Press release: EU Combined Transport in 2021 grew by almost 11% 23/05/22

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European Combined Transport in 2021 grew by almost 11%

19 May 2022 Brussels: The General Assembly of UIRR closed the 2021 business year. UIRR members appreciated the delivery of historic high performance levels, as Combined Transport tonne-kilometres grew by almost 11%, while the number of consignments carried by 8,15%, following the +7% and +1% achieved respectively a year earlier.

Road-Rail Combined Transport solidified its position as the dynamically growing production system of rail freight.  The share of intermodal trains exceeds 50% of total European rail freight.

The average non-road distance remained unchanged at 895km from a year earlier indicating that the typical door-to-door intermodal transport chain exceeds 1000km.

The UIRR Report 2021-22(1), published on the occasion of the General Assembly, contains further details of the annual performance, as well as a comprehensive overview of the situation and development of Combined Transport in Europe.

The CEOs of UIRR member companies came together for the General Assembly and held a consultative workshop with the European Commission, represented by Sandro Santamato, Head of Unit C.2 (Railways), who was the Head of Unit D.1 (Maritime, Logistics and Intermodal) until February this year.  The topics discussed included the European Commission Communication EU Save Energy (2), published on 18 May, in which the “boosting of the use of Combined Transport” is prominently mentioned as a means to generate energy savings in freight transport.  Meaningful exchanges took place concerning the ongoing crisis management efforts in rail freight and the elements of the Commission’s upcoming Greening freight package.

The study on Zero-Carbon Door-to-door Combined Transport (3), a technical and efficiency analysis of the carbon-free version of Combined Transport, has been unveiled at the event that followed the General Assembly.  The study by d-fine GmbH of Frankfurt concludes that Zero-Carbon Combined Transport is technically feasible using products and technologies in the market already today.  Moreover, the pro-rata energy efficiency of Zero-Carbon Combined Transport is far superior when compared to alternative solutions –outperforming particularly the most widely promoted green-hydrogen powertrains.

The urgent need for Zero-Carbon Combined Transport was confirmed by keynote speakers: Jens Gieseke MEP [TRAN, ITRE and ENVI committees], Oliver Luksic, State Secretary, BMDV – the German Ministry of Transport, Dr Josef Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the EU Agency for Railways and Daniel Mes, Member of the Cabinet of EU Commission First Vice President, Frans Timmermans.

A roadmap for the European proliferation of Zero-Carbon Combined Transport will be published by the end of 2022 taking into account the various investments needed to be made by governments and intermodal actors.

 

[1] https://www.uirr.com/uirr-report/#page=1

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=COM:2022:240:FIN&from=EN

[3] https://www.uirr.com/en/media-centre/leaflet-and-studies/mediacentre/2236-zero-carbon-combined-transport-study-by-d-fine-.html

Ralf-Charley Schultze

“UIRR welcomed three new members in 2021: Delta Rail, PCC Intermodal and Rail Hub Transylvania.  Together with the four new technology partners and the seven new MoU Peers who joined last year, the industry association of European Combined Transport is stronger than ever.  This broad alliance will be needed to deliver the annual growth of 7-8% needed to decarbonise inland freight transportation in Europe by 2050.”  - stated UIRR President Ralf-Charley Schultze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch the online intervention of Daniel Mes, Member of Cabinet F. Timmermans:

https://youtu.be/t1vW410_6lE

Watch the recording of the CT4EU Conference: https://youtu.be/IrFy2GtJCTM

Watch the video message of State Secretary Oliver Luksic (German Ministry of Transport): https://youtu.be/f7w9EqYylMU

 

Watch the video message of Member of TRAN Jens Gieseke: https://youtu.be/3LEjhgrQOws

 

Click for photo Album of the 19 May events


 


 

European Combined Transport in 2021 grew by almost 11%

19 May 2022 Brussels: The General Assembly of UIRR closed the 2021 business year. UIRR members appreciated the delivery of historic high performance levels, as Combined Transport tonne-kilometres grew by almost 11%, while the number of consignments carried by 8,15%, following the +7% and +1% achieved respectively a year earlier.

Road-Rail Combined Transport solidified its position as the dynamically growing production system of rail freight. The share of intermodal trains exceeds 50% of total European rail freight.

The average non-road distance remained unchanged at 895km from a year earlier indicating that the typical door-to-door intermodal transport chain exceeds 1000km.

The UIRR Report 2021-22, published on the occasion of the General Assembly, contains further details of the annual performance, as well as a comprehensive overview of the situation and development of Combined Transport in Europe.

The CEOs of UIRR member companies came together for the General Assembly and held a consultative workshop with the European Commission, represented by Sandro Santamato, Head of Unit C.2 (Railways), who was the Head of Unit D.1 (Maritime, Logistics and Intermodal) until February this year. The topics discussed included the European Commission Communication EU Save Energy, published on 18 May, in which the “boosting of the use of Combined Transport” is prominently mentioned as a means to generate energy savings in freight transport. Meaningful exchanges took place concerning the ongoing crisis management efforts in rail freight and the elements of the Commission’s upcoming Greening freight package.

The study on Zero-Carbon Door-to-door Combined Transport, a technical and efficiency analysis of the carbon-free version of Combined Transport, has been unveiled at the event that followed the General Assembly. The study by d-fine GmbH of Frankfurt concludes that Zero-Carbon Combined Transport is technically feasible using products and technologies in the market already today. Moreover, the pro-rata energy efficiency of Zero-Carbon Combined Transport is far superior when compared to alternative solutions –outperforming particularly the most widely promoted green-hydrogen powertrains.

The urgent need for Zero-Carbon Combined Transport was confirmed by keynote speakers: Jens Gieseke MEP [TRAN, ITRE and ENVI committees], Oliver Luksic, State Secretary, BMDV – the German Ministry of Transport, Dr Joseph Doppelbauer, Executive Director of the EU Agency for Railways and Daniel Mes, Member of the Cabinet of EU Commission First Vice President, Frans Timmermans.

A roadmap for the European proliferation of Zero-Carbon Combined Transport will be published by the end of 2022 taking into account the various investments needed to be made by governments and intermodal actors.

Ralf-Charley Schultze

“UIRR welcomed three new members in 2021: Delta Rail, PCC Intermodal and Rail Hub Transylvania. Together with the four new technology partners and the seven new MoU Peers who joined last year, the industry association of European Combined Transport is stronger than ever. This broad alliance will be needed to deliver the annual growth of 7-8% needed to decarbonise inland freight transportation in Europe by 2050.” - stated UIRR President Ralf-Charley Schultze.

Who is UIRR?

Founded in 1970, the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) represents the interests of European road-rail Combined Transport Operators and Transhipment Terminal Managers.

Road-Rail Combined Transport (CT) is a system of freight forwarding which is based on efficiently and economically inserting electric rail into long-distance (road) transport-chains through the use of intermodal loading units (ILU).

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