Press release: TEN-T should also serve Combined Transport 19/04/21

The Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T)¹ incorporates every major railway line in Europe, including those used most frequently by intermodal trains.  A well performing and interoperable railway network is a crucial component of Combined Transport (CT) and the competitiveness of its services.  Therefore, the CT sector pays particular attention to the regulation that governs the development of the TEN-T infrastructure.

Intermodal trains made up half of the EU rail freight traffic in 2019.  The European Union’s decarbonisation objectives cannot be achieved without even more Combined Transport, which has been adequately acknowledged in the European Green Deal and the Strategy for Smart and Sustainable Mobility.  The TEN-T Regulation² is the legal instrument in which the EU Member States agree the technical parameters of the railway network.

The upcoming revision of the TEN-T Regulation comes at the right moment to ensure that the railway infrastructure complies to the needs of intermodal rail freight, as well as that there is adequate access for freight to the TEN-T network.

The proposal for the revision of the TEN-T Guidelines Regulation is scheduled to be published in October this year.  The European Commission is currently developing its revision draft.  In that context a public consultation³ has been launched as part of the obligatory impact assessment.

UIRR issued a position paper⁴ as a contribution to the drafting of the revision of the TEN-T Regulation, which formulates requirements along the following points:

1. Clarification of the TEN-T technical parameters for the railway infrastructure from a Combined Transport perspective
2. Review of the railway line codification for the 4-meter loading gauge
3. Introduction of parameters to guide the upgrading of existing, and the construction of new transhipment terminals
4. Introduction of the “freight preferred railway line” category

Every interested stakeholder is encouraged to respond to the public consultation³ that is open to the public, in order to reconfirm their infrastructure needs.  The UIRR position paper delivers a comprehensive collection of intermodal requirements, to be taken into account when responding.

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¹ https://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/tentec/tentec-portal/map/mobile.html

² https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EL/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R1315&from=EN

³ https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12532-Revision-of-Regulation-on-Union-guidelines-for-the-development-of-the-trans-European-transport-network-TEN-T-/public-consultation

⁴ http://www.uirr.com/en/media-centre/press-releases-and-position-papers/2021/mediacentre/1830-position-paper-ten-t-guidelines-revision-key-to-a-competitive-infrastructure.html

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