Over the past 15 years, the role of rail transport as a precondition of economic and social development has constantly increased, also playing the part of a crucial factor in the European and transcontinental transport. The European Union has highlighted the importance of developing transport corridors on the continent and carrying on railway connections towards the Caucasus and Central Asia.
In order to meet these conditions, it was necessary to reconsider all operational and technical aspects, practically by moving the centroid and strategies from the national to the transnational plan. Once again, the crucial factor has been the implementation of a rail transport system divided on corridors, a system capable to ensure competitive and quality services, an interoperable rail transport system.
Railway development has always played an important part among major regional economic cooperation projects, especially over the past decade, in particular due to freight transport safety, due to the superiority of rail transport in terms of pollution, but mostly due to transport costs against road or sea transport. The railway infrastructure plays the role of a catalyst for an increased regional integration, but also in supporting trade and foreign investments. In developing or expanding their projects, major companies and logistics operators seek a reliable railway infrastructure and especially a railway network that provides access to sea ports.
Rail freight transport leaves “the shadows”
Recently, in October 2010, the European Commission published in the Official Journal the regulation on the European freight network for a competitive freight transport which stipulates as mandatory the designation of nine freight-dedicated corridors. The reason is the delivery of highly performing railway transport services.
“The regulation concerning an European railway network for a competitive freight transport will substantially improve
cooperation between infrastructure managers and operators along rail freight transport corridors. Common objectives will be defined for these corridors, helping all those involved in cooperating for a common goal”, declared Keir Fitch, in charge with railway transport at DG MOVE.
“An implementation plan will represent the basis for establishing corridors in three or five years after the Regulation entered into force (e.n. the Regulation became effective in November 2010). A periodical update of this plan will ensure the development and continuous improvement of corridors considering the real market needs”, explained the DG MOVE official.
Freight transport corridors should be developed in a way that guarantees continuity along corridors by ensuring the necessary interconnections between the different existing railway infrastructures. Thus rail infrastructure can be the driving factor in reviving rail freight transport, which has experienced a period of decline over the past couple of years, but also in increasing the economy of the countries these corridors cross. Of course, things are not that easy in practice as they seem on paper. Obstacles imposed by problems such as seamless signalling along corridors, the mutual recognition of rolling stock and interoperability need overcoming. Freight transport operators or forwarders, others than railway undertakings, will be able to request track access to new corridors.
“Gaining continuity along corridors will be a time-consuming process. Corridor users, already activating on an European transport market where borders are almost entirely gone, will definitely be a driving force in this process. The establishment of rail freight transport corridors will set the basis and create a framework in gaining this continuity. Implementation will then depend on interested parties – to the best interest of rail freight transport, ambitions and commitment should be left aside”, pointed out Keir Fitch.
A railway network with massive investments for an efficient and fast infrastructure, equipped with performing control and traffic management systems, with increased railway capacity and tailored to the currently in force standardisation requirements, having well-defined corridors dedicated to freight transport, all these will bring significant financial and time cuts for all countries crossed by major corridors. Defining and focusing on international and transnational transport corridors and establishing the development priorities starting with rail infrastructure, as well as redirecting cargo volumes towards rails, leaving aside the much more expensive “traditional” road-sea corridors, will bring added value to the economy.
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