WRITTEN QUESTION P-3073/97 by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ELDR) to the Commission (19 September 1997)

Subject: The freight transit negotiations between the EU and Switzerland

In the ongoing negotiations Switzerland has agreed to give up the 28-ton weight limit for lorries, in exchange for a transit fee for lorries. The Commission has in earlier negotiations rejected the possibility of imposing a special fee for lorries passing through the ecologically sensitive Alps. Furthermore, the Commission has proposed the construction of two new rail tunnels through the Alps, mainly to transfer the freight traffic from the roads to the railways.

How does the Commission reconcile its standpoint in the negotiations with the principles set out in the greenpaper 'Towards Fair and Efficient Pricing in Transport'? Will the Commission also say what are the environmental arguments in favour of a 'lorries-on-train' as opposed to a pure 'freight-on-train' strategy (containers and other forms of combined transport)?

Has there been any analysis of how a pure 'freight-on-train strategy would shift the mode of transport of freight in the rest of Europe towards a more environmentally sound transport of freight?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (14 October 1997)

One of the main objectives of the Community in the negotiations with Switzerland is to create a stable, efficient and sustainable policy regime for transport across the entire Alpine region.

The Commission agrees with the Swiss government that the elimination of the 28 ton limit should be followed by the introduction of a new charging system for road haulage which will be dependent on the actual use of the road infrastructure by each vehicle.

Moreover, the Commission does not oppose an additional charge levied for the four main alpine passes of the network if it is justified in economic and environmental terms. The Commission is therefore negotiating in full accordance with the principles of the green paper 'Towards fair and efficient pricing in transport' ((Doc. COM(95) 691 final. )). However, the charging should not be at levels which would maintain the existing volume of traffic diversion and neither should they be at levels which effectively prohibit road transport across Switzerland.

The Commission considers that, in appropriate circumstances, rolling road strategies ('lorries on train') are a useful means of freight movement. It is however actively promoting other forms of combined transport, including those in which containers on railway wagons are used for the main rail leg and road transport is used for the initial and/or final transport leg.

The rolling road strategy relates to a specific market and is particularly suitable for small road haulage companies, new entrants and for crossing geographical barriers. The present and possible future agreements with Switzerland refer to combined transport in the widest sense. In the short and medium term, however, 'rolling road' will be a necessary complement to a 'freight on train' system.

No specific analysis has been undertaken of the ways in which a 'pure freight on train strategy' would produce modal shift in freight since such a singular approach to achieving greater transport sustainability is not envisaged by anyone.