European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee on the progress of the implementation of the action programme of the communication on intermodality and intermodal freight transport in the European Union (COM(1997) 243 of 29 May 1997) (COM(1999) 519 — C5-0084/2000 — 2000/2052(COS))
Date: 2001-01-18
Institutions: Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament
Subjects: carriage of goods, combined transport, common transport policy, organisation of transport, trans-European network, transport network

18.9.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 262/241

Thursday 18 January 2001

5.

Intermodality and intermodal freight transport

A5-0358/2000

European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee on the progress of the implemen-
tation of the action programme of the communication on intermodality and intermodal freight
transport in the European Union (COM(1997) 243 of 29 May 1997) (COM(1999) 519 + C5-0084/
2000 + 2000/2052(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the communication from the Commission (COM(1999) 519 (cid:1) C5-0084/2000),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission White Paper entitled ‘Fair payment for infrastructure use: a phased
approach to a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU’ (COM(1998) 466),

(cid:1) having regard to the recent communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parlia-
ment and the Economic and Social Committee entitled ‘The Development of Short Sea Shipping in
Europe: A dynamic alternative in a sustainable transport chain (cid:1) Second two-yearly progress report’
(COM(1999) 317),

(cid:1) having regard to the work under way at the European Parliament on this matter,

(cid:1) having regard to the current proposals for the liberalisation of the railway sector,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0358/

2000),

A. whereas intermodality, namely the use of at least two different modes in an integrated manner in a
door-to-door transport chain, is fundamental to ensuring a more rational use of the means of trans-
port available and involves integrating the operations and management of the various transport modes
by using them in sequence and on the basis of units of transport, that is to say without the need to
divide up, alter or handle the goods that they carry,

B. whereas the development of a multimodal transport system is of vital importance for the whole Euro-
pean Union and neighbouring areas to ensure the efficient, viable and sustainable transport of goods
and thus the competitive potential of the European processing and distribution industry in an increas-
ingly competitive world market,

C. whereas intermodality contrasts sharply with multimodality (cid:1) the combined use of different carriers,

D. whereas, at present, intermodal transport of load units in the EU remains limited, and is estimated to

account for no more than 8 % of total tonne-kilometres,

E. whereas there will be a disproportionate increase in the volume of freight traffic in the European
Union in the next few years as a result of the growing use of e-commerce and enlargement of the
European Union,

F. whereas enlargement of the European Union will make transport routes longer, which may impact
favourably on the development of intermodal transport if the requisite legal, technical and operating
conditions are created,

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G. whereas, as matters stand, the technical nature of intermodal transport makes it costly in comparison
with unimodal transport; whereas the high friction costs resulting both from inadequate infrastructure
and inefficiency in the management and information spheres are clearly affecting the operational capa-
city and competitiveness of intermodality,

H. whereas the competitive disadvantages of intermodal transport arise partly from the tax advantage
enjoyed by road transport, which is why it is necessary to press ahead with introduction of the
‘polluter pays’ principle, in the form of comparable charges for the use of all transport modes,

I. whereas, at present, a change of transport mode involves a change of system rather than a mere
technical transfer, as a result of the bottlenecks in the intermodal system which are preventing it
from being fully operational and used more widely,

J. whereas intermodality helps improve the quality and efficiency of its allied services; whereas the

demand for intermodal transport across Europe is set to grow,

K. whereas the overall efficiency of the system is achieved by means of an integrated system of transport
services and logistics designed to ensure that information is exchanged in real time and the consign-
ment delivered directly to the end user,

L. whereas the development of short sea shipping can be a way of improving the integration of logistical

systems and finding solutions to general European transport problems,

M. whereas the various component parts of the system should be optimised in respect of infrastructure
and hardware (carriers, load units and telecommunications) and of services and regulatory and con-
tractual conditions through greater cooperation between the various modes of transport, in order to
increase the added value derived from the utilisation thereof,

N. whereas the handling of loads (intermodal transport units (cid:1) ITUs) requires investment to identify and
allot suitably equipped areas, reutilise logistical rail platforms which have generally been discarded,
employ specialised machinery for handling ITUs, build rolling stock and specialised carriers, and
train staff, so as to bring down friction costs,

O. whereas intermodality constitutes a key factor in sustainable mobility, since it is more environmentally
friendly than road transport and allows for better use of existing infrastructure, notably the railways,

P. whereas new technologies and the impact, in terms of efficiency, of telematic applications on the
sector can provide opportunities to guarantee seamless transport flows, security and integrity at the
various stages of the intermodal chain, particularly as regards the tracking, tracing and supervision of
cargo, automatic access control and management of equipment, and integrated freight information
management,

Q. whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1107/70 on aid to combined transport (1) should be updated to
take account of the developments in, and increasing liberalisation of, transport sectors over the past
30 years,

R. whereas intermodality is a key factor in restoring a balance between the various transport systems,

1.
Emphasises the need to develop a trans-European transport network designed to act as a multimodal
infrastructure network capable of combining and integrating the various modes of transport with the aim
of utilising the most environmentally friendly and efficient mode for each component, with a view to
developing further the internal market, freight mobility and real competition, as well as strengthening
economic and social cohesion;

(1) OJ L 130, 15.6.1970, p. 1.

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2.
Calls on the Commission to bear in mind the legal, technical and operating conditions of intermodal
transport in the accession negotiations, decisions on the allocation of ISPA resources, etc., and to ensure
the highest possible proportion of intermodal transport in freight traffic with the candidate countries;

3.
Stresses that intermodality is fundamental to sustainable mobility and that, by increasing transport
efficiency, it helps achieve a better and more accessible service, greater security, more environmentally
friendly transport, a reduction in pollution, less congestion in large urban areas and on the roads, and
the full use of human potential;

4.
Calls on the Commission to keep up its efforts to achieve the same conditions of competition for the
various modes of transport by common charging rules for the allocation of infrastructure and external
costs to transport users; at the same time calls on the Member States to aim for an equally high tax burden
on all modes of transport;

5.
Calls for the definition, within the development plan for the Community area, of a European master
plan for intermodal facilities making it possible to mobilise and direct public and private investment to
appropriate strategic sites in order to limit the growth of long-distance heavy goods vehicle traffic and the
resulting environmental damage, particularly in countries of transit;

Congratulates the Commission on the setting-up of the Transport Intermodality Task Force, and calls

6.
on it to pursue efforts to establish intermodality as a concept;

Hopes in this connection that regular inventories of the development of intermodal equipment and

7.
traffic will be drawn up and forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council;

8. Welcomes the extension of the Pilot Actions in Combined Transport (PACT) programme, which is
helping improve the competitiveness of combined transport in terms of switching the carriage of goods by
road to other more environmentally friendly transport modes; calls for the new PACT-Programme also to
support project promoters and projects in the countries with which the European Union is conducting
accession negotiations;

Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to ensure that attention is also paid to

9.
intermodal transport infrastructure in plans for the use of the Structural Funds and NOPs;

10. Welcomes the fact that Switzerland is continuing its policy of developing the rail network in the
Alpine region, paying attention to intermodality in the context of relations with the European Union, and
notes, with concern, the delay in the completion of the trans-European rail network through the Alps
(the Brenner and Turin-Lyon) and in the planning out of possible new rail routes in the Alps (Aosta-Mar-
tigny) in order to help reduce the volume of heavy traffic in transit through the Alps;

Calls on the Commission and the European Investment Bank to ensure that intermodal investment
11.
projects are adequately represented within cofinancing initiatives relating to the trans-European transport
networks (TEN-T), above all where they provide for investments in technologies for setting-up and man-
agement;

12.
Calls on the Commission to concentrate ISPA resources to a great extent on the railways so as to
maintain at least in part the previously very strong position of the central and eastern European railways in
freight transport;

13.
Calls on the Commission to support cooperation between the national bodies responsible for inter-
modal transport with the aim of gathering information, identifying best practices and furthering market
acceptance of innovation, by encouraging operators in the sector to make full use of the findings of
research projects and involving them in the formulation of initiatives aimed at achieving the aims of the
action programme;

14. Welcomes the Commission plan to cofinance the Interact initiative aimed at setting up an open
European network of universities and research institutes which will help develop a comprehensive database
on European research in the intermodal freight transport sector;

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Calls on the Commission to switch the emphasis in the forthcoming Sixth framework research

15.
programme more towards the intermodal capability of transport networks;

Calls on the Member States to set up round tables on intermodality with operators and users in the
16.
sector with a view to establishing an informal network to detect shortcomings in the sector, identify poss-
ible solutions and provide for the training of specialist staff;

17.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote cooperation projects between small
and medium-sized haulage businesses and rail and shipping enterprises, and to provide for incentives and
benefits for transport undertakings which take part in an intermodal chain;

18.
Hopes that a working group composed of road, port and railway companies and operators will be
set up to consider the conditions and standards required to ensure a better level of intermodal interoper-
ability of equipment;

19.
Hopes that the recent Commission proposals on liberalisation of the railway sector will serve to
create conditions conducive to investment in that sector, so as to enable it to take part in intermodal
transport in the future rather than remain the weak link in the chain; in this context urges the railway
companies to deal with the problems in their sector;

20.
Underlines the importance of the new technologies which the information society offers and the
need to develop and install integrated information and management systems and standardised administra-
tive procedures such as the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange);

Calls on the Council to reach a decision on the introduction of the Galileo satellite navigation

21.
system as this advanced technology is a key technology for intermodal transport;

22.
Supports the establishment of an electronic market for intermodal freight transport, which allows
transport users to choose the best possible itinerary for goods and order their preferred services online,
thereby making the market transparent and opening up opportunities for new operators;

23.
Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support the establishment of firms specialising
in intermodal services (e.g. value-added services), as such firms are the key to actually getting intermodal
information and transport services onto the market;

Points out that priority should be given to developing trans-European rail freight corridors operat-

24.
ing in an intermodal environment;

25.
Considers that short sea shipping is an environmentally friendly and safe alternative to road trans-
port and therefore believes it is essential to increase the proportion of freight transport accounted for by
short sea shipping; calls on the national governments to take the requisite measures to encourage the use
of short sea shipping, for instance by providing investment support to short sea shipping projects which
can demonstrate the importance of short sea shipping in effective intermodal transport systems and by
removing all barriers; calls on the Commission to grant start-up aid from the existing European funds to
promote short sea shipping and to frame the planned combined transport support measures in such a way
that they can apply easily to short sea shipping;

26.
Hopes therefore that, within the framework of a general incentive programme for the use of inter-
modal transport chains by the creation of new interports, support measures will be directed at ports in
peripheral areas in order to provide them with appropriate and competitive structures;

27.
Stresses the need to give priority to the requirements and conditions common to the peripheral
regions and islands, as well as those regions whose development is lagging behind and which are suffering
from serious structural shortcomings, particularly in the trans-European networks sector;

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28.
Stresses that efficient and sustainable management of goods collection and distribution at the poles
of intermodal transport operations is an essential aspect of the whole intermodal transport system which
needs special consideration, especially when it affects large or congested urban areas;

Calls on the Member States and the Commission to set up a single, transparent scheme for inter-

29.
modal transport, which is easy to enforce, in order to facilitate and encourage this transport system;

Hopes that the candidate countries will be involved in establishing the Union’s policies, priorities

30.
and initiatives on the development of intermodality;

Calls on the Commission to devote particular attention to drafting regulations on intermodal door-

31.
to-door liability and developing a corresponding transport document;

32.
Calls on the Commission to draw up a programme on the lines of the earlier KAROLUS pro-
gramme for international exchanges of officials from different transport modes, with the aim of increasing
employees’ mutual understanding of intermodality and cross-border operations;

33.
Calls on the bodies responsible in the Member States and the candidate countries to include inter-
modal transport in the syllabuses of those undergoing professional or further training in the transport or
freight forwarding sectors;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European

34.
Investment Bank and the governments of the Member States.

6. Charging for the use of transport infrastructure

A5-0345/2000

European Parliament resolution on transport infrastructure charging (2000/2030(INI))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission’s Green Paper entitled ‘Towards fair and efficient pricing in transport
European

policy (cid:1) options
Union’(COM(1995) 691) and its resolution of 30 January 1997 (1) thereon,

internalising

costs of

transport

external

in the

the

for

(cid:1) having regard to the High Level Group on transport infrastructure charging (HLG) final reports of

2 June 1988 on pricing principles and 26 May 1999 on estimating transport costs,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission’s White Paper entitled ‘Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use: A phased
approach to a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU’ (COM(1998) 466) and
its resolution of 15 April 1999 (2) thereon,

(cid:1) having regard to the HLG final report on options for charging directly for transport infrastructure

operating costs of 9 September 1999,

(cid:1) having regard to Petition 656/1999, on fair prices for goods transport (cid:1) heavy traffic levy for Europe,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 163 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (A5-0345/

2000),

(1) OJ C 55, 24.2.1997, p. 41.
(2) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 460.