The rather weak progress of the railway freight transport so far are caused by various factors, such as the weak competition development and interoperability, but also the lack of capacity in terms of a reliable and quality infrastructure dedicated to international freight transport.
The most sensitive aspects related to infrastructure capacity for railway freight transport, especially international railway freight transport, are poor coordination of both investments and the operational management of infrastructure, which can lead to disruptions at borders; the lack of coordination between the railway infrastructure and terminals in general (in ports, on platforms or in switchyards); the necessity of improved information transparency for infrastructure users; as regards the exploitation of combined traffic lines and investment choices, freight transport is often disregarded compared to passenger transport.
The latest activities of European forums and railway organisations are aimed to revive railway freight transport and one of the most important “activities” is the implementation of Regulation 913/2010 on establishing and developing 10 international freight-dedicated railway corridors to complete the six ERTMS Corridors.
On 20 December, the transport ministers in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have signed an agreement on setting the legal framework for the allocation of the transport capacity on the international freight corridors 1 and 2.
The international freight corridor 1 follows the route Zeebrugge – Anvers/Rotterdam – Duisburg – (Basel) – Milan – Genoa, while the second corridor links Rotterdam – Anvers – Luxembourg – Metz – Dijon – Lyon/Basel.
The decision was very much appreciated by Switzerland, a country crossed by both corridors and which, although not an EU member state, has announced its plans to negotiate the application of Regulation 913/2010 with the European Commission.
This is a strong signal for the European Union regarding the necessity to harmonize the mandatory regulations which refer to these corridors across Europe and provides the agreements necessary to support the implementation of the so-called one-stop shops for managing the infrastructure capacities of a corridor.
The development of European railway freight transport corridors is an essential element in the common European transport policy and facilitates the accessibility of ports and of industrial areas.
For several years, participants to the railway transport market have demanded consolidated cooperation between national authorities as regards the allocation of routes for international freight trains. Although many measures have already been adopted, the conclusion of the agreement in December continues to consolidate cooperation.
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