On 20 July 2016 the European Commission presented its Communication on a European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility. Awaited by many as a strategic document outlining the Commission’s plan to reaffirm the commitments taken in Paris last year during the United Nations’ COP 21 with a comprehensive view of the whole transport sector, the Communication’s scope turned out to be narrower than expected, dedicating much of its focus to road transport.
Of course road is where most of the progress can be made: this is why its progressive electrification is promoted; and a proposal for a revision of the Eurovignette Directive is in the pipeline for publication in 2017. This is a most fundamental piece of legislation that badly needs some heavy revision if we want it to contribute effectively to redressing one of the fundamental biases in rail-road intermodal competition.
But the truth remains, today more than ever, that a European low-emission mobility mix cannot afford to undervalue the role that the rail sector can play. Railways –already the most efficient mode of land transport – have a track record of further improving their efficiency: energy consumption of the vehicles improved by 20% between 1990 and 2010. And in 2015 the European railways decided to further tighten their targets and committed to reducing their specific CO2 emissions from train operations by 40% by 2020 compared to 1990. They have also committed to a 30% reduction of total CO2 emissions by 2030 relative to 1990.
However all these efficiency gains could still run the risk of being neutralised if rail market modal share itself does not increase. And rail can only prosper provided there is (i) adequate funding and financing for its infrastructure, (ii) a functioning Single European Rail Area, and (iii) fair competitive conditions vis-à-vis all other modes of transport, and especially road.
Adequate funding and financing will imply the reaffirmation of the commitments made by the European Union when designing its Trans-European Network for Transport and its financial vehicle – the Connecting Europe Facility. Rail is in need of further infrastructure improvements enabled through EU and national funding. Complementary financing systems should be made available in order to attract further potential investors to the projects that have real capabilities to provide return on investments within a reasonable time limit.
In the months to come, the Fourth Railway Package will gradually enter into force and we will be able to see the extent to which it is capable of triggering market forces in a way that will eventually allow the railways to play their principal role in Europe’s logistics chain, for the benefit of an ever more efficient and sustainable European transport system. It is the sector’s shared view that it will be the Technical Pillar in particular, which will be the most revolutionary portion of the Package: it fundamentally redefines the distribution of responsibilities in the areas of safety certification and vehicle authorisation by giving to the EU Agency for Railways the central role in guaranteeing that such procedures will be in the near future more efficient, less costly, quicker and less subject to national interests.
If rail is to thrive in fair competitive conditions, it will be important to redress all major intermodal imbalances: the European Commission’s announced new revision of the Eurovignette Directive will bring a welcome opportunity to put road charging at the centre of the debate.
At the same time, the sector is dealing with an ever more pressing need to dedicate even more resources to research and development activities, with the most demanding imperative to reduce the costs of the rail system and to massively deploy digital technologies.
In the years to come CER will continue in its efforts to promote rail-friendly policies at EU level: with the help of its members and of the broader European rail community, it will be our most firm commitment to ensure that the EU will enable rail to have the role it deserves.
Contribution by:
Libor Lochman
Executive Director – CER
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