WRITTEN QUESTION E-1737/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 June 2001)

Subject: Unviable investments and persistent shortages of rail freight transport capacity between the Netherlands and Italy

1. Is the Commission aware that the Netherlands is currently investing very heavily in the construction of a large-capacity crossing-free long-distance freight railway line, namely the Betuwe line which will provide an east-west link between the port of Rotterdam and Zevenaar on the Dutch-German border, at a cost of 4,4 billion?

2. Is the Commission aware that Switzerland is likewise investing very heavily in the construction of large-capacity crossing-free long-distance freight railway lines, namely the Gotthard base tunnel for the north-south route between Zurich and Chiasso, which, together with parallel rail tunnels through the Alps, will cost 19 billion?

3. Is the Commission furthermore aware that, in making these investments, the Netherlands and Switzerland are assuming that rail freight transport will grow rapidly between 2006 and 2010 on the already heavily used route Rotterdam-Cologne-Basle-Milan-Genoa as part of a trans-European freight network, a route much of which therefore runs through the territory of Germany, while a smaller section runs through Italy?

4. Does the Commission agree that relatively little use is likely to be made of the new Dutch and Swiss lines in relation to the amount of investment required if and for so long as capacity on the intermediate lines remains inadequate, different regulations in each country impede the swift and smooth movement of freight trains, road haulage capacity is increased and tax cuts are used to cushion road haulage against the rising fuel prices charged by oil companies?

5. Under these circumstances, is it desirable for Dutch investment to be reduced or German investment to be increased, so that the infrastructures are better tailored to each other? What contribution could the Commission make to this?

Source: De Volkskrant (Dutch newspaper) of 21 May 2001

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(6 September 2001)

1. For a number of years, the Community has played an active role, via the trans-European transport network budget, in funding the Betuwe line, which is one of the 14 priority projects identified in Annex III to the guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network (Decision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23/07/96). This sustained funding will continue under the 2001-2006 financial perspective.

2., 3. and 5. The Commission is closely monitoring progress on the new rail crossings in Switzerland, which, when operational, will significantly increase the capacity of the North/South rail links in Europe. Part of the funds in the 2001-2006 trans-European network budget intended for the elimination of rail bottlenecks is therefore being spent on a number of important projects in Germany and Italy aimed at improving the capacity of the lines linking up to these new Swiss rail infrastructures, including the Offenburg (D) - Basle (CH) section and lines around Milan.

At the beginning of June 2001, the Domodossola - Novara line (cofunded under the trans-European transport network budget) was brought back into service after major modernisation work. This line, which forms part of the extension of the Simplon route, now allows freight trains, including combined transport operations, to link Switzerland with the port of Genoa, avoiding the Milan intersection and cutting journey times significantly.

Indeed, when these new Alpine crossings and Betuwe line are completed, the capacity of the infrastructures on the entire Netherlands/Italy route will have been increased considerably, which will allow an improved rail service, including freight.

Moreover, it should be pointed out that among the other priority projects listed in Annex III of the abovementioned decision are two new Alpine crossings, one between France and Italy (Mont Cenis) and the other between Austria and Italy (Brenner), which by 2015 will further increase the capacity of the North/South routes. This is in line with the wishes expressed by the European Council, meeting in Gothenburg in June 2001, which called on the Community institutions to give priority to investments particularly in the railways, in order to promote sustainable development.

In this connection, in addition to infrastructure funding, the Commission has identified a whole range of measures, the first package of which was adopted by the Council in December 2000, aimed at making rail more competitive and attractive in the context of the opening up of the rail freight market.

4. The Commission shares the view that optimum conditions for the competitiveness of freight transport by rail do not exist at present. The juxtaposition of technical and safety rules at national level and the inability of the railway companies to find satisfactory common solutions have severely handicapped rail freight.

For this reason, the Directive on the interoperability of conventional rail systems(1) established the framework for drawing up technical specifications for interoperability. This work, which began this year, gives priority to rail freight. The objective is to establish a European rail area without technical or legal frontiers enabling freight to develop on a competitive basis.

As regards the conditions governing competition between rail and road, the Commission considers it necessary to review the tariff bases for the various modes, taking account of external costs, in order to restore the balance in favour of the most environmentally friendly modes such as rail, waterways or short sea shipping.

(1) OJ L 110, 20.4.2001.