More money needed to let the train take the strain

One way to achieve more environmentally sustainable transport would be to shift freight traffic off the roads onto railways.

Measured by the weight of freight carried, railway traffic produces less noise, less air pollution and less greenhouse gases than road or air travel. A tonne of freight carried by rail produces 80% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than the same weight carried by road, so improving the competitive position of rail freight traffic could help the fight against global warming. Without railways, road traffic would make many European cities so congested that they would be almost inaccessible.

The European Commission believes that improved rail networks would bring more than just environmental benefits, improving the operation of the single market and stimulating the European economy.

The Commission has made repeated attempts to make carrying freight across national borders by rail more attractive and more competitive, with a series of legislative proposals - notably the first and second railway packages, passed in 2001 and 2004 respectively.

This week the European Parliament’s transport committee was giving its opinion on further Commission proposals (published last December) aimed at improving the cross-border circulation of trains. The full Parliament will vote on the proposals next month (22-25 October).

The Commission’s aim is to create a harmonised and efficient Primary European Rail Freight Network (PERFN). Commissioners will agree a further policy document on rail freight transport at their 17 October meeting.

On Tuesday (11 September) the Community of European Transport Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), whose membership brings together the companies running Europe’s trains and tracks, including Deutsche Bahn, France’s SNCF and the UK’s Association of Train Operating Companies, and includes chief executives from 40 freight companies, published its blueprint for stimulating freight. The study sets priorities for investment, designating six major European freight corridors, which already account for about 35% of total freight volumes (see box).

The CER foresees a 61% growth in freight traffic on those six corridors between now and 2020, with a 5% increase in rail’s share of total land transport. The CER sets out four principal measures needed to meet these growing demands. Most importantly, countries will need to alleviate bottlenecks - sections of freight corridors with a significantly lower carrying capacity than other sections of the same route. Existing terminals must be extended and expanded and new terminals built to accommodate growth in the market for intermodal transport - moving freight from road to rail and back again. The standardisation of signalling standards foreseen under the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is also considered crucial to ease cross-border traffic and permit longer and faster trains. This would bring by far the highest return on investment with an 11% capacity increase produced from only 3% of the total extra spending. Alleviating bottlenecks and building terminals, by contrast, would together account for 85% of the budget and 61% of the capacity increase.

Together, the measures advocated by CER would increase existing capacity by 72% and would reduce yearly CO2 emissions by 2.85 million tonnes. The CER estimates the need for a total infrastructure investment of €145.5 billion up to 2020. Only €35.5bn of this sum has already been earmarked for the initiative.

The CER argues that this is a ‘reasonable number’ in the context of railways budgets. CER argues that if Europe were to invest the full €145.4bn in the establishment of a PERFN from 2007 to 2020 (approximately €10bn a year) it would only amount to roughly one-third of China’s planned annual investment into relieving railway bottlenecks. The amounts are also small when compared with member states’ yearly investments in road infrastructure. According to the CER study, France would need to invest €800 million a year in its rail infrastructure, which represents 4% of its annual spending on road infrastructure.

Principally the investments would be made at a national level. It is, consequently, a concern that the different priorities of individual member states might slow the process. The CER’s business case analysis supports the idea of ‘Corridor Conferences’ - meetings between those member states through which the freight traffic runs, so as to promote a common approach and commitments. The ‘Corridor Conferences’ would be hosted by the European Commission. The institution’s intermediary role could yet be crucial to shaping an improved network of freight railways across Europe.

Priority freight-corridors

• Rotterdam to Genova

• Stockholm to Bologna

• Antwerp to Basel/Lyon/Lisbon/Algeciras/Porto de Sines

• Lyon to Zahony (Hungary)

• Hamburg/Mainz to Constanta (Romania)

• Zeebrugge to Terespol/Medyka (Poland)

One way to achieve more environmentally sustainable transport would be to shift freight traffic off the roads onto railways.