EUROPE'S RAIL FREIGHT ACTION PLAN

This article reports a recent presentation to the Railway Study Association by the author, who is Director, Freight at the International Union of Railways (UIC). Rail freight in Europe has a positive future, if its railways collaborate for this purpose. They have already made enormous efforts to increase productivity and attract more traffic. In Europe, rail now has a 15% share of the freight transport market, but this share is very different in different countries. In Austria, it is over 50%, in Switzerland over 38%, in Germany and France over 20%, but in the UK only 6%, but this low figure should soon increase. In the Netherlands, inland waterways carry most of the freight. One problem facing rail freight is that heavy bulk traffic in Europe has stagnated, while there has been growth in high-values manufactured and consumer goods, which are usually easier to transport by road. European Union (EU) Directive 91/440 has stimulated a continuing rail reform process, including deregulation, privatisation, and competition, as well as infrastructure charging and Freightways. The Directive specifies a legal framework for operating combined transport and transit rights for wagon loads. The Trans-European Rail-Freight Freeways (TERFF) and One Stop Shops (OSS) initiative was designed to create specific corridors for rail freight traffic.