COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The planning methodology for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission Building the Transport Core Network: Core Network Corridors and Connecting Europe Facility
Date: 2014-01-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Community trunk route, cross-border cooperation, inland waterway, intelligent transport system, intra-EU transport, rail transport, road transport, trans-European network, transport infrastructure, transport network, transport planning














EUR-Lex - 52013SC0542 - EN











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52013SC0542

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The planning methodology for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission Building the Transport Core Network: Core Network Corridors and Connecting Europe Facility /* SWD/2013/0542 final */









COMMISSION STAFF
WORKING DOCUMENT
The planning
methodology for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)
Accompanying the
document
Communication
from the Commission 
Building the
Transport Core Network: Core Network Corridors and Connecting Europe Facility
This Staff Working
Document sets out the methodology for planning the trans-European transport
network (TEN-T), as it has been used by the European Commission, the European
Parliament and the Council in the legislative procedure adopting Regulation (EU)
No 1315/2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European
transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU.
The Commission had
based its proposal for the revision of the TEN-T guidelines in 2011[1] on an objective methodology[2]. This
methodology has been explained to the Council and the European Parliament, in
particular during a hearing organised in May 2012 in the Committee for
Transport and Tourism. Both Council and European Parliament have slightly
amended the methodology which has been consistently applied. Therefore, the
present Staff Working Document sets out the final methodology which has been
the basis for the maps contained in the Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013, in order
to support the review of the implementation of the core network as foreseen by
Article 54 or support third countries wishing to identify a core network on
their territory.
The methodology
features a dual layer network structure, comprising a comprehensive and a core
network. Full respect of relevant EU legislation has to be ensured when the
methodology is applied. 
The methodology
consists of a number of criteria which are consistently applied. In a first
step, the comprehensive network is identified (Chapter 1). In a second step,
parts of the comprehensive network are identified as the core network (Chapter
2). 
1.           The
Comprehensive Network
As the multimodal basic
layer of the TEN-T, the comprehensive network includes components for all
transport modes – rail, road, inland waterway, air and maritime as well as
their connecting points and corresponding traffic information and management
systems.
The comprehensive
network, essentially, results from updating and adjusting the current TEN­T, as
defined in Decision N° 661/2010/EU of the European Parliament and the Council
of 7 July on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European
transport network[3].

Updating and adjustment
abided by a number of principles as a result of the methodology used:
(1)                   
Update the current TEN-T to reflect progress in
its implementation and adjust it where necessary to changes in national
planning, in coherence with planning at EU level;
(2)                   
Add selected and well-defined missing links and
nodes, especially in Member States which have acceded to the EU since 2004,
where necessary to ensure a homogeneous network planning, a sound modal balance
and the interconnection of national networks, and to contribute significantly
to TEN-T objectives. Special attention is given in this context to network
density, which in principle correspond to NUTS 2 zones[4],
connecting their main urban nodes as directly as possible, and reflecting
spatial distribution of population and of economic and industrial activities.
Inland waterways have
to comply with Class IV according to UN-ECE, as a minimum.
(3)                   
Eliminate dead ends and isolated links in the
current TEN-T if not justified by geographical particularities, either by
removing such links or by extending them to close network meshes.
(4)                   
Ensure that minimum standards for infrastructure
and equipment are met in accordance with relevant legislation currently in
place (e.g. rail interoperability, road tunnel safety, inland waterway
categorisation).
(5)                   
Revise the selection of seaports which are open
for commercial traffic, according to at least one of the following specific criteria:

              Passengers: Seaports connected
to the land component of the comprehensive network with an annual traffic
volume exceeding 1‰ of the total annual EU maritime passenger traffic. This
annual traffic volume represents the average of the latest three-years totals
for which data covering all Member States are available from EUROSTAT[5]. 
              Freight: Seaports connected to
the land component of the comprehensive network with an annual traffic volume –
either for bulk or non-bulk cargo handling - that exceeds 1‰ of the
corresponding total annual cargo handled in EU ports. This annual traffic
volume represents the average of the latest three-years totals for which data
are available from EUROSTAT[6].

              Seaports located on islands, on
condition that they provide accessibility at NUTS 3 or archipelagos level.
              Seaports located in outermost
regions or peripheral areas, provided their road-distance from another TEN-T
port is at least 200 km on road.
(6)                   
Revise the selection of airports which are open
to commercial traffic, according to at least one of the following specific
criteria:
              Passengers: Airports with an
annual traffic volume exceeding 1 ‰ of the total annual EU air passenger
traffic. This annual traffic volume represents the average of the latest
three-years totals for which data are available from EUROSTAT[7].
              Freight:
Airports with an annual traffic volume exceeding 2 ‰ of the corresponding total
annual cargo handled in EU airports. This annual traffic volume represents the
average of the latest three-years totals for which EUROSTAT[8] data are available.
              Airports
located on islands.
              Airports
located in peripheral or landlocked areas, provided their distance from another
TEN-T airport is at least 100 km or, in case they are connected to a high-speed
railway line, at least 200 km.
(7)                   
For inland ports, the volume threshold set out
in Decision N° 661/2010/EU remains unchanged. Inland ports must be open to
commercial traffic, located on a TEN-T inland waterway and be interconnected
with other TEN-T road or rail infrastructure.
(8)                   
Add any multimodal platform which provides free
access to any logistics operator and fulfils one of the following specific
criteria:
              its transhipment volume exceeds
800.000 tons per year.
              it is connected to three TEN-T
modal network components or it is the main platform of a NUTS 2 region,
connected to two TEN-T modal network components.
2.           The
Core Network 
The core network is a
subset of the comprehensive network, overlaying it to represent the
strategically most important nodes and links of the trans-European transport
network. Therefore, only elements of the comprehensive network are selected for
the core network.
It is multi-modal –
i.e. it includes all transport modes and their connections as well as relevant
traffic management systems, in order to enable modal integration and multimodal
operation. At the level of links, exceptions from the multimodality principle
are acceptable only where a particular mode of transport does not exist (e.g.
inland waterways in many relations, Member States or islands without rail).
Further, a strong focus is given to interoperability within and across the
modes.
The core network is
identified in the following steps:
1.      Identification of the main nodes of the Core
Network:
              These are the nodes of the
highest strategic importance in the EU, which are identified in the first step
of the planning procedure:
–              
main nodes for passengers and freight,
–              
main nodes for freight only,
–              
main nodes for passengers only.
              There are two classes of main
nodes:
–              
primary main nodes (P), fulfilling the
corresponding criteria and therefore selected before shaping the network,
–              
secondary main nodes (S), resulting from shaping
the network and not shaping it, except for the "last mile" link at
local level.
2.      Identifying the links between the primary main
nodes:
              Multimodal links are selected
from the comprehensive network to connect the primary main nodes, following the
corresponding (potential) main traffic flows, as specified in 2.2.
              Applying this methodology on
inland waterways showed that almost all of them would be part of the core
network. For this reason, the entire inland waterway network is considered part
of the core network.
              The "Motorways of the
Sea" are the maritime dimension of the TEN-T. As far as they fulfil the
function of core network links or of sections thereof (e.g. linking core
network main nodes across the sea), they are considered part of the core
network, as well. 
The following two sections set out the
criteria to identify the nodes (Section 2.1.) and the links (i.e. the
connections between the nodes) of the core network (Section 2.2.).
2.1.        The main nodes of the Core
Network
Primary nodes, which
shape the network, are marked with (P), secondary nodes with (S). 
(a)                   
Main nodes for passenger
and freight traffic: 
A.1 (P)   The capital city of each EU Member
State and cities with EU capital function; 
A.2 (P)   Every "Metropolitan European
Growth Area" (MEGA in the ESPON[9]
Atlas 2006; 
A.3 (P)   A conurbation or city cluster which,
including the corresponding environs as defined by the corresponding LUZ
("Larger Urban Zones", according to Urban Audit and EUROSTAT) exceeds
1 million inhabitants;
A.4 (P)   The main city of an island or a of
group of islands forming a NUTS 1 region with at least 1 million inhabitants;
A.5 (P)   One main border crossing point per
mode between each EU Member State with external border and each of its
neighbouring non EU Member States which is the one with the highest
long-distance traffic flow. This does not apply to Norway and Switzerland, for which special agreements exist. Border crossing points only serve as
auxiliary points for network planning, but do not provide any other core node
function.
              (In many cases, this coincides
with the points where the Major Axes specified in the Communication from the
Commission - Extension of the major trans-European transport axes to the
neighbouring countries - Guidelines for transport in Europe and neighbouring
regions {SEC(2007)98} {SEC(2007)99} /* COM/2007/0032, cross the external border
of the EU.)
In the framework of this
dual layered approach, urban nodes, which are represented by the main nodes
according to A.1 – A.4 and C.3, play an important role within the multimodal
Core Network, with regard to their infrastructure both for passengers and for
freight. They are particularly relevant in the following respect: 
·                        
they connect network links – both of the core
and the comprehensive networks;
·                        
they interconnect transport modes, thus
enhancing multimodality;
·                        
they connect long distance and/or international
with regional and local transport (passengers and freight).
The quality of these
connections contributes decisively to a well-functioning transport system, in
particular to enhance public transport mobility chains and to achieve EU
climate goals.
(b)                   
Main nodes for freight
traffic:
B.1 (S)   A sea or inland port or a road-rail
terminal of an urban main node according to one of the criteria A.1 – A.4;
B.2 (P)   A sea or inland port with an annual
transhipment volume of at least 1 % of the total transhipment volume of all EU
seaports, if interpolating linearly between bulk and non-bulk complies with the
formula: vb/tb + vn/tn ≥ 1
(where vb is the volume of bulk, tb the threshold for
bulk, vn the volume of non-bulk and tn the threshold for
non-bulk).
              (Seaports which are immediate
neighbours and together fulfil the volume threshold, even if individually they
would not, may be considered as a cluster, if they have common hinter­land
connections, except for the "last mile", or if they cooperate
closely, e.g. under common management, or supplement each other in function.)
B.3 (P)   The largest seaport (in terms of
transhipment volume) along each continuous coastline ("façade") of
insular Member States and non-insular NUTS 1 regions with access to the sea
where no ports are classified according to the criteria B.1 or B.2. This only
applies to such façades or coastlines relevant at European scale (e.g.
peninsulas longer and wider than 200 km), not taking into account detail coast
shapes.
B.4 (S)   Inland ports which have interface
function to core network rail links for freight and/or to maritime transport,
to be connected to the corresponding modes.
B.5 (S)   Seaports which are core inland ports
according to B.4 and inland ports which are seaports according to B.3.          
B.6 (S)   Road-rail terminals which are
located in the area of branching or crossing points of core network rail links
for freight or which are located in the neighbourhood (e.g. in the same town)
of a core sea or inland port. 
B.7 (S)   Airports with an annual airfreight
volume of min. 1 % of the corresponding EU total.
(c)                   
Main nodes for passenger
traffic:
C.1 (S)   The main airport of each urban main
node according to A.1 – A.4;
C.2 (P)   Airports with an annual passenger
volume of min. 1% of the corresponding EU total;
C.3 (P)   The cities relative to core network
seaports according to the criteria B.2 or B.3, if their population exceeds 200.000
inhabitants in the corresponding LUZ;
C.4 (P)   Core network seaports according to
the criteria B.2 or B.3, if they have a relevant bridgehead function for
passenger ferry connections within the core network.
2.2.        The
Links of the Core Network
While for inland
waterways the core network is identical to the comprehensive network, the
following criteria apply on road and rail, only. The land-based core network
links (road, rail) are complemented by the "Motorways of the Sea", to
give due access to insular Member States and to shortcut connections to or
between peninsulas.
Core network links are
of highest importance for long-distance traffic. They thereby contribute to a
more homogenous and balanced accessibility structure throughout the Union.
(d)                  
Links for passengers and
freight:
D.1        Neighbouring urban main nodes
according to A.1 – A.3 are connected with each other on road and rail. (Two
main nodes are considered as "neighbouring", if the corresponding
relevant (existing and/or potential) traffic flows between them follow a direct
line, not passing through a third main node located somewhere in between.)
More distant main
nodes are thus indirectly connected with each other, by which the network is
formed.
D.2        In any case, each land border line
between two neighbouring EU Member states is crossed by at least one multimodal
core network link.
D.3        Border crossing points according to
A.5 are connected with their corresponding hinterland main nodes acc. to A.1 –
A.3, following the relevant traffic flows. 
D.4        Land connections may be
supplemented by links of the "Motorways of the Sea", to connect
insular Member States or urban main nodes on islands acc. to A.4 with core
seaports of the mainland, or to shortcut detours around bays. 
(e)                   
Links for freight: 
E.1         Sea ports acc. to B.2 or B.3 are
connected to only one hinterland main node each, following the most relevant
traffic flows. Connections between ports are not foreseen, but may result from
the overall itinerary of a core network link. In countries with railways,
hinterland connections of core network ports include both road and rail.
E.2         The local links of sea or inland
ports as well as of road-rail terminals according to B.1 and B.4 ("last
miles") are considered part of the core network.
E.3         The entire inland waterway part of
the comprehensive network.
(f)                    
Links for passengers:
F.1         In Member States which have
railways, airports of urban main nodes according to C.1 have to be connected to
the rail network by end of 2050, if their annual passenger volume exceeds 1% of
the corresponding EU total. 
F.2         For passengers, seaport cities according
to C.3 and seaports according to C.4 are connected to the same hinterland urban
node to which the seaport is linked for freight (according to criterion E.1).
(g)                   
Omission of links:
Links
according to D, E or F are not included into the Core Network, if: 
G.1        the link does not exist
("missing link") and its implementation would not be justified by its
functionality (e.g. as a link within a potential long distance transport
corridor), or not be feasible by 2030;
G.2        the link exists, but does not
comply with the requirements of its intended function within the core network
and its upgrading would not be justified by its function, e.g. within a
potential trans-European transport corridor, or would not be feasible by 2030;
G.3        the link exists, but the
corresponding traffic flows between the relative nodes are negligible (e.g.
because of long distance and/or small size of nodes) or can be bundled on other
(parallel) links which are in the core network due to other functionalities; 
Applying
these criteria for the modes individually allows deviating from the principle
of multimodality at the level of links. Some links may comprise only road or
rail.
(h)                   
Routing of the links: 
H.1        The links should be as straight and
direct as possible, to follow the relevant long-distance traffic flows, to
enhance effectiveness and efficiency of transport, to support territorial
cohesion and to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas and of air
pollution as well as to sustainable land use. Exceptions are permitted to
follow criterion D.2.
H.2        Detours would be justified to
bypass unavoidable obstacles and ecologically sensitive areas (e.g. Natura 2000
sites), to string additional smaller cities, airports, freight terminals,
etc.), and when so required to ensure the respect of the relevant EU
environmental legislation. With view to an overall optimisation of the routing
of a link, possible disadvantages due to additional detours must not exceed the
benefits of improved regional or local accessibility.
H.3        Preferably, the links should follow
infrastructure already existing, under construction or planned. Traffic flows is
bundled wherever possible, considering topo­graphical conditions, environmental
impacts, users' needs and potential bottlenecks.
H.4        Rail links may have different
itineraries for passenger and freight transport, even at a larger scale. This
may result from specific technical parameters (gradients, speed, …) in line
with the needs of passengers and freight traffic, from particular operational
situations to provide bypasses of nodal areas with high passenger traffic and
from taking into account real cargo flows (even deviating from criterion D.1,
if justified).
[1]               COM(2011)650
[2]               The Commission Staff Working Document SEC(2011)101
outlined a first draft of this methodology which has been further developed for
the Commission proposal. 
[3]               OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p.1
[4]               Regulation
(EC) N° 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of
territorial units for statistics (NUTS), http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/nuts_nomenclature/introduction
[5]               The data for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been
used. In absolute terms, this initial threshold amounts to 396210 passengers
per year. 
[6]               The data for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been
used. In absolute terms, this initial threshold amounts to 2,22 million tons
per year for bulk cargo and 1,27 million tons per year for non-bulk cargo. 
[7]               The data for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been
used. In absolute terms, this initial threshold amounts to 783060 passengers
per year.  
[8]               The data for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 have been
used. In absolute terms, this initial threshold amounts to 25890 tons per year.

[9]               ESPON = European Spatial Planning Observatory
Network; MEGA = Metropolitan European Growth Areas (Cf. ESPON Atlas 2006)