operat ions, seapo rt-hinterland

connection and pre- and end-haulage.

Developing trans-Europeannetworks

Assessing the potential of dedicated

freight railway networks and inland

wa terways,providing g uidelines on

the implementation of public private

partnerships,a nd assessing alternativedevelopments for pan-European corridors.

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INTEROPERABLEEUROPEAN NETWORKS

Organisation and regulation10

Harmonisation of different orga nisat ional

structures has been identified as a key

strategy for reaching a n opt imal level of

interoperability,in the light o f its low

implementat ion costs. Policy measures

tha t can help achieve common

organisational structures include

stimulation of co-operation,

standardisation of transport eq uipment

and further privatisation of t ransport-

related markets. Harmonisation o f the

regulato ry framew orks bet ween EU andthird countries in terms of common

customs requirements a nd regulat ions

regarding driving ba ns wo uld a lso

be helpful. Harmonisat ion and

standardisation are needed in the field

of telematics,in particular for informationand trip planning systems tha t req uire

stat ic and dynamic data on public and

private modes.

nteroperability is a key prerequisite

for the provision o f transport services

across modes,organisations and

national borders and for the

achievement of seamless travel across

trans-European netw orks.The transport

research programme has ta rgeted strateg ies

to improve network interoperability.Inputs

have been provided t o the standa rdisation

process for combined transport and to

the development of the new EU Directive

on the access to rail infrastructure.

I

New a utomated handling eq uipment

and a modified intermoda l wa go n withvariab le carrying capa bilities and

adjustment to different loading schemes

have b een successfully tested.

Recommendations have been mad e for

the opt imised design and operation of

rolling stock and the functional layout of

future intermoda l terminals.

Recommendations have also been

provided to standardise a future

European load ing unit that is stackab le

and has the main dimensions of current

swap bodies.

Technological innovation for combined transport11

Eureka Slide,Domelounksen

EurekaSlide,Broece


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Land transport12

Advanced t elemat ics solutionsfor mana gement o f road speed have

been tested, including w arning systems,

recording systems to register speed and

controlling devices.It is recommended

that speed limits are harmonised a t

European level and that further

research is carried o ut on how to make

drivers voluntarily choose speeds

that are closer to socially opt imal

speeds.Guidelines have been provided

for the deployment of variab le messag e

signs on European road networks.

Specifications for signa lling a nd

communications subsystems o f

the European rail traffic management

system (ERTMS) have been developedand tests carried o ut on t he high-speed

link Madrid-Seville. A pilot inst allat ion o f

the Europea n train cont rol system

(ERTMS/ETCS) has b een made on t he

Vienna-Budapest line.

The extension of the European ITS

concept for inland w aterw ays

(RIS, river informa tion services) from

traffic ma nag ement to logistics activities

has been supported by demonstrat ions

of new traffic and transport services,

including t erminal, voyag e and lock

planning.

European satellite navigation andpositioning system (Galileo)14

The main policy requirements and

preferred options for public-private

partnerships in the design, building a nd

operation of Galileo have been identified.

A comprehensive database of more

than 50 applications and their related

services has been compiled.Galileo has

been estimated as profitable,as

the increased turnover due to satellite

navigation applications will greatly

exceed the initial and recurring costs.

MANAGING TRAFFICAND NAVIGATION

dvanced t raffic management systems

help travellers,freight distributors

and transport operators make

a more efficient use of the networks.

Navigation and positioning systems ha ve

the po tential to o ffer added value services

in a vast rang e of applications.

The transport research prog ramme ha s

demonstrated advanced solutions and

contributed t o the development of

European traffic management systems in

all modes.

A

Research has esta blished a n embryonic

netw ork at European level for informat ion

exchang e in t he field o f VTMIS (vessel

traffic manag ement a nd information

services).The potent ial of the net wo rk

for exchange of maritime traffic information,

vessel and cargo data and marine pollutioninformation has been demonstrated.

The functions and services of an

operat ional concept for the European

ATM system add ressing gate-to-ga te

planning and a chievab le by 2010 have

been ident ified. The viability of the

concept has b een proved b y technical,

operational and economic assessments.

Maritime and air transport13


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EVALUATINGTRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS

Research has predicted the location

behaviour of individuals and businesses

resulting from changes in accessibility.

From these, forecasts for economic

performance in terms of regional

production and employment have been

derived. Results show tha t the full

trans-European netw ork scenario would

be able only to mitiga te the trend

tow ards economic polarisation of

the EU,with a slightly less polarised

distribut ion of accessibility a nd

economic growth among the regions

tha n in other scenarios.Accessibility o f

all reg ions wo uld benefit from trans-

European netw ork investment.

The greatest gains appear in the

periphery a nd in particular in

the Iberian peninsula. The effect s on

GDP development hint a t a convergence

effect of the trans-European network.

Most reg ions in the Europea n core and

the Northern European countries

encounter losses in GDP per capita,

while most regions in the cohesion

countries (with the exception of Ireland)

experience considerable gains.

Other research has applied system

dyna mics to a ssess the long -term effects

of phased implementat ion of the t rans-

European ne tw ork. One scenario tests

the impacts of ea rmarking fuel taxes

for investments in the trans-Europea n

networks.Comparison of the change in

GDP in the year 2026 with t he overall

infrast ructure investment show s that

construction o f the trans-European

netw ork is profitab le in the long run.

However, transfer of funds from one

region to another is req uired, as there is

an imbalance between the regional

source of tax revenues and t he location

of investment .

Assessing economic and spatial impacts15

Strategic assessmentof trans-European networks

he development of the t rans-

European transport network requires

an integrated assessment tha t g oes

beyond the d irect t raffic impacts

usually ta ken into a ccount in the a ppraisal

of infrastructure investment s.The t ransport

research programme ha s developed to ols

for assessing the impacts of investments in

the network on socio-economic activities

and development, including spatial and

temporal distribution of impacts. Different

approaches to modelling ab le to take into

account the interaction between transport

investment a nd regional econo mic

development have been tested.

T

Predicting European traffic flows

Scenario and traffic ana lysis are key to ols

for informed decision-making in transport

policy.The t ransport research programme

has developed softw are tools to estimate

future transport demand and traffic flow s.

This allow ed the effects o f d ifferent policy

options and alternative socio-economic

scenarios to be assessed.Forecasts have

been produced for a baseline scenario

of current policy trends withouttrans-European netw orks.E

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Baseline European trafficforecasts16

The overall growth from 1995 levels for

passenger-kilometres is projected at more

than 20%by 2010 in the baseline scenario.Long-distance trips are expected to increase

at tw ice the rate of short t rips (less than

40 km). Roug hly 70%grow th is projected

for internat ional passeng er travel.

Freight travel shows a h igher growt h

rate than passenger demand.Tota l

tonne-kilometres are expected to increase

by roughly 40%by 2010 and 65%by

2020.Nearly 100%grow th is projected in

cross-border traffic.The increasing averag e

length of haul,brought about byglobalisation of production and markets,

is expected to favour railways. However,

the length of routes suffering serious

cong estion is predicted to increase

significantly unless policy action is taken.

Environmental assessment oftrans-European networks

Appropriate methods for strateg icenvironmental assessment (SEA) at the EU

level are among the requirements of the

guidelines for the development of the

trans-European netw ork.Major achievements

of the t ransport research programme have

been the development of a methodology

for SEA and a soft ware tool for assessment

of air pollutant emissions,energy

consumption, noise and sa fety impact s.

The too l has incorporated met hodolog ies

for traffic and emission forecasting developed

elsewhere in the programme.

Projections for the European ba seline

scenario show the following impacts:G improved technolog y outw eighs the

growt h in road travel,and a ll road

emissions fall except CO2;G emission increases in a ir transpo rt a re

correlated w ith the level of traffic

because technology changes are

offset by the relat ive growth of

shorter distance travel;G emission increases in waterbo rne

transport a re also correlated withthe level of traffic beca use of the slow

turnover of the fleet;G overall, ag grega te emissions from a ll

modes fall from 1994 levels, with the

exceptions of CO2, with roughly 40%

growt h by 2010, and SO2 with growth

closer to 60%by 2010.

In a scenario w ith a ll trans-European

network projects and related policies

implemented , the tota l tonne-kilometres

transported increase mo re than in the

ba seline scenario but a substantial shift

to rail is foreseen. Inland w aterw ays a re

ab le to achieve a 12%growt h of tonne-

kilometres by 2010 compared with 1.5%

growth in the baseline scenario.Total

passenger transport wo uld g row less

than in the b aseline scenario w ith a shift

from car and air to rail.

Improvements on the baseline scenario

are predicted in terms of overall CO2

and SO2 emissions, although theupward trends in these emissions

cannot b e reversed. A 35%grow th is

projected for CO2 by 2010, while a 55%

growth is projected for SO2, both lower

than in the ba seline scenario. Fewer

fatalities than in the baseline scenario

are predicted for road, air and w ater

while a significan t increase of fa ta lities is

predicted for rail. A scena rio of rail-only

trans-European netw ork investment

wo uld bring further, although small,

advanta ges in terms of CO2.

Pilot strategic environmental assessment17


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Developing the Europeantransport policy informationsystem18

An open and modular architecture has

been proposed for the ETIS to enable

continuous upgrading as new data bases

and models become available.New

methods for da ta collection have been

proposed and a system for dat a sharing

across the EU has been defined.

Research has a lso provided softw are to

support the connection process,a nd

applications to simplify the interface

with t he end users.Trade a nd transport

da tabases w ere successfully harmonised

in a demonstration too l focused on

trans-Alpine tra ffic.

Method s for estimating costs have been

demonstra ted for the Milan-Frankfurtand Londo n-Lille routes. The relat ive

importance of each t ype of externality

wa s found to vary significantly with

mode a nd the characteristics of the

various sections of the route,such as

the local populat ion density a nd the

power plant used to g enerate electricity

for trains.In these tw o corrido rs,

external cost per 1000 passenger-

kilometres varied for rail between

0.8 and 8 euro, and for road betw een

24 and 75 euro.

In areas w ith low population densities and

little congestion on roads,current taxes andcharges on private cars might be too high

whereas for congested inter-urban routes

in dense areas the opposite holds.Fares for

inter-urban passenger transport are

generally too high. In contrast ,

long-distance road freight is generally

undercharged and there is a clear case

to introduce a charge b ased o n vehicle

characteristics and distance travelled.

Rail freight ta riffs may need to increase

or decrease depending o n the current

level of subsidy.

Charging infrastructure use19

Strategic information systems

The planned European transport policy

information system (ETIS) is intended to support

decisions on transport policy and the trans-

European networks.Data are needed on traffic

flows,the supply of infrastructure and logistic

services.However,the existing data,models

and related software found a t international,

nat ional and local levels are generally

inconsistent and need to be integrated.

The t ransport research programme ha s

supported several projects which have produced

specifications for the ETIS.

Evaluating costs on European routes

The evaluation of external costs is a prerequisite

for the implementat ion of pricing measures

aimed at charging users according to the

costs they impose on the transport system

and on society.Research has demonstrated

methods for evaluating the different externalcosts for journeys along specific corridors,

including accidents,a ir pollution,noise and

global warming. Recommendations for

appropriate price signals in the light of a ll

relevant internal and external costs have

been provided.

Eureka Slide, E.Waya ffe


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INTERCONNECTINGMULTI-MODAL NETWORKS

he poo r qua lity performance

affecting todays intermodal freight

transport ca lls for new concepts for

bundling of flows across networks.

Therefore research ha s looked at innova tive

bundling solutions and the necessary

innovation in terminals.The manag ement of

pre- and end-haulage to and from terminals

has also been studied, as this part of the

logistic chain is costly and non-transparent.

New concepts for the rail connection

betw een seaports and the hinterland ha ve

been ta rgeted since this link will become

more and more a critical facto r as

the t ransport of conta inerised cargo

continues to increase.

T

If the volumes of freigh t flows a re not

sufficient to fill a direct begin-end train

or barge at the required frequency,

complex bund ling a t one o r more

intermediate nodes can be used as an

alternative to trucks.Complex bundling

concepts integrat e small flow s and a llow

operations with small begin-end terminals,

while at the same time achieving

the q uality a nd cost features of large-

scale operations.

The high investment costs of

new-generation t erminals require a

redistribution of income from the links

to t he nodes.Tariff different iation is

needed to stimulate spreading o f

operations over the day.Additional

innovations such as automatic wag on

identificat ion are required to avoid

time-consuming manua l act ivities.

New concepts for freight networks and terminals20

A new rail solution betw een sea ports

and their hinterland has been proposed

to help solve the bo ttleneck problems of

the European road netwo rk close to

major ports.The new type o f connection

integrates various innovat ions including

hub-and-spoke systems,private rail carriers

and advanced information systems.

A market for the concept is predicted on

many long - and medium-distance

transport links in Europe.

Innovative rail-sea port connection22

Accessing intermodal terminals21

Solutions for improvement of pre- and

end-haulage ha ve to provide a dded

value for all participating a ctors in the

intermodal chain.Orga nisat ional solutions

seem most promising.Better

communication and co-operation between

the various parties involved should be

encourag ed to reduce the cost of

operations and increase the use of

intermoda l transport. One measure is the

initiation of regular round table meetings

between companies in the sector.

EurekaSlide,Louagie


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Rail freight networks

evitalisat ion of the European railway

netw ork is being addressed by

the development of ERTMS and the

libera lisat ion of the secto r. How ever,

the question a rises whet her improvements

in competitiveness could also be achieved

by innovative organisation of t raffic.The

transport research programme has identified

a trans-European rail network dedicated to

freight transport and has outlined a strateg y

for its implementation.

DEVELOPINGTRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS

RDedicated trans-European

network for freight23

A European railway dedicated to

freight has been identified based on

three sub-netwo rks:G a core netw ork strongly dedicated to

freigh t, covering the indust rial reg ions

of central Europe,G an intermediate netw ork mainly

dedicated to freight but a lso carrying

local passenger trains,a ndG a mixed net work on which passenger

trains would normally have priority.

In the proposed solution,less than 22%

of the netw ork wo uld support ab out

60%of the present volume of freight

traffic.Under a current t rend scenario,

rail would continue to lose share in thefreight market, falling from 14%in 1998

to 9%in 2020.In the dedicated netw ork

scenario, rail could reverse the d eclining

trend and reach by the year 2020 a

modal share of as much a s 20%, the

same level as at the beg inning o f the

Eighties.This would need improvements

in the q uality of rail services combined

with price reductions of up to

30%.Time-savings in 2020 could be up to

50%relative to the current trend scena rio.

The increase of ra il tonne-kilomet reswould increase the environmental burden

by up to 80%. How ever, this would be

outweighed by the environmental

benefits from reduced road traffic.

Inland waterways

Increasing the use of European inland

wa terways is an ob jective of transport po licy.

However,negative effects may occur in terms

of a tmospheric pollution,dama ge to

infrastructure,risk of accidents and congestion.

An in-depth study ha s analysed these impacts

and evaluated d ifferent measures to

reduce them.

Predictions for 2010 show tha t t here is

still enough capa city for main European

inland w aterwa ys to handle growth in

the volumes of freigh t t raffic, despite

the total capacity of the European fleet

being expected to decrease. Marginal

costs of po llution and infrastructure

maintena nce seem to increase very

rapidly once the t raffic reaches a 60%

increase in volume.Regulation aimed a t

separating recreational and commercial

shipping is considered the most effective

wa y of reducing accidents and

congestion.On-boa rd technolog ical

solutions to reduce fuel consumption

and financial incentives for the use of

clean products are better at reducing

atmospheric pollution.

Strategies to cope with traffic growth24

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14 15

Intermodal freight transportcorridors

Advanced solutions for the integration of

inland wa terways and peripheral areas into

door-to-door transport chains would improve

the competitiveness of European intermodalfreight t ransport. Research has assessed

the potent ial for tri-modal transport chains

including road,rail and inland waterways,

along corridors between the North and

the South and South-East Europe.The viab ility

of operat ing intermodal transport services

in Scandinavian countries has been

demonstrated, in spite of small flows andsparse population.

Barriers to trans-Europeannetwork implementation

The development of the trans-European

transport network and its geographic spread

exacerbate the conflicts inherent in

decision-making processes.The t ransport

research programme ha s developed

a methodology to help ant icipate ba rriers in

netw ork implementa tion.

Tri-mod al transport cha ins should be set

up on the Rhine and Danube axes to

exploit the ca pacity of the inland

waterways.Key success factors for the

integration of inland wa terway transport

into multi-modal transpo rt cha ins

include innovative tri-modal terminal

design, improvements of design and

techniq ues for barges,a nd the

introduction of a European-wide

intermodal transport unit tha t is suitable

for all transport modes.

Intermodal freight transport between

the European ma inland and the Nordic

countries requires adaptation of port

terminals in the Baltic Sea to ha ndle

complete block trains,a nd new low-cost

communication solutions to overcome

the differences in technical levels

betw een the operators.

Advanced multi-modal transport chains25

Overcoming barriers

to implementation26

Many o f the b arriers for the t rans-

European netw ork occur in the field o f

financing. Other barriers originate from

different technical standards and

allocation of regional responsibilities.

Conflicting socio-economic and

environmental objectives may also give

rise to b arriers to implementa tion.

Phasing of trans-European projects can

be a better solution than public-private

partnerships (which may be difficult to

implement ). Phasing or splitting intoindependent elements a lso helps to

restrict t he internat ional pa rt of t he

project.The positioning of

the environmental appraisal procedure

in the decision process shapes bot h the

strategies of the a ctors involved and the

solutions they reach. Mediation can be

an effective way to resolve conflicts

of interest if it represents a process of

institutional learning rather than relying

on cha risma o r persona lity.

Eureka Slide,Domelounksen


16/20

Financing trans-Europeannetworks

The gap b etw een socio-econo mic and

financial profitab ility is a major barrier in

the development of the trans-European

netw ork.When a project is not sufficientlyprofitab le for the private sector,direct

government contributions or the introduct ion

of user charges can b e used to let the private

sector participate. How ever, even when a

project offers a sufficient financial return for

the private investor, the pub lic sector could

still be involved, for example to improve

the project s viability by mixing pub lic and

private skills. Research ha s produced a

handboo k aimed at government officials on

the applicat ion of public-private partnership

(PPP) approaches to financing a nd o peratingtrans-European netw ork projects.

Heading East

Transport is a key area for integ ration of the

EU with Central and Eastern European countries

and the Baltic States.The strateg ic planning ofmulti-modal corridors is of vital importance to

start to close the gaps existing in the netw orks

of the accession countries.

Therefore research has investigated d ifferent

infrastructure strategies for the development

of major pan-European corridors.

Three types of PPP have been identified

as most co mmon to trans-European

netw ork projects:G joint ventures,where investment is

shared between the public and the

private sector,G concessions, where investment is fully

undertaken by the private sector

through concession agreements,G hybrid types, where the project is split

in several project components w ith a

public SPV (special purpose vehicle)

in control of t he overall project.

Recommendations have been provided

on how to o rganise the d ifferent phases

of the PPP process and avoid possible

ba rriers pertaining to the regulatory

framework,market and financial factors

and the po litical environment.

A metho dology (the public private

comparator) has been presented t o

enab le decision-makers to compa re PPP

with conventional tendering for

a specific project.

Risk allocation is at the core of successful

PPP specification;each stakeholder

should bea r the risks it is best ab le to

control,manag e and carry.The public

sector must be prepared to shoulder

political and legislative risk.Major

uncertainties affecting PPP decisions are

user charging and other netwo rklevel-effects.There is a st rong case for

the Commission taking a co-ordination

role regarding these issues in cross-

border projects.

Implementing public-private partnerships27

EKA

EKA


17/20

16 17


A strategic assessment methodology has

been proposed to complement project-

specific assessments.Images of the futures

have been elaborated under four scenarios:G renaissance, where a virtuous circle

will develop,facilitating growth and

integration;G dilution,where high growth is sustained

by successful reforms but interventions

aimed at cohesion and shared political

structures weaken;G solidarity, with low grow th rates in

bo th Western and Eastern Europe and

fast integration;G frag mentation, with low growth and

slow integration.

In-depth studies have been carried o ut

for the ten multi-modal pan-European

corridors that form the backbone of

the netw ork ado pted in the t ransport

infrast ructure needs assessment (TINA)

process. Results have sugg ested that it is

important to support multi-modal

solutions,while at the same time paying

attention to positive boundary conditions,

including intermodality and patterns of

inter-regional co-operation.

Combinations of road and rail projectswere generally found to offer the g reatest

benefits,with road projects bringing

greatest b enefits in terms of a ccessibility

and rail projects in terms of safet y

improvement and air pollution reduction.

Diversification of the investment in

different t ypes of infrastructure was a lso

found to have greater success in achieving

nat ional transport po licy ob jectives.

Strategic assessment of pan-European transport corridors 28

Making better use of the Danubewaterway29

Cargo volume on t he Danube could

grow by mo re than 170%from 1995 to

2010 if substantial improvements in

navigational conditions and transhipment

were ach ieved. Major infrastructure and

organisational bottlenecks include the

restricted w idth a nd depth on the

upper Danube and the ent repreneurialweaknesses of the transition countries.

Key conditions for the intensified use of

the Danube include:G creating a single pan-European

regulatory framework,G launching a trans-national investment

programme,G fostering the libera lisat ion of market

access and co-operation among service

providers,andG better integration of inland naviga tion

in long-distance transport chains.

EurekaSlide,Wang-Mo


18/20

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTSIN TRANSPORTRESEARCH

learing bo tt lenecks in railway

netw orks and at airports, exploiting

the potent ial of wa terborne

transport and connecting effectivelythe cand idate countries are important

challenges that still lie ahead.

Priorities a nd current research lines include

the following:

Infrastructure development and maintenance

specificat ions for technical and administrative

interoperab ility within and a cross modes,

and optimisation of terminal operations.

Traff ic management systems solutions for

interoperable road traffic information andmanagement systems,development of a

supervisory railway management facility

along European corridors, development o f

new funct ions for the RIS and VTMIS

concepts to support the overall management

of the transport cha in,large-scale

demonstra tions o f va lida ted ATM concepts,and demonstration o f Galileo applications.

Decision support tools for infrastructure plans

enhancement of g uidelines for SEA including

specifications of indicato rs and dat a sets

and calculat ion methods for transport

environmental costs, and development of

new met hodolog ies for the assessment of

indirect and distributional impacts of

transport investment projects.

Innovat ive transport services assessment ofthe potential for rail-air freight services, and

demonstration o f operational solutions for

European rail freigh t freew ays.

C

Research is underwa y to provide

a metho dology for the ana lysis and

measurement of the network effects

stemming from qualitative improvements

and introduction of new capacity intrans-European netw ork schemes. Other

research will combine transport a nd

macro-economic modelling to assess

the impacts o f infrastructure investments

on economic g rowth, including

employment and industrial

competitiveness,and the distribution ofthese impacts among citizen groups,

industries and regions.

Assessing spatial and socio-economic impacts30

Research is seeking to increase the use

of the Danube w aterwa y.Work is

underway to set up and run highly

integrated logistic netw orks and implement

an a dvanced European concept to

manage door-to-door intermodal

transport chains with inland navigation

as the core transport mode.

Intermodal transport chains on the Danube corridor 31

This sect ion ident if ies some of the current research in

the field of trans-European networks. Furt her detai ls

are available from the Links section of the web-based

Know ledge Centre.


19/20

18 19

References

Further informat ion on the following projects can be obt ained from the web -based Knowledge Centre.

Other key documents referenced in the brochure are availab le on the DG Energy a nd Transport w eb

site (http://europa .eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.ht ml).

1.White Paper "European t ransport policy fo r 2010: time to decide",COM(2001)370

2.Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of t he Council amending Decision 1692/96/EC on

Communit y guidelines for the development of the t rans-European t ransport network,COM(2001)544

3.The transport research programme is part of the fourth framework programme for Communit y activities in the field

of research, technological development and demonstration for the period 1994 to 1998

4.MASTER project

5.ASTRA and EUNET-SASI projects

6.COMMUTE and STREAMSprojects

7.EUFRANET project

8.PROFIT project

9.CODE-TEN and EUDET projects

10.MINIMISE and SORT-IT pro jects

11. IMPULSE and UTI-NORM projects

12. EMSET,ETCS-VB,INDRIS,MASTER and TROPIC project s

13.TORCH and VTMIS-NET projects

14.TRANSINPOL and VAST pro jects

15. ASTRA and EUNET-SASI pro ject s

16. SCENARIOS and SCENES projects

17.COMMUTE and MEET pro jects

18. INFOSTAT and MESUDEMO pro jects

19.QUITS,PETS and TRENEN pro jects

20.TERMINET project

21. IMPREND project

22.OSIRIS and IRIS projects

23. EUFRANET project

24.SHIFTING CARGO and IMMUNITY projects

25.APRICOT and SCANDINET projects

26.TENASSESS project

27.PROFIT pro ject

28.CODE-TEN project

29.EUDET project

30. IASON and TIPMAC projects

31.ALSO DANUBE pro ject

The programmes Know ledge Centre is availab le at :

http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/extra/home.html

It provides:

structured guides to the results and projects for particular topics;

summa ries and final reports of individual projects;

access to project w eb sites and other contact d etails.


20/20

Brochures on results from the transport research programme

are available for:

1.Sustainable mobility

2.Clean urban transport

3.European transport networks

4.Single European sky

5.Maritime safety

6.Freight intermodality

7.Getting prices right

8.Road safety

9.Intelligent transport systems

KO-39-01-570-EN-C

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OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

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