ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
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COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(77)676
Vol.1977/0215

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(77)676final.
i Brussels.15December1977*
,COMMUNICATIONFROMTHECOMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL
-! """"""" """"""""""
,ReportontheapplicationoftheCouncildirective
of17thFebruary1975concerning -theestablishment
ofcommonrulesforcertaincombinedrail/road
carriageofgoodsbetweenMemberStates.
COM(77)676final.

COMMUNICATION PROMTHECOMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL
Reportontheapplication oftheCouncildirective
of17thFebruary1975concerningtheestablishment
ofcommonrulesforcertaincombinedrail/road
carriageofgoodsbetweenMemberStates.
(OJoftheECnoL48of22.2.1975 *Pages31/32)
1.Article7»ls"tsub-paragraph oftheabovementioneddirectivelays
downthattheCommissionshouldmakeareportontheapplication
ofthemeasureandsubmitanyrelevantproposalstoittothe
Councilbefore31stDecember1977*
Theobjectiveoftheattachedreportistomeetthesetermsof
reference.Consequently ,inthefirstinstance,itprovidesinfor­
mationontheapplication ofthisdirectiveduringtheperiod
1stOctober1975until1stJuly1977-
2.TothiseffecttheservicesoftheCommission haveconsultedthe
interestedprofessional organisations inthistransport,
–therailwaysofthegroupofnine,
–thetwotransportliaisoncommitteesforhireandrewardandown
accounttransportoftheIHU(International RoadTransportUnion)
attachedtotheCommunities ,
–the"UnionInternationale desTransportsoombinésrail/route"(UIRR),
-the"UNICE1*(UniondesIndustriesdelaCommunautéEuropéenne).
-2-

Th9reportreflectsthedifferentpointsofviewoftheafore­
mentionedorganisations andindicatessoaeproblemsofarathertechnical
naturevhioh]iavebeenbroughttothaknowledgeoftheCommissionby
economically interestedparties.
TheCommissionisoftheopinionthattheinitialeffectofthe
Directivemustbeconsideredasapositiveelementforthefutureevolut­
ionofthistraffic.
Therefore,theCommissioncanalreadysaythat,inaccordancewith
Article7»sub–paragraph2ofthedirective,itwillsubmittotheCouncil
during197$aproposalwithaviewtomaintaining onapermanentbasis
theexperimental systemalreadysetupandwillproposetheintroduction of
thenecessarymeasurestakingintoaccounttheexperiencegained.
TheCommission,however,considersthatthedevelopment ofcombined
rail/roadtransportrequires,attheCommunitylevel,aglobalpolicywhich
passesthelimitedgoalofthedirective,involvingthesolutionof
problemsinareasotherthanthatofaccesstothemarket,someofwhich
arealreadyoutlinedinthepresentreport.
TheCommissionalsoenvisagessubmittinginconnectionwiththis,
during1978,semeproposalsfavouringthedevelopmentofcombined
transportatcommunitylevel*

REPORT
ontheapplication ofthe
CouncilDirectiveNo75/l30/feEC
concerning theestablishment ofcommonrulesfor
certaintypesofcombinedrail/roadcarriageofgoods
betweenMemberStates
(O.J.oftheEuropeanCommunities,No.L48of22February1975pp.31/32)*
(Communication fromtheCommission totheCouncil)

-1-
SUMMARY Page
1.INTROIUCTION 2
2.3NT'C!RC 1EMKKT OPTHE DIRECTIVE 2
2.1 .Application measures taken bytheMember States 2
2.2o Importance ,development anddistribution ofthetraffic 2
2.2.1 .General considerations 2
2.2.2 .Development ofthetraffic –Analysis ofthefigures 3
2.2.3 .Contribution ofthe various commercial combined
transport companies tothis traffic 4
2.2.4 *Distribution oftraffic bytransport link 5
2.2.3 .Number ofwagons assigned tocombined carriage 5
2.2.6 .Distribution bynature ofcombined carriage 5
2.3 .Installations (transshipment terminals ) 6
3.INFLUENCE OPLIBERALIZATION MEASURES 6
4.CONTINUATION OPTHEACTION ATNATIONAL AND COMMUNITY LEVELS 7
4.1 .General considerations onthedesirability ofstimulating
thedevelopment ofcombined rail/road carriage 7
4.2 .Problems toberesolved 8
4*2.1 *Authorization system fortug-units employed in
terminal runs 8
4*2.2 .Tariffs andrate fixing 9
4.2*3 *Determination of"appropriate nearest station' 1 9
4*2.4 *Infrastructure 10
4*2.5 *Rolling stock 10
4*2.6 .Commercial organisation 11
5.CONCLUSIONS 12
6.ANNEX
Annex I 1Points ofview expressed bythecarriers and
the users interested incombined carriage
Annex II :Statistics (table 1to4)

-2-
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1.Initsdirectiveof17February1975theCouncillaiddown
commonrulesforcertaintypesofcombinedrail/roadcarriageofgoods
betweenMemberStatesforalimitedperioduntil31December1978.
Theserulesprovidedespeciallyforthefreeingofthistypeof
carriagefromanyquantitative restriction (quota)andtheremovalof
variousadministrative constraints (authorizations )atthelatestby
1October1975.
Article7,1stsub-para,oftheDirectivelaysdownthatthe
Commissionshallreportontheapplication ofthedirectiveandsubmit
proposalsrelatingtoittotheCouncilbefore31December1977.
Inaccordancewithsub-para.2ofArticle7,whichlimitsthe
validityofthedirectiveto31December1978,theCouncil,uponthe
Commission'sproposal,shouldgivearulingbeforethisdate,onthe
systemtobeappliedsubsequently .
1.2.Theobjectiveofthisreportistomeetthetermsofreference
giventotheCommissioninthe1stsub-para,ofArticle7ofthe
directive.Consequently,inthefirstinstance,itprovidesinformation
ontheapplication ofthisdirectiveduringtheperiodfrom1October
1975until1July1977.
2.ENFORCEMENT OFTHEDIRECTIVE
2.1.Application measurestakenbytheMemberStates
2.1.1.InaccordancewiththeprovisionsofArticle5ofthe
directiveof17February1975theMemberStateswereobliged
totakethenecessarymeasuresfortheimplementation ofthis
directiveandtosenddetailsofthemtotheCommission,before
30June1975*Q*110February1976f"thelattersentthemtoall
theMemberStatesforinformation .
Tosumuptheposition,itcanbestatedthatallthe
MemberStatestriedtomeetthecommonfixedcompulsory
objectives byappropriate andeffectivemeasures.The
existenceofcertainproblems,assetoutbelowinChapter4,
doesnotaffectthisgeneralpositiveimpression.
2.2.Importance,development anddistribution ofthetraffic
2.2.1.Generalconsiderations
Withintheframeworkofthisdirective,thecurrent
experienceanalyzedinthisreportcoversaperiodoflessthan
twoyearsuptillnow.Inaddition,duringtheperiodunder
consideration ,international trade-whichsince1950and

-3--
urvrilthebeginningofthe1970'shadbeendeveloping ina
continuous fashionatanaveragerateofnearly7%p.a.-
obviouslysufferedfromtheeffectsoftheeconomicrecession
andthedevelopment oftransportcarriedoutbycombined
techniques wastemporarily checked.
Consequently,thedataconcerning thedevelopment of
combinedrail/roadtrafficshouldbeconsidered inthelight
ofthissituation .
2.2.2.Development ofthetraffic-analysisofthefigures
Onthebasisofthestatistics providedbythevarious
combinedtransport companies,theattachedtable(AnnexII,
Table1)givesanoutlineofthedevelopment ofrail/road
trafficcarriedoutbysemi-trailers (includingvehicle
combinations )aswellasswopbodies.
Despitetakingprecautions somedoublecountinghas
notbeenentirelyeliminated .Withthisreservation onecan
notethattheoverallgrosstraffic(nationalandinternational )
hasdeveloped asfollows:
in1000tonnes
1971
iI
1972197319741975
I1976(1)
GrossTonnes 298136684452466443015332
Indices 100123149156144179
Theshareofinternational trafficinthesefigureswas
about1milliontonnesin1976,i.e._+19%ofthetotaltraffic.
Whenexaminingthesefiguresonecanseethatafter
thedeclinein1975inrelationto1974theoveralltrafficfor
1976showedamarkedincrease.
Inordertoputthecombinedrail/roadcarriagein
relationtototalfreighttrafficintoperspective,itwould
bewrongtocomparethetwooverallfigures.Infact,inso
doing,onewouldcometothefalseconclusionthatcombined
carriagetrafficstillplaysaratherunimportant role(2).
(1)1977figuresnotyetavailableatthetimeofcompilingthisreport
(2)Example:in1975,0.5%oftheoverallrailfreighttrafficofthe
Community

-4-
Thismethoddoesnotgiveanexactideaofthe
situationbecauseitdoesnotcomparelikewithlike.
Indeed,inthiscase,noaccountistakenofthefactthat
combinedrail/roadcarriagecanonlybecarriedoutina
rationalandprofitable wayoverrelativelylargedistances,
overtransportlinkswhicharefixedinrelationtothevolume
carriedandforcertaincategoriesofgoods.Anattemptto
drawacomparison onthisbasis,eventhoughdifficultin
theabsenceofobjectivecriteria,doesconfirmthefact
thatincertainsub-markets combinedcarriagealreadyat
presentoccupiesanon-negligible shareandthisisincreasing.
Butthistechniquewillalwaysfacecertainlimits
toitsdevelopmentresultingmainlyfromthefactthatit
requiresthecarriageofveryimportantdeadweight (lorryor
semi-trailer).Onlytheswop-bodies,whichresemblea
container,avoidthisinconvenience .
Nevertheless,international trafficcarriedoutby
thecombinedtransportcompaniesinsidetheCommunityseems
tobedevelopingstrongly(+22%duringthefirsthalfof
1977).
2.2.3.Contribution ofthevariouscommercial combined
transportcompaniestothistraffic
Combinedcarriage,whichlinksrailandroadtransport,
andwhichiscalled"ferroutage"(road/rail),iscarriedout
throughcommercialcompanieswithsubsidiaries inseveral
Europeancountries.
-InGermanytheKOMBIVERKEHR Companywasresponsible
for20%oftheinternational trafficin1975,
-InBelgium,theT.R.W.Companywasresponsible for
9%ofthistraffic/
-inFrancetheNOVATRANSCompanywasresponsiblefor
40%ofthistraffic,
-InItalytheFERPACCompanywasresponsiblefor
2%ofthistraffic,
-IntheNetherlands theTRAILSTARCompanywas
responsiblefor10%ofthistraffic,
-InSwitzerlandtheHUPACCompanywasresponsible
for15%ofthistraffic.
Since1970thesesixcompanieshavebeenjoinedbya
seventh,theA.S.G.Company(Sweden)inthe"UnionInter-
nationaledesTransportscombinesrail/route"(U.I.R.R.).

Inaddition ajoint rail /road committee hasbeen set
UP.» wich the aim of
co-ordinating efforts ataninternational level forthe
development ofrail /road carriage .TheCommittee ismade
upofthemember companies oftheU.I.R.R. andtherailways
ofMember States and ofSwitzerland andAustria .
2.2.4 .Distribution oftraffic bytransport link
Table 2(Annex II)shows themain international
transport links concerned inthis traffic .Ofthe 76links
29concern Italy and,outside theCommunity ,onecanespeciall
note theconnections with Spain andwith Switzerland .
2.2.5 .Number ofwagons assigned tocombined carriage
Table 3(Annex II)shows thenumber ofwagons
assigned tocombined carriage attheendof1976 ,bymajor
categories .Ofatotal of2,300 wagons 25%areassigned
tointernational traffic .Nearly 1,100 wagons belong tothe
German railways and inFrance nearly 800wagons belong to
themanagement companies ofprivate wagons .
2.2.6 .Distribution bynature ofcombined carriage
Thecommercial combined carriage comoanies use
different "ferroutage "techniques .One can ma!-.<?out two
main categories :
-techniques where the wagon isadapted tothe
road vehicle (dropped-ax lewagons orwagons with
guide raiIs)
-techniques where the road vehicle isplanned for
adaptation tothe rail wagon (special semi-trailer
orswop-body ).
Ithasnot been possible togive adistribution of
traffic bytechnique employed .One canonly point out that
inFrance ,theN0VATRANS Company forthemost part uses the
kind ofdropped axle wagon known as"Kangeroo "while in
Germany thekind ofdropped axle wagon ofthe "Aachen "type
and swop-bodies ofthe "Flexi-Van "type tend tobeused .
These latter typesarecurrently being employed more and mo'
often inallthecountries .Inthis area ,aswell ,statist
should beimproved inorder toobtain better information on
thedevelopment ofthe various techniques .
Inany case theCommunity should encourage the
development ofmethods which allow simple andrapid trans -
shipment with theminimum use ofspecialised rail vehicles
even more ofspecialised road vehicles inorder tolimit tf
necessary investments tothe strict minimum .

2.3.Installations(transshipment terminals)
Table4(AnnexII)givesaListofthemaintransshipment
terminals(rail/roadinterchange )forcombinedcarriage,i.e.about
60suchterminalsofwhichhalfareinFranceand16inGermany.The
creationofnewterminalsisbeingstudiedinSpain(Valenciaand
Barcelona),inItaly(Venice),inFrance(MorlaixandNoisy),inthe
Netherlands (Grubbenvorst,Veendam,Flushing,Amsterdam)andin
Belgium(Courtrai).
INFLUENCE OFLIBERALIZATION MEASURES
3.1.Inordertoprovideinformation onthedevelopment of
combinedrail/roadtrafficandespecially ontheobstacleswhichmight
hinderitsexpansion,thisreportsetsout,inAnnexI,inasuccinct
manner,theopinionsexpressedbytherepresentatives oftherailways,
ownaccountandhireandrewardroadhauliers,usersandthecommercial
combinedcarriagecompanies.
Theseopinionsrevealthattherearestillsomeanxieties
ofacommercial andofapsychological naturewhichmightcheckthe
development ofcombinedtrafficbut,intheCommission'sview,these
couldbeovercomeinthelightoftheobjectiveadvantages whichcan
followforallthoseconcernedinthisnewtechnique.
Indeed,combinedcarriageusesrailforlongdistance
journeysandisthereforecapableofimprovingtheconditionsof
rationaloperation.Inparticularblocktrainsonwellselected
transportlinksconstitute aformoftrafficwhichisspecifically
adaptedtothemodernandprofitableoperationoftherailways.
Ontheotherhand,carriagebyrailoverlongdistances
allowsroadhaulierstoreduceoperatingcosts,especiallyinthearea
oflabourwhichconstitutes oneofthemostimportantelementsof
productioncosts,andtoofferthecustomersapunctualservice
whichisnotinfluenced bytrafficorweatherconditions.
Consequently,theCommissionisconvinced,ashasbeen
provenbytheeffectsininitiativesalreadyadoptedandwhichhave
beenputinconcreteformbythesettingupofajointrail/road
Committee,thattheinitialdifficulties canbeovercomeinthe
frameworkofincreasedco-operation betweenthetwotransportmodes
andbytheadoptionofadequatemeasuresaimedatbetterguaranteeing
theirrespectiveinterests.
Thesummaryofobservations inAnnexIalreadyallowcertain
factorswhiohaxecapableofplayingaroleinthepoliticalactivities
concerningthissectorinthefuturetobebroughtout.

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Finally,theCommission considersthatthepilot-effect
ofthediactiveshouldbeconsidered asapositiveelement,forthe
periodintheimmediatepastandaboveall forthefuture
development oftlvstraffic.Thisdirectiveshouldbemade
oermarent asitaimsatraitandroadtransportcomplementing one
anotherandfallsintolinewiththoseactionswhichtakeaccount
ofthegr-neralinterestandespeciallyoftheobligations ofenergy
policyandregionaldevelopment .Inadditionitsextensionto
international carriagewiththirdcountriescouldbeconsidered .
TheCommission evenbelievesthatitwouldbeappropriate tostudy
ingreaterdepththequestionoflongdistancenationalcarriage
withtheaimthatitshouldbenefitfromananalogous system.
4.CONTINUATION OFTHEACTIONATNATIONAL ANDCOMMUNITY LEVELS
A.1.Generalconsiderations onthedesirabilityofstimulating the
development ofcombinedrail/roadcarriage
Atfirstsight,the"ferroutage"techniqueallowsall
interestedpartiestobenefit
therailways:itallowsthemtobringinnewtraffictobe
carriedoverlongdistances;
-roadhauliers:itbringsadvantagesofsafety,regularity and
speedofcarriageoverlongdistances;
users:itbringstogethertheadvantages ofdoor-to-doorand
railcarriage;
thecommunity :finallyitbringsareductioninroadtraffic
and,consequently ,anincreaseinsafetywhileatthesame
timemakingacontribution towardsprotection ofthe
environment .
Thisferroutage"techniqueimpliescloseco-operation between
thevarioustransport modesbothatinvestmentlevelandatmanagement
level.ThenarrownatureoftheEuropeanlandareatendstooblige
mostofthistraffictocrossatleastonefrontier.Thereforeitis
necessarytoencouragecloseco-operation ,ontheonehandbetween
thevariousrailwayundertakings oftheCommunity andontheotherof
thevariousroadhaulageundertakings bothforhireandrewardandown
account,includingalsotransportagents.
Thedevelopment ofthistechniquethereforerequires adynamic
investmentpolicyatCommunitylevel,whileatthesametime
avoidingthesimultaneous development oftoomanytransport systems,
andco-operation atmanagement levelbycommonactionsindeveloping,
stimulating andcommercialising thiskindofcarriage.
Thepublicauthorities who,generallyspeaking,areinfavour
ofthedevelopment ofcombinedtransportinwhichtheycanseethe
benefitsofeconomyofenergyandthereductionoftrafficonthemain
roads,couldencouragethisdevelopment bycertainpositivemeasures
aslongast-leyavoidthecreationofdistortions intheconditions of
competition withclassicaltransport modes.

4.2.-8■
Problemstoberesolved
Onthebasisofinformation attheCommission sdisposal,the
normaloperationofthedirectivestillcomesupagainstthefollowing
difficulties inparticular :
4.2.1.Authorization systemfortug-unitsemployedin
terminalruns
UnderthetermsofArticle2ofthedirective,combined
carriagewhichcomesunderthecriteriasetoutinthefirst
articleisfreedfromanyquotaorauthorization system.
However,Article6providesthatnationalregulations concerning
theconditionsofadmissiontotheprofession andofaccessto
thetransportmarketshallnotbealtered.Thereby,vehicles
usedincombinedcarriageshould,asinthepast,becoveredby
nationalauthorizations andcomeundernationalquotasinsofar
assuchinstruments arefoundinthenationalregulations ofthe
variousMemberStates.
In"thelightofinformationreceived "bytheCommission,itseemsthatthissituationcouldraiseproblemswhichrr.ustbe
elaboratedfromthepointofviewofthesubsequentsystem;the
followingtwoquestionsareconcerned:
-therequirementthatatugunitbelongingtoaforeigncompany,
stationedinaMemberStateforthepurposeofeffectingthe
terminalrunsofitsownsemi-trailers ,trailersorswop-bodies,
shouldsatisfythenationalprovisionsofthatMemberStatein­
sofarasquotasandauthorizations areconcerned;
-thefactthattheterminalrunsofsemi-trailers ,trailersor
swop-bodies usedinown-accountcarriageareconsideredasif
theywereforhireandrewardsubjecttoauthorization when
thetug-unitsdonotfulfiltheconditionsprovidedforown-
accountcarriage.
Inorder"thai;everythingisdonetostimulatecomoined
rail/roadtransport,theCommissionconsidersthatmore
suitablesolutionsmustbelookedfor.
Whateverthecircumstances theCommissionisconvinced
ofthefactthatthedevelopment ofcombinedcarriage,
boostedbyallinterestedparties,risksbeingheldbackand
possiblyevenblockedaslongassomesituations comeundertoo
bureaucratic atreatment.

4.?.2,Tariffs and rate fixing
Thefixing ofattractive rates isanimportant element
which will decide the future ofcombined rail /road carriage .
Itisnecessary tounderstand that theterm "attractive "
includes especially that the rates for carriage byrail should ,
ontheone hand ,prompt the road haulier togive updoor -to-door
carriage because ofthegreater costs involved andtochoose
combined carriage instead because ofits less costly operation .
Ontheother hand the rate should also becommercially
acceptable tothe railways .
This last condition means that the revenues from
combined carriage should ,inthe long run,allow the railways
tocover the complete cost ofthis traffic .Thequestion as
towhether this isalready the situation orcould ,inany
case ,bethe situation inthefuture ,isaproblem which
deserves detailed study .Depending upon the results ofthis
study ,thequestion could beasked astowhether combined
carriage byrail could beexempted from the requirement that it
should beacommercial service ,atleast during acertain
experimental period .
Inthe context ofthis report this question canonly be
raised andnot studied indepth .Above all the reply will
depend onthe degree ofimportance tobeattributed tocombined
rail /road carriage within theframework ofatransport policy
based onthepublic interest .
Apart from this question oftransport rates theoffer
ofaquality service ,guaranteeing users both rapid andregular
conveyance ,isalso anotunimportant factor capable of
contributing towards thedevelopment ofcombined carriage .
4*2.3 .Determination of"appropriate nearest station "
The Commission
considers that itisnecessary that thetwo criteria should be
judged separately foreach transport service .They should ,
incidentally ,beput forward inacumulative way,inthe sense
that the"nearest "station from thepoint ofview ofthedistance
isnotappropriate when ,asmuch from thetechnical asfrom the
commercial angle ,itisnotconsidered foroptimum operation of
such carriage .

-10-
Consequently,theCommissionbelievesthatitwouldbe
appropriatetoproveflexibility inimplementing thisconceptor
toimprovethepresenttextofthedirectiveinordertotake
adequateaccountofthepracticaltransportrequirements .
4.2.4.Infrastructure
Thedevelopment ofcombinedtransportalsodependsonthe
possibilities forcreatingandmodernisingtherail/roadtrans-
shipmentcentres.Thesecentresshouldbewellchoseninsucha
wayastoallowtheestablishment atCommunitylevelofanetwork
ofcompletetrainswhich,bytheeaseofcirculation theyofferand
theloweringofcostswhichresultcannotfailtoencouragecombined
carriage.
Thefinancialimplications ofthelocalisation ofthese
transshipment centrescanbeveryimportant.Themulti-modal nature
ofthesecentresinfactrequiresthattheyshouldbesurrounded by
sufficient andfluidroadroutes.
Inthissector,financialactionbytheStatesandbythe
Communitycouldbenecessaryintheformofsubsidiesfixedata
ratebasedonaproportionofthecorresponding infrastructure costs
andonthenecessaryequipmentfortheroadshareofthetechnique.
Suchactionsshouldbeplannedtogetherandcarriedout
withintheframeworkofanoverallplanwithanintegratedviewnot
onlyfor"ferroutage"butalsoforthegantrycranesatthe"trans-
container"yardswhichcouldbecommonuseronconditionthatpayment
ismadefortheiruse.
4.2.5.Rollingstock
Investments inrailrollingstockareusuallymadebythe
railwaysconcerned.InFrance,nevertheless,itisthe"Societe
d'Equipement desGrandsItineraires"(SEGI)whichbuysthenecessary
specialwagons.Whenthiscompanywassetupbanksandbuildersof
rollingstockprovidedcapitalandarethereforeconcernedinthe
development ofcombinedtransport.
TheSEGIdrawsupitsordersonthebasisoftheneeds
expressedbyNOVATRANSandhiresoutallitsvehiclestocktothat
companyforalengthoftimeequivalenttotheusualuseand
amortisation periodofthewagons.
Inordertoensuretheoptimumadaptationofthevehicle
stocktotheneedsatCommunitylevelonewonderswhetheritmight
notbeworthwhilecreatinganinternational companyonthelines"of
theSEGIcompany.
Thiscompanycouldprogressively encouragegreateruniformity
ofthetoogreatdiversityof"ferroutage"techniqueswhichleadsto
poorprofitability oftheinvestments.

-11-
Infactthemultiplicity oftechniques bothontherailways
sicewiththedifferenttypesofwagonandontheroads^dewith
thevarietyofsemi-trailers oragainthediversityofhandling
metliods leadtoawastane
ofresources,especially attheinternational level.
Inconclusionitwouldbedesirableforthehauliers
concernedtoworktogethertowardsdefininguniformequipment .
4.2.6.Commercial organisation
Aninvestigation intothepossibilities ofimprovingthe
organisation ofcombinedtransportismainlytheresponsibility
oftheundertakings themselves .
4.Z.6..1.AsfarasrailwaysareconcernedtheCommission has
theimpression,confirmedmoreoverbytheexperts,thatanaction
basedonmoreconfidence andonabetterunderstanding ofthe
commoninterestwillusefullycontribute towardsadevelopment of
thisinterestingtraffic.
TheCommission hasnocriticisms toofferonany
particularpoints.Howeverithashighlighted apointwhichis
capableofbeingimproved.Itconcernsitsproposalaimingat
mutualcommunication ofthespecificcostsofcarriagebycomplete
trainsinwhichsomerailwayundertakings participate (1).
Theideabehindthissuggestion,i.e.greaterco-operation
betweentherailwayundertakings ,couldbedevelopedfurtherthan
theaspectofcostsalone.
4.2.6.2.Asfarasroadhauliersandforwarding agentsare
concernedthecreationofspecialized companiesforcombinedcarr-'age
hasledtothesolutionofmanyorganizational problems,and
withoutdoubtthemostimportantones.•Duringconsultation between
theCommission'sservicesandtherelevantsectorsthequestion
wasaskedastowhetheranappealwouldbeusefulwhenthe
opportunity offers,totheservicesofthe"Bureauderapprochement
desentreprises"(setupintheCommission )inordertofinda
solutiontothepresentorfutureproblemsconcerning combined
carriage.
TheCommission wouldmerelyputforwardthisidea.
Incaseswherethegovernments alsoconsiderthatthisideais
worthtakingintoconsideration thereisnothingtostopthis
questionbeingstudiedmoredeeply.
Nevertheless ,intheCommission'sview,problemsof
organization shouldbesettledfirstofallbytheundertakings
themselves .Thisholdsforthesizeofcombinedcarriageunder­
takings,thebreadthoftheirfieldofactivity,theircommercial
activities aswellas"lastbutnotleast"theircompetitive
policy(includingthefairlydelicatequestionoftheirbehaviour
visavisthecompaniesforthetransportofcontainers whichare
suosidiaries oftherailwaycompanies).
<1)Article6oftheproposedCouncil(EEC)regulationconcerning thefixing
ofuniformprinciplesforthecalculation ofthecost:ofrailway
undertakings <CJN°C155/10of2July1977)

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4*2.6.3.Onthesamelinesitisworthmentioningalsothattheshareof
ownaccounttransportincombinedcarriagedoesnotseemtohavebeen
settledeverywhereinasatisfactory way.Whateverthecircumstances the
own-accountrepresentatives complainofthefactthatinsomeMember
Statestheirdirectadmissiontocombinedcarriageworkismadedifficult
byexaggeratedconditionsinthesectorsoffixingofratesandoforganis­
ation,especiallybymakingthemworkthroughtransportagents.
Ontheonehandonecainotcriticisetherailwayundertakings forselling
theircombinedcarriageservicesatagreatercosttoasinglefirmusing
combinedcarriageonownaccountthantomajorcustomerssuchasspecialised
combinedcarriagecompanies.Theselatteradvancetheargumentthatthey
areresponsibleprimarilyforlookingaftertheinterestsoftheirmembers.
But,ontheotherhand,itdoesnotseemjustifiedtorequiretheservices
ofatransportagenteverytime.
Asolutioncouldbefoundinfixingaratewhichiseconomically justified
andwhichdoesnotallowanydiscrimination forown-accounttransport.
Inadditionthegreatertheshareoftheselatterincombinedcarriage
thegreatertheneedtocalluponthespecialised combinedcarriagecom­
panies,whichwillalsoprovidethemwitheconomicadvantages .
5.CONCLUSIONS
5-1•Thelistofproblemsaboveisnodoubtnon-exhaustive .The
Commissioncanonlyhighlightthosesituationsofwhichithasbeenin­
formedbytherelevanteconomicsectors.Itisnotoutofthequestion
thatthediscussionofthisreportwillrevealetherfeaturestobein­
cludedortheneedtomakesomecorrections .
Neverthelessitisworthwhileagaindrawingattentiontothe
factthattheCommission,inaccordancewithitstermsofreference,
hasrefrainedfromsubmittingconcreteproposalsonthecombinedtrans­
port.
5.2.TheCommission,inaccordancewithsub-paragraph 2ofArticle7
ofthedirective,coveredbythisreport,willsubmitaproposalduring
1978onthemeasurestobeimplementedinordertoencouragethedevelop­
mentof"ferroutage"whichwillreplacethesystemsetupunderthe
presentdirectiveafter31Deoember1978*

ANNEXI
Pointsofviewexpressedbythecarriersandtheusers
interestedincombinedcarriage
Railways'pointofview
Therailwayundertakings madetheobservationthattheliberalisat-
ionofcombinedcarriagehashadapositiveinfluence onthebehaviour
ofsomeroadtransportundertakings whichhaveadaptedtheirinvestment
planstothepossibilities ofcombinedcarriage.
Ontheotherhand,theyconsiderthattheeffectofthisfreedom
couldhavebeenmorefavourableifthequotasfor"pure"roadtransport,
wheretheyexist,hadbeenstabilisedorreduced.Therailwaysstatethat
therehasbeenrathermoreatendencytowardsincreasingthequotasand
thatthegreaterfreedomresultingfromthedirectivehasledtoincreased
competition .
Therailwayundertakings areinfavourofmeasureswhichwouldtend
todevelopcombinedcarriagemore,evenifthiswerecombinedwitha
revenuewhichwasinferiortothatobtainedfromothertraffic.Butthey
demand,inreturn,thatthistrafficshouldbedeductedfromroadhaulage
andnotfromrailwaytrafficwhichiscarriedoutbyothermoreprofitable
railtechniques.
Itisforthisreasonthattheyareinfavourofanadjustmentof
theroadtransportquotasbasedontheactivityrecordedforcombined
carriagefollowingitspossibledevelopment .Inthisreportthewhole
rangeof"pureroad"transportactivityand"combinedtransport"should
beconsidered asroadactivities .
Therailwaysdonot,throughthesedemands,wishtointerferein
thecommercial managementoftheroadhauliers.
Pointofviewofthehireandrewardroadhauliers
Theprofessional carriersoffreightbyroadconsider,ontheother
hand,thatthedirectiveiscapableofdistortingtheconditionsofcom­
petitionbetweenthecombinedcarriagetechniqueandthatoftheclassical
carriageoffreightbyroad.Thisinfluencewouldbeespeciallystrength­
enedifthedirectiveanditsobjectiveswereusedasapretextforre­
fusingnecessaryalterations oftheauthorisation systemforaccessto
themarketintheroadgoodstransportmarket.
Inadditiontheroadhauliersfearthattherailwayscouldcancel
thecombinedcarriageservicesordiscouragetheirdevelopment byalter­
ingthetariffsorbyrefusingtoimprovetheorganisation oftheser­
vices.Suchactioncouldaffecttheirindependence .
/•

ANNEXI
Despitethesereservations hireandrewardroadhauliersarein
favourofanextensionofthedirectiveoncondition,however,thatno
connectionisestablished "betweentheregulation andcontractof
combinedcarriageandthatofroadgoodstransportcapacity,andthat
inthisregardthepromotionofcombinedcarriagestaysneutral.
3.Pointofviewofown-account roadhauliersandusers
Thepointofviewoftheown-accounthaulierismoreorlessthesame.
Thistransportsectorisalsoopposedtotheideathatcombinedcarriage
shouldbeusedasaninstrument "against"roadhaulageand"infavour"
oftherailways.Itunderlinesespeciallytheneedtoleavethecommercial
managementofcombinedcarriagetotheroadtransportundertakings .
Thisopinionisinaccordancewiththethemeofthetransportusers
whichisalsoagainstany"artificial"co-ordination betweenrailwayand
roadandwhichconsidersthatitwouldbeaswell,firstofall,toleave
thedecisioninthematteroffuturedevelopment ofcombinedcarriageto
themarketsituation.
4.Pointofviewofthecommercial combinedtransportcompanies
ThemembercompaniesofU.I.R.R.(UnionInternationale destrans­
portscombinesrail/route)areingeneralpositiveasregardsthe
directive.Inparticulartheypointoutthereductionintheadministrat­
ivestructureandtheremovalofcertaindisadvantages suchasthedelays
causedbythelossofauthorisations ,thetimerequiredforobtaining
themandtherefusalofloadsbecauseofunrenewedauthorisations .In
generaltheseundertakings notedagreaterflexibilityinoperations.
Inanycasetheyareinfavourofmaintainingthepresentsystemevenifonlybecauseofthebrieflengthoftheexperimental periodsince
1October1975•

Developmentofrail/roadtraffic
Majorinternational traffiolinks
Wagonsusedforcombinedcarriage
Maindepots(terminals)forcoinbined
carriage

Developmentofrail/roadcombinedoarriagesince1971 Table1insemi-trailers (includingvehiclecombinations)andswopbodiesof12mand2*7m„,,«
(indicescalculatedinrelationto1971) ^erin1?00units- Tonnagein1000tonnes
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1975
NCVATRANS
Semi-trailersHum­
berQross
TonnesIndexNum­
berCross
TonnesIndexdum­
berCross
TonnesIndexNum­
berCross
TonnesIndexNum­
berGros3
TonnesIndexNum­
berI■Cross
ITonnesIndex
iNational 541.076100591.150107641.254117721.366127621.108103671.186110
!International 163271001839312022482147245141571838011623500153
1Svropbodies
jNational 35510046612057814046311534785460•108
{International 1I2013161
]TOTAL 1.458100 1.6091101.8141241.9431331.5551061.807124
ITRW
ISemi-trailers
IInternational(Total)362100492148615625251272053671097183295
fTRAILSTAR
}Serai-trallers !
International
(Total)71381006134976126915108786125918187136
|HUPAC
iSari-trallers .
National
International5
0.5123100
1006
2)1831496
3(2562087
4S2862338
6(35428815
10(655533
!Swopbodies
IInternational 1 2 2 2 3
TOTAL 123100 183149 256208 286233 354288 655533

Taole1■
page2
KOCTITSTcSHR
Serai–Trailera
National
International
SwopEodles
National
International33
0.5
391.20010032
3
62
11.65013834
6
79
22.10017528
6
97
22.20018329
8
92
22.20018328
13
103
32.500i1)
TOTAL 1.200100 1.6501382.1001752.200183 2.200183 2.500
OVERALLTOTALSessssssssssssa
NOVATRANS
TRW
TRAILSTAR
HUPAC
KQKBIVERKEHR1.458
62
138
123
1.20049,3$
2|lf
4,6$
4,l[o
39,9^1.609
92
134
183
1.65043,95»
2,5f
3,7f
4,9%
I1.814
156
126
256
2.10040,Τγ
3.5Ç
2,8fo
5,8^o
47.2^5
L1.943
127
108
286
2.20041,Tf
2,7|
2,3|
6,l£
47,2fo1.555
67
125
354
2.20036^
8|2^
51,lf»1.807
183
I87
655
2.500
2.981100«3.668100%4.452100554.664100^4.3011004.5.332100£
s)eetimatedfigure

MajorTrafficLinksTaoie2
N°Companies TrafficLink Departure Arrivai
Eay/TimeDay/Time
1NovatranB.TrailstarRotterdam–Hendaye A19.30 C9.00
return Â19.00 C8.00
2II ηRotterdam–Marseilles A19.30 C7.30
return A18.45 C8.00
3•• nRotterdam–Perpignan A19.30 G11.30
return A20.00 C8.oc
4ft IVRotterdam–Milan A19.30 C9.00
return A19.30 C8.oo
5Novatrans,TRWAntwerp–Hendaye A18.00.C9.00
return A19.00 C7.30
6n wAntwerp–Perpignan A18.00 C11.30
return A20.00 C7.30
7tt IVAntwerp–Milan A18.00 C9.00
return A19.30 C7.30
8It ftAntwerp-Novara A18.00 C8.00
return A20.30 C7.30
9-12n nBrussels–(see
Antwerp
13n iiBrussels–Toulouse A18.30 C7.45
return A20.30 C7.30
14It t!Brussels-Bologna A18.30 D8.30
return A15.00 D7.30
15it nBrussels–Rome A18.30 D18.00
return A20.00 D7.30
16-21n nCharleroi–(see
Brussels)
22tt tiCharleroi–Marseilles A18.30 C7.30
return A18.45 C7.30
23η nCharleroi–Turin A18.30 C7.45
return A17.30 C7.30
24-27n nLiege–(seeBrussels)
28It MParis–Brussels A19.00 Β7.30
return A18.30 Β6.30
29n nParis–Charleroi A19.00 Β7.30
return A18.30 Β6.30
Source:UIRR

-2-
S® Coupâmes TraffxcLink Departure
Day/TimeArrivai
Day/Time
30Novatrans Pans-Bologna A19.00 Cε.30
return A15.00 C6.30
31•IParis-Milan A19.00 C9.00
return A19.30 C6.30
32MParis-ÎJovara A19.00 C8.00
return A20.30 C6.30
33iiParis-Rome A19.00 D18.00
return A20.00 D6.30
34iiParis-Turin A19.00 C7••■15
return A17.30 C6.30
35ftLeHavre–Hendaye A11.00 39.00
return A19.00 Cν-/·-Ό
36iiLeHavre–Perpignan A11.00 Β11.30
return A20.00 C7.30
37tfLeHavre–Milan A11.00 C9.co
return A19.30 C16.00
38ηLeHavre-Novara A11.00 Ce.r?
return A20.30 CIÔ.C-0
39I»Dankerre-Milan A18.30 CΟ
return A19.30 CΟ->o.30
40•nDunkerk-Novara A18.30 C9.oo
return A20.30 C8.30
41I!Dunkerk-Turin A18.30 D7.45
return A17.30 C17.30
42III)unkeiic-Rome A18.30 D18.00
return A20.00 D8.30
43•iDunkerk-Bo1ogna A18.30 D16.00
return A15.00 D8.30
44V!Turin-Kendaye A17.30 C17.00
return A9.30 D7.45
4511Turin-LeHavre A17.30 C16.00
return A11.00 C7.45
46nTurin-Lille A17.30 C7.oo
return A19.00 D7.-15
47nTurin-Perpignan A17.30 C11.30
return A20.00 D7.45
8Hovrâtrans,T.R.W.Turin-Brussels A17.30 C7.30
return A18.30 D#ΤΛI-
I•J
49n fiTurin-Liege A17.30 Ci.return A18.30 D7.45
50Η I»Milan–Hendaye A19.30 C17.00
return A19.00 D9.00

-3
Νβ Companies TrafficLxnkDeparture Arrival
Day/TimeDay/Tin.e
51Novatrans Milan-Lille A19.30 C7.00
return A19.00 C9.00
52ηMilan-Lyons A19.30 C7.00
return A20.15 C9.00
53ItNilan-Perpignan A19.30 C11.30
return A20.00 C9.00
54nNovara-Rendaye A20.30 C17.00
return A19.00 Do.CO
55II Novara–Lille A20.30 C7.00
return A19.00 C8.00
56IINovarar-Perpignan A20.30 C11.30
return A20.00 CH.no
57nNovara^-St.Quentin A20.30 C-irr\r>
return A11.30 Cf.co
58Novatrans,KombiCologne–Paris A18.45 Β6.00
return A19.45 Β6.15
59If IICologne–Perpignan A18.45 C11.30
retum A20.00 C
6019 IIWuppertal–Lyons A19.00 CO
return A20.00 C7.00
61Kombi.Trailstar Rotterdam-Munich A15.00 Β8.40
return A19.00 Β12.30
62II ItRotterdam–Maimheim A15.00 Β6.40
return A19.30 Β12.30
63Kombi,Hupac Cologne–Mailand A19»30 Β6.00
return A12.00 Β7.00
64nnCologne-Melide A19.30 Β13.15
return A15«00 Β7.oo
65II IICologne-Wohlen A19.30 Β8.30
return A19.00 Β7.00
66-68n i»Neuss–(seeCologne)
69-71n iiMannheim(seeCologne)

-4-
K° Companies TrafficLinkDeparture Arrivai
Day/TimeDay/Tirr.e
72Kombi,Ferpao Cologne–Verona A17.30 Β13.00
return A17.50 Β13.30
73tlCologne–LjubljanaA17.30 Β16.00
return A17.00 Β14.30
74•tKunich-Liubljana A11.00 Β02.00
return A21.00 Β10.00
75Trailstar,Hupao Rotterdam-Milan A15.00 C6.00
return A10.00 Β12.30
76h HRotterdam-Melide A15.00 Β15.00
return A15.00 Β12.30

Table 3
Wagon fleet used forcombined carriage
Specialised wagons for :
Owners Tug-units and Semi-trailers "pocket "Swop Total
lorries wagons Bodies
2 4 4 2
axles bogies bogies axles
Sofra mixte
ALGECO
SEGI
SNCF
Novatrans1398
470
5080
3050 50
98
550
63
30
France 13 98 520 110 50 791
DB • 65 320 107 988 1.0?0
ïïupac 36 10 104 150
OeBB 20 20
PS 6 6
ASC 5 5
SJ 36 200 236
Total 140 108 944 258 838 2.288
ofwhich
international45 500 30
Source :U.I«R«R «

Table4
Maindepots(terminals)forcombinedrail/roadcarriage
Transshipping method
horizontal vertical
GERMANY:BERLIN(West) X
BIELEFELD X
BOCHUK X X
BREMEN X X
FRANKFURT X X
JHAMBURG X X
HANNOVER X
KARLSRUHE X
COLOGNE X X
LUDWIGSBURG
viaStuttgart X X
MANNHEIM X X
ΜϋΝΙΟΗ χ χ
ΝΕΙΙ33 Χ X
NEU-ULM X
ΝυΚΕΚΒΕΕΟ Χ Χ
νΤϋΓΡΕΗΤΑΙί Χ Χ
BELGIUM :ANTWERP X X
ΒΗϋ33ΕΧ5 Χ Χ
ΟΗΑΤΕΙ,ΙΝΕΑυ Χ
LIEGE X
OSTENDTerminal X –
Huckepack
FRANCE :AVIGNON X X
ΒΟκΏΕΑυΧ Χ Χ
DAX X
DIJON X
ΏυΝΚΕΚΚ χ
GRENOBLE X
HENDAYE X
LEHAVRE X X
υΠαΕ χ χ
LORIENT X
Ι<Υ0Ν3 'Χ Χ
ΜΑΗ5ΕΙΙιΙ<Ε3 Χ Χ
METZ X
κυι,ΗουδΕ χ
NANCY X
NANTES X
NICE X
ΡΑΚΙ8 Χ Χ
ΡΑυ χ χ
ΡΕΗΡΙΟΝΑΝ Χ Χ
ΗΗΕΙΠ3 Χ
REI>n®S • X
ROANNE X
STBRIEUC X

Transshipping method
horizontal vertical
FRANCE :ST.ETIENNE
ST.QUENTIN
SETE
STRASBOURG
TOULOUSE
HLM
VERONAX
X X
X X
TRAPPES X
NETHERLANDS :ROTTERDAM X
ITALY !BOLOGNA XX x
NOVARA x
ROME X
TURIN Xχ Χ
SWITZERLAND :BALE X
DE/Lugano X
Source :U.I.R.R »