"Road Map" for the development of intermodal transport 10/05/21
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(translated into English by Google)
Industry organizations have developed a "Road Map" for the development of intermodal transport
Author: May 10, 2021 by Łukasz Kuś
The transport industry is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, 72% of which is emitted by road and only 0.5% by rail. For these reasons, electric trains should be the preferred mode of transport for freight services.According to assumptionsof the EU transport policy by 2050, the share of rail in cargo transport is expected to double. This, in turn, means that the transport performance of intermodal transport must increase threefold. According to UIRR, this is a realistic scenario looking at the transport trends in recent years. According to Eurostat, in the period 2009-2018, intermodal transport developed three times faster than the total freight railways (increase in transport performance by 49.9% vs.13.8%).
Intermodal transport has a number of advantages for logistics operators, mainly in terms of flexibility and reliability, as well as transport safety. Currently, combined transport also saves 40 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Despite the well-known advantages of intermodal transport, its rapid development and meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal faces a number of difficulties. In the recently published "Road Map", UIRR indicates what measures must be taken to enable the increase in the volume of combined transport with the EU.
- The market potential could be much higher if a number of shortcomings were addressed. They concern insufficient geographic coverage, train frequency and quality of services - mainly in relation to the punctuality of timetables. The frequency of intermodal trains depends on the demand and is also influenced by lower prices offered by road transport, which is achieved due to a biased regulatory framework. The inadequate punctuality of intermodal trains is primarily the result of the priority for passenger trains in timetables. Adequate infrastructure capacity plays a key role in all of these issues, according to the UIRR report.
Make the costs real
According to the industry organization, most of the competitive advantages of road transport result from the transfer of external costs outside this sector. These issues should be regulated. The UIRR indicates that infrastructure access charges for rail operators should be reduced, and that road hauliers should also be burdened with infrastructure maintenance costs. Public authorities should also invest in infrastructure development to improve its capacity and ensure an adequate gauge for long intermodal trains.
On the part of infrastructure managers, an ambitious transport plan requires not only the preparation of an efficient rail network, but also the preparation of timetables with appropriate priorities for passenger and freight trains.
See also: Trade organizations highlight intermodal during the European Year of Railways
The challenge for intermodal operators will be rolling stock investments and digitization of services, which will enable the provision of information on rail traffic, available network capacity and tracking of shipments, which will allow customers to be informed about the estimated time of arrival.
UIRR also draws attention to the need to develop green energy and zero-emission trucks that can be used in the first and last mile as an element of urban mobility. Systems for charging such vehicles should be prepared at intermodal terminals.
Representatives of the organization also take part in the preparation of key amendments to European directives that define how the transport of goods in the EU is to develop: the directive on TEN-T and transport corridors (the amendment is to be completed in 2021) as well as the directive on combined transport (amendment planned for next year).