Trans-European transport network
PURPOSE: to revise the trans-European transport network guidelines to align them with the European Green Deal objectives and the climate targets of the EU Climate Law.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the TEN-T is an EU-wide network of rail, inland waterways, short-sea shipping routes, and roads. It connects 424 major cities with ports, airports and railway terminals. Transport emissions represent around 25% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, and these emissions have increased over recent years. The European Green Deal therefore calls for a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport in order for the Union to become a climate-neutral economy by 2050, while working towards the zero-pollution ambition.
The proposed TEN-T revision seeks to build a reliable, seamless and high quality trans-European transport network which ensures sustainable connectivity throughout the European Union without physical gaps, bottlenecks or missing links by 2050. This network will contribute to the good functioning of the internal market, to the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU territory and to the European Green Deal objectives. It should be gradually developed in steps, with intermediate deadlines in 2030 and 2040.
CONTENT: the proposed regulation establishes revised guidelines for the development of a trans-European transport network consisting of the comprehensive network and of the core and extended core network, the two latter being established on the basis of the comprehensive network. It identifies: (a) European Transport Corridors of highest strategic importance on the basis of priority sections of the trans-European transport network; (b) projects of common interest and specifies the requirements to be complied with for the development and implementation of the infrastructure of the trans-European transport network.
The main changes made by the proposal compared to the 2013 Regulation concern the following:
- high infrastructure standards for all modes applied throughout the entire network;
- a new intermediary deadline of 2040 to advance the completion of major parts of the network ahead of the 2050 deadline that applies to the wider, comprehensive network;
- stronger synergies between infrastructure planning and the operation of transport services. Examples include higher speeds for train services across the TEN-T network (160 kilometres per hour for passenger services and 100 kilometres per hour for freight), maximum waiting times at borders of 15 minutes for rail freight. Another example is guaranteed good navigation status per river basin on the inland waterways on the TEN-T network;
- requirements for the deployment, across the TEN-T network, of the charging and refuelling infrastructure needed for alternative transport fuels. This would mean sufficient charging capacity for cars, vans and trucks at 60 kilometres distance in each direction by 2025 on the core network and by 2030 for the extended core and comprehensive networks;
- providing safe and secure parking areas for commercial drivers, equipped with alternative fuels infrastructure;
- use of innovative technologies like 5G to further advance the digitalisation of transport infrastructure, further increasing efficiency, and improving the safety, security and resilience of the network;
- increased resilience of the TEN-T network to natural and human-made disasters and efficient and fast deployment of emergency and rescue services, including for persons with disabilities or reduced mobility;
- the requirement for 424 major cities on the TEN-T network to have sustainable urban mobility plans by 2025, to align their mobility developments on the TEN-T network;
- more transhipment hubs and multimodal passenger terminals in cities to facilitate multimodality, in particular for the last mile of a passenger or freight journey;
- connect large airports to rail, where possible high-speed rail;
- making it possible network-wide for lorries to be transported by trains.
Annexes
The proposal revises the annexes to contain detailed maps of the core, extended core and the comprehensive network, lists of transport and urban nodes in the scope of this Regulation as well as the definition of alignment and maps of the European Transport Corridors. It furthermore contains indicative maps for the neighbouring countries.
Budgetary implications
The administrative costs relative to the baseline have been estimated as being moderate. Expressed as present value over 2021-2050, administrative costs for the public authorities have been estimated at EUR 25.4 million (i.e. EUR 15.8 million for the European Commission and EUR 9.6 million for Member States public authorities).
In addition, the largest part of investments is estimated to originate from public funding (national public funds, EU funds) and would amount to EUR 244.2 billion relative to the baseline, expressed as present value over 2021-2050.