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Deployment of rail freight transport corridors COM(2008)852

FACT SHEET NO.: Cat-No.7 / Subcat-No.7.6

General Information

Title

FACT SHEET NO.: Cat-No.7 / Subcat-No.7.6

Category

7. Research and innovation

Subcategory

7.6 Framework: technology and infrastructure

Transport policy measure (TPM)

Deployment of rail freight transport corridors COM(2008)852

Description of TPM

The European Commission intends to establish a European railway network where freight trains are prioritized over passenger trains. Nowadays, passenger and freight trains both operate side by side on the European railway infrastructure (a so-called mixed operation). The mixed operation leads to a number of difficulties which can be partly explained by the limited capacity available for freight trains. This capacity restriction, combined with several other issues mainly concerning the lack of interoperability of international rail freight transport, hinder the competitiveness of rail freight transport (mostly compared to road freight transport) [3] [4].

Implementation examples

- The Dutch 'Betuweroute' is a 160 kilometers railway track specially build and dedicated for freight transport. The Betuweroute connects the Rotterdam harbour directly to the Dutch-German border and is designed to improve the attractiveness of railway transport (mainly compared to road transport). Furthermore, it is constructed to provide additional freight transport capacity for the expansion of Rotterdam harbour (new 'Maasvlakte 2') [2].
- Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCC). The Minister of Railways made the announcement in 2005 to establish dedicated freight tracks to meet future transport needs. The over 3300 kilometres 'eastern and western corridor' are currently under construction and will be ready for operation in 2017 [5].

Objectives of TPM

- The European Commission intends to establish dedicated rail freight corridors to improve the competitiveness of rail transport compared to other modes of freight transport (road, air and waterway). The main concern for rail freight transport is to improve reliability (meet scheduled arrivals), capacity, information management, average speed and flexibility [3] [4].
- Corridors running through several different countries are mainly hindered by the lack of their interoperability. To achieve a competitive railway network it is important to harmonise freight train transport by creating matching infrastructure, railway equipment and energy systems. Furthermore, bording crossing bottlenecks need to be removed. Not only technical bottlenecks (like the mentioned differences in infrastructure), but also the administrative burdens restrain the competitiveness of international rail freight transport [7].
- In addition, rail freight transport is more environmental friendly compared to road freight transport. In order to achieve the European 20 % CO2 emission reduction target it will be vital to increase environmental (freight) transport. The dedicated rail freight corridors state the attempt to initiate a modal shift to rail freight transport [3] [4].

Choice of transport mode / Multimodality

One of the main objectives is to improve the competitiveness of rail freight transport. Implicitly, this means that rail freight transport has to increase its market share compared to road transport.

Origin and/or destination of trip

Trip frequency

Choice of route

Dedicated rail freight tracks will be favorable for rail freight transport than mixed operation tracks.

Timing (day, hour)

The duration of rail freight transport will be more predictable and delivery times will be more reliable.

Occupancy rate / Loading factor

Energy efficiency / Energy usage

A modal shift from road freight transport to rail freight transport will lead to a decreasing demand for petrol because rail freight transport is more energy efficient than road freight transport.

Main source

[1] Centrum für Europäische Politik (2009): EU Regulation - Freight Corridors, Freiburg: CEP
[2] Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat (2008): Rail transport in the Netherlands - The current state and the future developments, Den Haag: Ministerie VenW
[3] European Commission (2007): Towards a rail network giving priority to freight, COM(2007) 608 final, Brussels
[4] European Commission (2008): Regulation concerning a European rail network for competitive freight, COM(2008) 852 final, Brussels
[5] Dedicated Freight Corridor of India Limited (DFCCIL) (2012): Public Information Brochure, New Dehli: Ministry of Railways
[6] European Commission (2010): Accompanying document to the Proposal - Establishing a single European railway area, SEC(2010) 1042 final, Brussels
[7] European Commission (2009): Thematic Research Summary - Freight Transport, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union
[8] European Commission (2008): Report of the Group - Strategic Group of experts - Rail Freight Oriented Network, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union
[9] European Commission (2010): On track to a sustainable future - EU-funded research for a safe and efficient European rail system, Brussels: Directorate-General for Research
[10] European Commission (2008). Commission staff working document accompanying the Proposal for a Regulation of the the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a European rail network for competitive freight. Summary of the Impact Assessment. http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2008:3029:FIN:EN:PDF
[11] PWC and NEA (2008). Preparatory study for an impact assessment for a railnetwork giving priority to freight. Final report.

Traffic Impacts

Passengers 

         

Transport operators 

           

Unassigned 

         

Travel or transport time

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Risk of congestion

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Vehicle mileage

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Service and comfort

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Overall impacts on social groups

Implementation phase

Operation phase

Summary / comments concerning the main impacts

- The dedication of rail freight corridors will lead to a disruption of the railway system and therefore will have a negative impact on passenger rail transport. The current European railway network capacity is not suitable to make individual decicions for freight trains. The reservation of train paths for freight transport reduces the number of train paths available to passenger rail transport. New tracks will not restrain passenger trains, but will demand for extra terminals to fully disconnect freight transport from passenger transport [1].
- Transport times for rail freight transport will be reduced due to the dedication of freight transport corridors. A smooth and free movement of freight trains in the internal borders of the European Union will reduce transport times significantly [7].
- The aim of the dedicated rail freight corridors policy is to reduce vehicle mileage of road transport and create a modal shift from road to rail. Mainly, because of rail transport’s higher energy efficiency (especially compared to road transport) which will result in fewer CO2 emissions [6].
- Servive and comfort will increase due to less administrative burdens for international freight train transport. Besides, the reservation of dedicated tracks will give rail transport operators more possibilities to improve their flexibility and reliability [7].
- A modal shift from road to rail transport will lead to a reduction of congestion risk on roads and in particular motorways. This will be advantageous for road passengers and road transport operators.

Quantification of impacts


Economic Impacts

Passengers 

         

Transport operators 

           

Unassigned 

         

Transport costs

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Private income / commercial turn over

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Revenues in the transport sector

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sectoral competitiveness

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Spatial competitiveness

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Housing expenditures

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Insurance costs

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Health service costs

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Public authorities & adm. burdens on businesses

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Public income (e.g.: taxes, charges)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Third countries and international relations

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Overall impacts on social groups

Implementation phase

Operation phase

Summary / comments concerning the main impacts

- Transport costs will decrease for rail freight transport. Dedicated freight tracks will not only reduce transport times, but also improve reliability. This enables transport operators to optimize their planning and improve rates for on-time delivery [8].
- Revenues of rail transport operators will increase due to an increasing demand for rail freight transport. A more harmonised market, with decreasing fixed costs (increasing interoperability), the more (small) companies are able to deliver their cargo by rail transport. Hence, rail freight transport will become a possibility worth considering for more and more companies. Due to the improved attractiveness of rail transport, road freight transport operators will be faced with decreasing demands and will loose freight transport market share [7] [9].
- Spatial competitiveness for countries (or regions) will increase with dedicated rail freight corridors and will lead to an improvement of the attractiveness of certain regions [7].
- Increased administrative costs for rail operators [11]
3 level impact:
- If an existing railway track (with mixed operation: passengers and freight) is going to be transformed into a dedicated track, then this will increase the competition between passenger and freight services. Rail passenger services will become less attractive due to reduced operations.

Quantification of impacts


Social Impacts
Environmental Impacts

Passengers 

         

Transport operators 

           

Unassigned 

         

Air pollutants

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Noise emissions

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Visual quality of the landscape

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Land use

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Climate

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Renewable or non-renewable resources

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Overall impacts on social groups

Residents near busy road freight corridors will benefit; while residents near future dedicated rail freight corridors are negatively affected. [6]

Implementation phase

Operation phase

Summary / comments concerning the main impacts

-A modal shift from road to rail transport will have several benefits for the environment. Less road freight transport will increase air quality in terms of reductions of NOx and PM emissions. Residents near busy road freight corridors will benefit most [6]. [11]
- The impact on climate change, estimated through the emission of CO2, will also be positive because of less road transport [6].
- Furthermore, fuel consumption will be reduced, because rail freight transport is more energy efficient compared to road freight transport [6].
- The contribution of rail transport to noise pollution (especially freight trains) is considerable. This counts mainly for residents near future dedicated rail freight corridors [6]. on the contrary, residents being currently negatively affected by road freight noise emissions will benefit from the modal shift from road to rail.
- The construction of new dedicated rail freight tracks (like the 'Betuweroute') will ask for land to build on. A modal shift from road to rail will not implicitly lead to decreasing needs for motorways, because passenger traffic on motorways will keep growing.
- There will be an approximate reduction of 75% of CO2 emission if the shift from road to rail occurs. [EE]

Quantification of impacts


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