Ralf-Charley Schultze, UIRR: The new combined freight transport directive must create conditions for fair competition

The new directive on combined freight transport should include a computer that measures not only CO2 emissions, but also the other types of emissions and aim to create a fair competitive context between road and combined freight transport, according to Ralf- Charley Schultze, UIRR President.

Present in Bucharest during Railway Days, he spoke in a short interview for Intermodal&Logistics about the new directive that will impact the development of intermodal freight transport at European level.

"We expect a completely new definition of combined freight transport, because the one that dates back to 1992, a very old legislation, strictly refers to distances and how to get to the nearest terminal. This is a completely outdated definition and never really worked because there was a lot of uncertainty in the market.

It is very important to achieve a level playing field, because currently road freight transport generates a lot of emissions and society has to pay for it. There are a lot of external costs that are not taken into account that society alone has to bear.

Then, what we would like to see included in this combined freight transport directive is the proposal to allow Member States to choose compensatory measures to be able to balance the balance and achieve this level playing field between road freight transport and the combined one.

Combined transport itself is sustainable, not only from an environmental perspective. Compared to road transport, combined transport emits 90% less CO2 emissions and is 70% more energy efficient.

But it is, in fact, about sustainability, both economically and socially. From a social point of view, because the driver who only drives short distances, will have a much better work-life balance and spend more time with family. As for the economic aspect, if this equity between transport modes is really achieved, then I assure you that combined transport is economically viable," said Ralf-Charley Schultze.

The state of infrastructure, a major challenge in Europe

Speaking about the challenges facing intermodal transport at the European level today, the UIRR president recalled the war in Ukraine, the price of energy and the low performance of railways, attributed to poor infrastructure, especially in Germany.

"For 30 years in Germany, no investment was made in the railway infrastructure, and now they want to do everything at the same time. A modern, functional infrastructure is needed, but the challenge is that in Germany they do not just maintain the track, they close the lines completely for 6-7 months. The idea is good, but in this period we need detours, B plans, other solutions."

Decrease in volumes transported intermodal in 2023

In 2023, combined freight transport recorded a 14% decrease in volumes compared to 2022, and the situation is not expected to recover in the near future. "The third quarter is not better, but looking at the polls and the sentiment index among our members I would say that the situation is not really bad. We went from a very negative sentiment index to a slightly negative one. So people are more confident about the future than they were a few months ago.

But we are in a situation that, from an economic point of view, is very, very difficult. And of course, since we're sort of the barometer or therameter of the economy, it's very clear that things will have to change significantly.

For now, the volumes are down, but we still hope they will pick up again in the fourth quarter or starting next year. If we look at the evolution of intermodal transport and combined freight transport in the long term, we are confident, and in the short term we try to be resilient in the face of challenges," added Ralf-Charley Schultze