Combined Transport Directive Amendment withdrawal

Brussels, 22 October 2025 — Yesterday the College of Commissioners adopted its work programme for 2026, indicating the intention to withdraw the proposed amendment of the Combined Transport Directive, which was tabled as part of the Greening Freight Transport package in November 2023.

The Combined Transport Community represented by UIRR regrets the intention about which the European Commission has not conducted any sort of public consultation. Moreover, the European Parliament’s study, drawn up on request of rapporteur Flavio Tosi, was only finalised a week ago. The European Parliament was about to start its work on the proposed amendment using this study. The Belgian and Hungarian Council presidencies must be commended for working intensely on the Combined Transport dossier. Member States are now waiting for an impulse from the Parliament.

European Combined Transport is the prime solution for involving rail freight and waterborne means into European supply chains and the engine of growth of European rail freight, and in this capacity, it is in a difficult situation today. Overcoming the present-day crises and challenges faced by the daily operations is the number 1 priority, with a focus on infrastructure capacity. The unprecedented underperformance of the railway infrastructure, the lack of terminal capacities in several regions of Europe and the absence of a minimum service guarantee, and the shortcomings of digitalisation hold back its performance.

The current difficulties and challenges would not alone be solved by an amended Combined Transport Directive or a revised Weights and Dimensions Directive. Yet intermodal freight transport, as a mode of transport in its own right, needs a framework legislation.

UIRR pays attention to the following dossiers to achieve a comprehensive solution to the current challenges of its community:

Catalysing the conclusion of the legislative process on the new Rail Infrastructure Capacity Management Regulation which will have to be followed by the efficient and timely implementation of the Regulation,

Establishing an excessive operating cost compensation regime around infrastructure works sites in case long bypass routes are forced on operators,

Assisting the Commission and Member States in the implementation of the recently adopted TEN-T Regulation,

Contributing to the evaluation of the Single European Railway Area (SERA) Directive and its implementing regulations to create the legislative framework for reliable infrastructure charging and infrastructure management,

Performing for Military Mobility by enabling the effective insertion of electric rail freight into defence supply chains and the movement of military cargo.

Overcoming the difficulties and challenges will take several years during which digitalisation will naturally progress. We are hopeful that on a long-term a revised Combined Transport Directive will fit into a regulatory framework that will enable the effective functioning of Combined Transport for the whole of Europe.