The European Committee of Regions (CoR) is entering the modal shift race with a clear message: European cities want to see the number of trucks circulating in their premises reduced. At the same time, they ask the EU to strengthen intermodal transport via rail and barge as the only way to meet decarbonisation goals and achieve territorial and social cohesion. According to the Committee, the only way to do this is by effectively implementing policy changes within the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP).
The railway sector is not alone in advocating for fundamental amendments to the GFTP legislative proposals, especially concerning the Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD). According to CoR, the EU’s proposals at this stage are not “enough to make rail connections more attractive and reduce heavy traffic on the roads.”
Warning against excessive road transport promotion
For CoR members, promoting intermodal transportation via rail and inland waterways is the only way forward for the European transport sector. Regulatory and economic measures should prioritise railways and waterways.
At the same time, the Committee members urge that decarbonising the road transport sector by promoting low-emission trucks should also be considered a priority task. Nevertheless, they stress the importance of maintaining a balance between enhancing low-emission vehicles and excessively promoting road transport against other modes. This remark aligns with concerns shared within the rail and combined transport sector that view the WDD as just an incentive to use more trucks.
Railway capacity management also addressed
The WDD is not the only alignment point between the CoR and Europe’s rail freight industry. The Committee made its intentions and expectations clear regarding some other aspects of the GFTP that railway associations have already addressed extensively.
The most important point concerns creating an international regulatory body to ensure the harmonisation of European railway systems while safeguarding the adequate and effective distribution of cross-border railway capacity. For CoR, ensuring that European rail freight transport is characterised by flexible network management that will quickly respond to operators’ needs is critical.
The proposals mentioned above are also reflected in the statements of José Ribau Esteves, Mayor of Aveiro in Portugal and a CoR member: “Europe must strengthen the competitiveness and efficiency of rail freight transport, ensure cooperation between infrastructure managers and operations managers for transport between Member States, and improve the environmental performance of transport”.