CEF support to North Sea - Baltic Corridor.
Date: 2018-02-28
Institutions: Innovation and Networks Executive Agency
Subjects: Baltic Sea, EU financing, North Sea, combined transport, common transport policy, inland waterway transport, investment project, maritime transport, project of common interest, rail transport, road transport, trans-European network, transport capacity, transport infrastructure, transport network

CEF support to

North Sea - Baltic
Corridor

Innovation 
and Networks 
Executive Agency

North Sea - Baltic 

FEBRUARY 2018 

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Table of Contents 

1. 

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 

2.  Action portfolio: State of play ................................................................................................................................. 4 

2.1.  Operational Implementation ....................................................................................................................... 4 

2.1.1. 

Inland Waterways ............................................................................................................................................ 5 

2.1.2.  Maritime .................................................................................................................................................................. 8 

2.1.3.  Multimodal ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 

2.1.4.  Rail ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 

2.1.5.  Road ......................................................................................................................................................................... 12 

2.2. 

Financial implementation ........................................................................................................................... 15 

3.  Evolution of the Action portfolio ...................................................................................................................... 16 

3.1. 

Funding variations after the Grant Agreement signature ................................................. 16 

3.2.  Challenges affecting the implementation of Actions .............................................................. 16 

4.  Conclusion and Outlook ........................................................................................................................................... 18 

5.  Statistical Annex ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 

6.  List of Actions on the North Sea Baltic Corridor ................................................................................... 22 

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1.  Introduction 

The  aim  of this  report is  to  describe  the  contribution  of  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  Transport 
(CEF-T)  to  the  implementation  of  the  North  Sea-Baltic  Core  Network  Corridor  (hereafter:  “the 
Corridor”)  and  in  particular  the  contribution  of  CEF-T  to  the  Corridor  Work  Plan  of  the  European 
Coordinator,  Ms  Catherine  Trautmann.  This  is  the  first  INEA  report  aimed  at  presenting  the 
contribution of the CEF funded Actions - since the 2014 calls for proposals - to the implementation 
of the Corridor. The report presents the actual state of play and an outlook for the Action-portfolio 
situated along the Corridor. 

The  Corridor  is  located  in  the  Northern  part  of  Europe  and  it  is  connecting  eight  Member  States 
(four  Cohesion  and  four  non-Cohesion  countries):  Finland,  Estonia,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Poland, 
Germany,  the  Netherlands  and  Belgium.  The  Corridor  joins  the  Baltic  Sea  Region  with  the  Low 
Countries and the main ports of the North Sea Region. It links East and West via around 5,000 km 
of  railways,  4,000  km  of  roads  and  2,000  km  of  inland  waterways.  It  crosses  or  has  common 
sections  with  the  Baltic-Adriatic,  Scandinavian-Mediterranean,  Orient  East-Med,  Rhine-Alpine  and 
North Sea–Mediterranean Core Network Corridors. 

The objective of the Corridor is to link some of the most important ports in Europe not only by sea 
but by all available transport modes including rail, roads, inland waterways and air ensuring multi-
modal links including relevant traffic and information management systems. 

The  main  challenges  of  the  Corridor  are:  (1)  the  existing  divergences  in  transport  infrastructure 
between the Eastern and Western parts of the Corridor; (2) the different traffic patterns with strong 
traffic in the western end of the Corridor which lessens towards the eastern part of the Corridor; (3) 
the  development  of  the  interconnectivity  and  multimodality  of  key  urban  nodes  located  at  the 
junction  with  other  Corridors;  (4)  the  creation  of  new  traffic  flows  in  a  North-South  direction 
feeding in the well-established East-West transport flows. 

The  Corridor  Work  Plan  identifies  the  priority  issues  to  be  addressed  for  the  functioning  of  the 
Corridor and for tackling the above mentioned challenges. These priorities are: 

- 

- 

- 
- 

- 

the timely implementation of the missing cross-border railway link - at the Corridor's north-
eastern end – the Rail Baltica project; 
the interoperability of the railway network in close cooperation with the "North Sea – Baltic" 
Rail Freight Corridor; 
the hinterland connections – rail, road and inland waterways – of the main ports; 
implementation of innovative solutions by using the Corridor approach (ITS, alternative fuels, 
digitalisation, etc.); 
the efficiency of the main urban nodes, particularly the multi-corridor nodes. 

Consequently  a  vast  number  of  North  Sea-Baltic  Corridor  Actions  co-funded  from  CEF-Transport 
are addressing the above priorities and recommendations, thus contributing to the implementation 
of this transport Corridor by 2030. For example: six Grant Agreements are in place and a seventh 
will be signed for the implementation (or upgrade) of Rail Baltica from Warsaw to Tallinn; one CEF 
Action supports specifically the running of the North Sea-Baltic Rail Freight Corridor; there is a set 
of  Actions  supporting  inland  waterways,  port  and  port  hinterland  infrastructure  or  improving  the 

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efficiency  and  interconnectivity  of  urban  nodes.  Similarly,  several  innovative  Actions  in  different 
transport  modes  (inland  waterways,  road,  maritime)  are  contributing  to  the  implementation  of 
innovative solutions along the Corridor.  

When  it  comes  to  implementation,  it  is  ensured  that:  i)  the  Actions  comply  with  the  technical 
requirements defined in Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 on Union guidelines for the development of 
the  trans-European  transport  network  and  ii)  the  specific  sectoral  objectives  stipulated  in 
Regulation  (EU)  1316/2013  establishing  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  are  also  considered. 
Consequently it is expected that by 2030 a European transport infrastructure core network of high 
and uniform standard will be in place. 

2.  Action portfolio: State of play1 

The  CEF  Transport  Programme  has  so  far  awarded  grants  worth  €22.3  billion  with  a  total 
investment  in  the  European  economy  of  €46  billion.  The  current  portfolio  of Actions  in  the  North 
Sea Baltic corridor comprises 762 grant agreements allocating €3.1 billion of actual CEF Transport 
funding (corresponding to 12% of total number of CEF Transport Actions and 14% of total actual 
CEF Transport funding). There have been no terminations or closures of these grant agreements so 
far.  

2.1. Operational Implementation 

For the North Sea Baltic Corridor, the Core Network Corridor priority (under Funding Objective  13) 
represents 86% of actual CEF Transport funding. Other priorities, such as ERTMS (Funding Objective 
1), Innovation (under Funding Objective 24) and Motorways of the Sea (under Funding Objective 35) 
also contribute to the development of the Corridor.  

Due to its location most of the funding for the North Sea Baltic Corridor portfolio is coming from 
the Cohesion envelope. The portfolio is dominated by national Actions, which absorb around 74% of 
the grants allocated to this Corridor. 70% of the actual CEF Transport funding is linked with works 
Actions. The highest number of Actions is under the road transport mode, while rail Actions receive 
most of the actual funding (79%). There are no Actions in the field of air transport. 40 bottlenecks 
will  be  addressed  by  Actions  on  this  Corridor  regarding  mainly  rail  sections  with  cross-border 
impact.  

1 As of February 2018. 
2 Of which 67 have been signed following the 2014-2016 calls, 1 is under preparation following the 2016 Calls and 8 are under 
preparation following the 2017 Blending-1 Call. 
3 Removing bottlenecks and bridging missing links, enhancing rail interoperability, and, in particular, improving cross-border sections 
4 Ensuring sustainable and efficient transport in the long run 
5 Optimising the integration and interconnection of transport modes and enhancing interoperability, safety and security of transport 

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Figure 1: Statistics by transport mode  

Funding (€ million) 

Number of Actions 

Number of bottlenecks 

Air

0.0 

0 

Inland Waterways

67.5 

12 

Maritime

71.8 

Multimodal

11.3 

8 

6 

14 

0 

1 

0 

Rail

2,432.1 

21 

23 

Road

496.6 

29 

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2.1.1.  Inland Waterways 

The inland waterway portfolio in the North Sea Baltic Corridor is composed of 12 Actions, receiving 
€67.5 million in CEF Transport funding. The Actions are located in the Netherlands, Germany and 
Belgium. The location of the supported inland waterway works Actions are represented on the map 
below: 

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The Amsterdam Sea Lock's preparatory works and the project management  are supported with a 
€11  million  CEF  Transport  grant.  The  Action  shows  good  progress  as  the  preparatory  works 
(including  the  necessary  demolitions  and  relocations  of  civil  engineering  structures)  are  already 
completed and the construction works (not part of the Action) are ongoing.  It is expected that the 
Action will be completed in full and in time. 

Innovation  is  present  in  inland  waterways  through  a  study  Action  in  the  Netherlands  aiming  to 
facilitate large scale implementation of LNG in inland navigation, thus forcing a breakthrough in the 
LNG  market  through  innovative  financing  solutions  and  standardisation.  Furthermore,  through  an 
Action selected in the 2017 Blending Call, CEF supports innovative 'zero emission' inland waterway 
ships in the Netherlands. 

Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are all participating in a very large and ambitious project 
(supported  through  two  'twinned'  Actions,  in  which  Member  States  eligible  and  non-eligible  for 
Cohesion  Funds  are  collaborating): the  River  Information  Services  Corridor  Management (COMEX), 
which  started  in  February  2016  and  joins  the  forces  of  13  countries  to  improve  cross-border 
cooperation with a view to achieving a service for navigation corridors with common data quality, 
equal  service  level  and  unique  access.  The  Actions  are  progressing  well  and  held  its  high-level 
official kick-off event in Berlin on 17 January 2017. 

This  project is especially  important  because  it  supports  RIS  in  achieving  its  full  potential  towards 
increasing  the  efficiency  of  inland  waterway  transport  (IWT).  In  particular,  the  exchange  of  data 
across borders is rather limited and the quality of data and service levels vary from one country or 
sometimes region to another. Thus, public and private users of RIS are not reaping the full benefit 
of  RIS  yet.  The  main  activity  of  the  twinned  Actions  (€16.5  million,  around  62%  of  the  budget) 
consists in the implementation of Corridor river information priority services and systems in agreed 
RIS COMEX project corridors. Identified services will be implemented on specific corridors or in some 
cases for the whole length of EU waterways. 

Furthermore on the Corridor there are six German inland waterways Actions with a cumulated CEF 
grant of €28.6 million having as objectives the: 

1)  Development  of  the  Western  German  canals  according  to  the  criteria  of  the  European 
waterways  class  Vb.  and,  consequently  the  improvement  of  the  connection  between  the  ARA 
seaports (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp) and Berlin/Poland; in particular by replacing bridges 
and  culverts  along  several  western  German  canals  (Dortmund-Ems-Kanal  (DEK),  Wesel-
Datteln-Kanal  (WDK)  and  Rhein-Herne-Kanal  (RHK)).  The  bridges  will  be  provided  with  an 
increased clearance height to enable double-stacked container transport. 

2)  Improvement of the Hannover-Magdeburg-Berlin waterway connection according to the criteria 
of the European waterways class Vb. This will be done in particular by: i) upgrading the lock in 
Zerben hence removing the last relevant bottleneck along the Elbe-Havel Canal; ii) upgrading a 
specific  section  of  the  Sacrow-Paretzer  Canal  (a  major  bottleneck  of  the  lower  Havel 
waterway); and iii) by widening and increasing the depth of the Mittelland Canal bed. 

3)  Contributing  to  the  strengthening  of  Inland  Water  Way  transportation,  by  making  the  Port  of 
Cologne more modern and efficient, in particular by reinforcing parts of the waterfront walls of 
the port. 

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Regarding their progress, the replacement of the Schillerstraßen-Brücke is completed, the Hervester 
Brücke  no.  423  was  opened  for  traffic  in  May  2015;  the  Gartroper  Straßen-Brücke  no.  308  is 
completed and the waterfront walls of the Port of Cologne were improved. 

The Actions belonging to this transport mode are expected to address 14 bottlenecks and equip the 
ports  of  Antwerp,  Brussels  and  Köln,  as  well  as  Berlin,  Braunschweig,  Dortmund  and  Magdeburg 
with supply points for alternative fuels. 

2.1.2.  Maritime 

In total the maritime portfolio in the North Sea Baltic Corridor is composed of 8 Actions, receiving 
€71.8  million  in  CEF  Transport  funding.  Of  these,  7  are  Motorways  of  the  Sea  (MoS)  Actions 
targeting the 'greening' of the maritime transport by promoting the use of alternative fuels (LNG) 
or upgrading/introducing of more environmental  friendly  vessels, helping therefore the carriers  to 
comply with the EU sulphur regulations for maritime transport. 

At the northern end of the Corridor an emblematic Action receiving an almost €30 million CEF grant 
is developing and upgrading the MoS link between the ports of Helsinki (located at the crossroads 
of  the  North  Sea  –  Baltic  and  the  Scandinavian-Mediterranean  Corridors)  and  Tallinn,  addressing 
port bottlenecks, optimising port operations and further increasing passenger capacity. Within the 
Action - besides the ongoing port facility developments - an environmental friendly and efficient, 
new generation RoPax ferry fuelled by LNG ("Megastar") has been already put in operation. 

The  port  of  Klaipeda  in  Lithuania  is  very  engaged  in  CEF  Actions  as  it  is  involved  in  three  MoS 
Actions.  The  already  completed  one  has  supported  the  deployment  of  an  effective  ship  emission 
abatement technology (hybrid wet-scrubbers) on the mid-size RoPax vessels "Optima Seaways" and 
"Athena Seaways" operating on the Klaipeda – Karlshamn (Sweden) link. Efficiency, capacity, quality 
and safety improvements in both ports were implemented: a new terminal management system in 
Klaipeda and new gate facilities and extension of the parking area in Karlshamn. The second Action 
–  to  be  inaugurated  in  2018  in  Klaipeda  -  is  about  building  an  onshore  LNG  reloading  station 
enabling  the  direct  bunkering  to  vessels.  Finally  in  the  Action  "Blue  Baltics  –  LNG  infrastructure 
facility deployment in the Baltic Sea Region" in cooperation with Sweden, Estonia and Germany a 
Maritime  LNG  Mobile  Multifunctional  Refilling  Station-MMRS  will  be  developed  in  Klaipeda,  which 
together with the upgraded LNG reloading station shall turn Klaipeda into a main LNG Hub within 
the Baltic Region. 

In  a  similar  approach  to  greening  of  maritime  transport,  shipping  companies  from  Germany  and 
Finland are cooperating to introduce in the market a new product to tackle exhaust gas abatement 
and  waste  water  cleaning  technology.  Furthermore  Finland,  Germany  and  the  Netherlands  are 
joining  efforts  to  environmentally  upgrade  two  MoS  container  transport  links  between  the  TEN-T 
core  ports  of  Helsinki,  Rotterdam  and  Teesport  (UK)  to  address  the  bottleneck  of  insufficient 
container handling capacity in the ports and to improve the energy efficiency of the whole logistics 
chain.  

Finally,  as  a  result  of  the  2017  blending  Call,  the  maritime  access  to  the  port  of  Vuosaari  in 
Helsinki will benefit from a CEF support of €6.7 million. 

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2.1.3.  Multimodal 

In total the multimodal portfolio in the North Sea Baltic Corridor is composed of 6 Actions, receiving 
€11.3 million in CEF Transport funding. It is interesting to note that each of the four Actions signed 
following the 2014-2016 calls have different scopes and objectives related to multimodality:  
-  a German Action – about to be completed - aims to shift traffic from road to rail by promoting 
the  innovative  'just-in-time'  (JIT)  intermodal  logistics  concept  and  improving  the  loading-
unloading  process  through  investing  in  some  300  innovative,  40-foot  containers  and  184 
wagons that are compliant with the Eurotunnel safety specifications; 
in Bremerhaven there is an infrastructure Action that is expected to improve the connection of 
the  port  to  the  railway  network  by  doubling  the  capacity  of  the  shunting  yard  at  "Imsumer 
Deich"; 

- 

-  a  study  in  the  urban  node  of  Helsinki  aims  to  develop  optimum  and  seamless  multimodal 
transport connection between the long distance, urban and airport traffic at the Helsinki Airport 
Travel  Centre.  Once  completed,  the  Travel  Centre  will  serve  both  the  North  Sea-Baltic  and 
Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridors. 
the fourth Action is to support the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure primarily on 
through  a  co-funding 
the  cross-border  sections  of  Belgium  and  the  Netherlands 
framework/grant  scheme for  innovation  and  new  technologies in  road  and  inland  waterways 
transport. 

- 

The  two  multimodal  Actions  selected  in  the  2017  blending  Call  will  further  enforce  the  above 
efforts by contributing to the works of the Helsinki Travel Centre mentioned above and to the roll-
out of the LNG in Central European part of the Corridor.  

2.1.4.  Rail 

In total the rail portfolio in the North Sea Baltic Corridor is composed of 21 Actions receiving €2.4 
billion in CEF Transport funding. Actions in the North Sea - Baltic Corridor expect to build, upgrade 
and improve several thousand km of railway lines. In particular - and in line with the Corridor Work 
Plan - the rail  Actions are focusing on the Cohesion countries. This is also evident from the map 
below highlighting the location of the rail works. 

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The  bulk  of  the  railway  works  Actions  (10)  are  located  in  Poland,  Lithuania,  Latvia  and  Estonia. 
Seven  of  these  Actions  are  dealing  with  the  upgrade  or  construction  of  Rail  Baltica,  one  of  the 
priorities identified by the Coordinator in the Corridor Work Plan.  

In  Poland  the  related  upgrade  works  are  advancing  in  line  with  the  Polish  National  Railway 
Development  Plan: the  remaining  works  on  the  Warsaw  -  Czyzew  section  have  started,  while  the 
Czyzew - Bialystok and Bialystok - Elk sections are in the design preparation phase.  

The  Rail  Baltica  cross-border  project  in  the  three  Baltic  States  is  progressing  as  well.  The  global 
project, which is  aiming to build a  870 km-long,  new, fast,  EU gauge, double track railway in the 
Baltic  States  from  Tallinn  to  the  LT/PL  border,  is  expected  to  be  completed  by  2026.  Due  to  its 
cross-border aspect the global project is very complex and engages a high number of stakeholders 
coordinated  by  the  Joint  Venture  RB  Rail  AS.  It  reached  its  design  phase  while  further  horizontal 
studies (e.g. about its implementation and post-construction management) and land acquisition are 
ongoing  in  parallel.  Construction  works  of  the  double  track  line  are  expected  to  start  after  the 
permitting  phase  is  completed  in  2018-2019  depending  on  the  progress  in  each  country  and 
section. 

There  are  5  Actions  fully  dedicated  to  the  deployment  of  the  European  Rail  Traffic  Management 
System  (ERTMS)  in  Belgium,  the  Netherlands,  Germany  and  Poland.  From  the  perspective  of  the 
Corridor  the  most  relevant  ERTMS  Action  with  a  CEF  grant  of  €251,962,167  is  the  Polish  Action 
covering the deployment of ERTMS/ETCS, Level 2, Baseline 2 on four railway sections of the TEN-T 
Core  Network  amounting  to  989.5  km  double  track  equivalent,  including  parts  of  the  Baltic  - 
Adriatic and North Sea - Baltic Corridors (on a total length of 658 km) in Poland. In addition, further 
railways  Actions in  Poland  include  ERTMS  track-side  deployment  activities,  notably  along  the  Rail 
Baltica. 

The  North  Sea-Baltic  Rail  Freight  Corridor  (RFC)  is  supported  by  one  Action  supporting  the 
functioning  and  the  extension  of  the  RFC  to  Latvia  and  Estonia.  Within  the  Action  a  dedicated 
European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) has been set up to manage and run the RFC. 

The expected results of the North Sea-Baltic railway Actions are the following: 

 Figure 2: Improved railway lines (number of km) 

Km of railway adapted to the European Nominal
Gauge standard

239 

Km of ERTMS first deployment

1,036 

Km of line tracks and sidings electrified

231 

Km of freight lines improved

404 

Furthermore, Actions belonging to this transport mode are expected to address 23 bottlenecks. 

6 ERTMS first deployment means equipping a railway line section which was not equipped with the system before. 

6 

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2.1.5.  Road 

In  total  the  road  portfolio  in  the  North  Sea  -  Baltic  Corridor  is  composed  of  29  Actions  receiving 
€496.6 million in CEF Transport funding. 

There are only two road construction Actions in the road portfolio as presented in the map below.. 
However these two CEF grants amount to some 86% of the total CEF grant attributed to the North 
Sea-Baltic Corridor road Actions: €429.9 million. The two Actions are located in Cohesion countries 
(Poland  and  Lithuania)  and  concern  the  upgrade/construction  of  the  strategic  "Via  Baltica" 
connecting between Warsaw and Tallinn. Once completed, the two Actions are expected to address 
2 bottlenecks in Poland and Lithuania respectively. The two CEF Actions are ongoing and show good 
progress so far, therefore they are expected to be completed in line with the time plan of the Grant 
Agreements. 

To be noted that in parallel to the Polish Action of the construction of S61 expressway Szczuczyn - 
Budzisko  (Lithuanian  border)  also  the  Ostrow  Mazowiecka  –  Szczuczyn  section  of  the  S61/Via 
Baltica will be upgraded with the support of the Cohesion Funds. 

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The  majority  of  the  road  Actions  (19  out  of  29)  are  in  fact  innovation  Actions  targeting  the 
deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure on the North Sea - Baltic Corridor in the framework 
of the EU Directive 2014/94/EU. Seven of those  Actions aim at the deployment of LNG/CNG road 
infrastructure. It is to be noted that these LNG/CNG Actions will be mainly implemented in Belgium, 
the Netherlands and Germany while all three Baltic States (i.e. EE, LT and LV) do not include LNG 
for  road  in  their  priorities,  as  described  in  National  Policy  Frameworks  (NPF)  for  alternative  fuel 
infrastructure. Though their focus is on electro-mobility, they do not participate either in any of the 
7  such  Actions  that  concern  the  North-Sea  –  Baltic  Corridor.  On  electro-mobility  there  is  a  big 
participation of Belgium and Poland which is fully in line with their NPF. 

It  is  noticeable  that  almost  all  countries  of  the  Corridor  participate  in  Actions  (4  in  total  for  the 
Corridor) addressing the deployment of infrastructure for hydrogen (H2). For example the H2Nodes 
Action involving Estonia, Latvia and the Netherlands, which besides the infrastructure in Pärnu, Riga 
and Arnhem will result in a roadmap. This will provide Member States, other cities and regions with 
lessons  learned  on  how  to  establish  hydrogen  nodes  along  the  Core  Network  Corridors  with 
integrated  planning  of  regionally  produced  sustainable  hydrogen,  roll-out  of  the  refuelling 
infrastructure and mobilising local and regional demand for zero emission FCEV. 

The  Actions  on  the  North  Sea  -  Baltic  Corridor  expect  to  install  456  supply  points  for  alternative 
fuel for road transport, 413 Electricity, 21 LNG and 7 CNG, and 15 H2. 

Figure 3: Number of supply points for alternative fuel for road transport 

LNG 
 21  

H2 
 15  

CNG 
 7  

Electricity 
 413  

Electricity

LNG

CNG

H2

Four  CEF  Actions  in  the  field  of  Intelligent  Transport  Services  (ITS)  on  roads  account  for  a  total 
corridor funding share of more than €10 million and focus on the implementation of the priorities 
of EU Directive 2010/40/EU and its delegated regulations.  

The ITS services are harmonised, interoperable and deployed at Corridor level, so that the European 
driver  can  travel  seamlessly  across  several  Member  States.  Examples  of  ITS  services  are:  the 
provision of real-time traffic information, the availability of Intelligent Truck Parkings, the real-time 
delivery of safety related alerts on road works, road accidents, adverse weather, etc.  

CEF funding in this field acts as catalyst for the development of the Corridor and to significantly 
improve the efficiency of the existing road network. 

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Finally,  the  road  portfolio  includes  as  well  3  'safe  and  secure  infrastructure'  Actions  in  The 
Netherlands  and  Belgium,  including  an  Action  in  The  Netherlands  supporting  the  construction  of 
three  certified  parking  areas  with  around  360  secure  parking  spaces  for  trucks.  This  Action  – 
completed by now - is part of the Dutch strategy to increase parking capacity and safety for road 
hauliers. 

2.2. Financial implementation  

The state-of-play of the financial implementation of the NSB CEF project portfolio is shown in the 
figure  below.  The  effective  payment7  (including  pre-financing)  corresponds  to  €241.5  million  and 
therefore  8%  of  the  actual  CEF  Transport  funding.  As  a  consequence  of  the  interim  cost  claims 
introduced  by  the  beneficiaries,  costs  corresponding  to  CEF-T  funding  of  €59  million  have  been 
accepted so far (2% of the actual CEF Transport funding allocated to projects on the North Sea-
Baltic Corridor). 

Figure 4: Financial implementation ratios (€ million) 

3,079.5 
(100%) 

241.5 
(8%) 

59 
(2%) 

Actual Funding

Effective Payment

Effective Accepted Contribution

Effective payments and effective accepted contribution as shown in the figure above may appear 
as relatively low. This is due to a series of reasons: 

  Actions are due to submit interim payment claims every two years. As a consequence, the 
"accepted  contribution"  by  the  end  of  2017  corresponds  to  cost  claims  sent  in  2017  for 
some  Actions  and  in  2016  for  other  Actions.  Moreover,  the  cost  claims  received  in  2017 
include costs incurred until 31/12/2016 and those received in 2016 include costs incurred 
until 31/12/2015. 

  The bulk of the funding goes to works (or major studies). These Actions usually start with a 
study and/or a tendering phase during which the costs incurred are relatively low. For this 
reason, the bulk of the costs are incurred in the last implementing years of these Actions 
(see also figure 5 below).   

Moreover,  it  has  to  be  noted  that  effective  payments  are  higher  than  effective  accepted 
contribution due to the fact that advance payment (pre-financing) are made. 

Figure 5 gives an overview of the estimated financial progress, in terms of total estimated costs, of 
the overall NSB portfolio of CEF Transport projects.  

7 (closed payments – recoveries) 

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Figure 5: Estimated budget implementation (€ million) 

1,455.1 
(30%) 

1,178.7 
(24%) 

715.7 
(15%) 

538.9 
(11%) 

670.1 
(14%) 

16.3 
(0.3%) 

85.6 
(2%) 

174.6 
(4%) 

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

after 2020

3.  Evolution of the Action portfolio 

3.1. Funding variations after the Grant Agreement signature 

The actual CEF Transport funding allocated to Actions can differ from the initially allocated funding 
depending on (1) Action closures and terminations and (2) certain types of amendments.  Up until 
now,  amendments  have  triggered  a  funding  reduction  for  8  Actions  (€223.6  million  –  7%),  while 
there have been no Action closures or terminations. 

Figure 6 : CEF Transport funding variations (€ million) 

3,303 
(100%) 

3,079.5 
(93%) 

Initial Funding

Actual Funding

3.2. Challenges affecting the implementation of Actions  

The most vulnerable and exposed to technical challenges are the Actions being in their early phase 
in the project lifetime. For the North Sea – Baltic corridor this is the case for most of the Actions in 
the Cohesion countries having in general a large budget to spend within an ambitious timeframe. 
Such Actions encounter several challenges as from the study phase, such as: 

-  Procurement issues. The transposition into national legislation and application of the new  EU 
public  procurement  rules  might  lead  to  slower  public  procurements  in  these  Member  States. 
Also, not adequate terms of reference are inherently leading to appeals. In certain cases the 
public  procurements  had  to  be  repeated  due  to  no  sufficient  interest  from  bidders  to  place 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
offers. Finally, lengthy appeal processes by bidders have a direct impact on the Action's time 
line. 

-  Design  issues,  such  as:  i)  the  geological  analysis  is  not  sufficiently  thorough  leading  to 
unexpected difficulties with the earth works at a later stage; ii) not sufficiently accurate cost 
estimations  for  the  subsequent  works  phase  causes  unnecessary  repeated  procurements  for 
works; iii) delays occurred in the design phase have a direct impact on start of the subsequent 
procurements and works jeopardising the timely completion of the Actions. 

-  Environmental  issues.  For  instance,  environmental  mitigation  measures  requested  by  the 
environmental authorities might add to the Action's complexity and to additional – unforeseen- 
implementation time. 

-  Unexpected  archaeological  findings  can  cause  delays  or  even  keep  on  hold  the  execution  of 

- 

works. 
Land acquisition and permitting issues. Often the land acquisition process usually takes more 
time than originally planned. Similarly, due to administrative difficulties the time necessary for 
permitting is often underestimated by the beneficiaries, hence land acquisition and permitting 
might cause delays in the timely start of works. 

All the above challenges are valid and are impacting the implementation of the flagship project Rail 
Baltica, the global project aiming to eliminate the most relevant rail bottleneck and missing link of 
the North Sea - Baltic Corridor.  

For the new construction of Rail Baltica in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania additional complexity has 
to  be  considered:  as  the  global  project  has  an  unprecedented  scale,  to  be  implemented  in  three 
countries. The project partners have to set up and to apply common technical standards, to tackle 
cross-border,  interoperability,  maintenance  and  joint  infrastructure  management  issues,  etc.  The 
complexity is present in the CEF  Transport  Programme  as well: so far  there are two cross-border 
Grant Agreements ongoing and one to be signed involving the three Member States and the Joint 
Venture RB Rail  AS. There also is an Action carried out  by Lithuanian Railways, which is linked to 
these.  The  upgrade  of  Rail  Baltica  in  Poland  also  has  to  be  fully  interoperable  with  the  new 
construction in the Baltic States. Furthermore, the said Actions cover only partly the activities of the 
global project and only for the timeframe of 2015-2023. Such a set-up makes the technical and 
financial  follow-up  of  the  global  project  difficult,  both  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  project 
Coordinator and INEA. 

Therefore,  the  successful  implementation  of  Rail  Baltica  requires  very  close  cross-border 
cooperation between the involved Member States. Although the strategic importance is recognised 
by all stakeholders, the joint implementation could be a smoother process and it reflects significant 
differences among the partners, who are not yet always able to speak with a single voice.  

The said differences are well demonstrated by the difficulties encountered in reaching agreement 
on  the  content  of  the  third  cross-border  CEF  Grant  Agreement,  for  which  the  signature  is  still 
pending.  Consequently,  there  is  more  to  do  by  all  stakeholders  to  build  and  deepen  further  the 
cross-border cooperation and the trust among the partners. 

By now there is a quite robust special purpose vehicle "RB Rail AS" in place, whose main business is 
the  design,  construction  and  marketing  of  the  global  project  in  the  Baltic  States.  Within  the  last 
couple  of  years  the  Joint  Venture  has  gained  valuable  coordination  experience  and  its  staff  has 
been reinforced with a number of experts from all the three Member States and beyond. Currently 

17 

 
 
efforts are ongoing to improve and simplify the project implementation set-up and functioning and 
to put in place the most efficient governance structure, which is able to deliver the global project on 
time and within the estimated budget. It is expected that by mid-2018 a highly integrated project 
delivery  organisation  will  be  in  place  and  functional  as  important  infrastructure  works  along  the 
alignment are foreseen to start in 2019-2020. 

On the Corridor there are also certain challenges, which are specific to a transport mode: 

For innovation Actions the main challenge in most Actions addressing alternative fuels is to secure 
locations of charging points/refuelling stations as much as possible closer to the alignment to the 
Corridor.  Especially  for  LNG  in  a  fast  developing  market  the  competition  between  different 
operators on securing locations may impact the duration of the implementation of the Actions.  

For  ITS  one  of  the  main  challenges  for  public  authorities  and  road  operators  in  this  area  is  to 
ensure  the  efficient  and  cross-border  communication  among  the  various  traffic  management 
centres. In this regard, the implementation of  national  access points and the use of the DATEX II 
communication standard have started and are funded by past and ongoing CEF Actions.  

4.  Conclusion and Outlook 

To implement by 2030 the North Sea – Baltic Corridor, the Corridor Work Plan identified some 530 
infrastructure  projects  proposed  by  the  Member  States,  with  an  investment  need  of  around  96 
billion euros. 

The Connecting Europe Facility is one of the EU instruments established to financially support the 
Member  States  in  implementing  these  Corridors.  Indeed,  for  the  North  Sea  Baltic  Corridor  alone 
currently  there  are  already  76  Grant  Agreements  in  place  allocating  €3.1  billion  of  actual  CEF 
Transport Funding.  

Furthermore,  the  first  blending  Call  (i.e.  blending  CEF  grants  with  private  investments  and 
innovative  financial  instruments)  resulted  in  awarding  an  additional  8  Actions  to  this  Corridor 
(including 4 under the Innovation priority, and two each under the Core Network and the Node of 
the  Core  network  priority)  with  a  recommended  CEF  funding  of  €35.1  million  generating  a  total 
investment of €205.6. 

It is evident that the CEF Transport funding cannot cover the total investment needs of the Corridor, 
for that a much more ambitious CEF budget would be needed. Nevertheless, the already allocated 
€3.1  billion  of  CEF  grants  accompanied  by  the  national  resources  will  lead  to  a  €4.8  billion 
investment  in  infrastructure  Actions  along  this  Corridor.  Moreover,  this  investment  is  specifically 
targeting  the  priorities  and  recommendations  of  the  European  Coordinator  Ms  Trautmann  in  the 
Corridor Work Plan that are crucial for the Corridor to become functional. 

Indeed,  as  a  response  to  the  first  priority  of  the  Work  Plan,  the  timely  implementation  of  the 
missing cross-border railway link – the Rail Baltica, the global project is supported by CEF through a 
number  of  Grant  Agreements  in  the  Cohesion  countries  of  Estonia,  Latvia,  Lithuania  and  Poland 
with €1,589,581,154. Without the implementation of the flagship project Rail Baltica ensuring an 
EU gauge, north-south connection of the Baltic States and Finland to central Europe, the North Sea-
Baltic railway Corridor  would be very limited  as regards passengers' and goods'  flows  and would 
not  solve  the  existing  technical  bottleneck,  the  infrastructure  discrepancy  and  the  lack  of  a 
performant railway link between north-eastern and western Europe. 

18 

 
 
Under the priority of the interoperability of the railway network in close cooperation with the "North 
Sea – Baltic" Rail Freight Corridor, CEF Transport provides financial support in eight Actions for the 
deployment  of  the  European  Rail  Traffic  Management  System  (ERTMS)  both  to  the  western  and 
eastern parts of the Corridor and supports as well the functioning and further development of the 
North Sea-Baltic Rail Freight Corridor, along with the high share of funding allocated to rail Actions 
in general along the North Sea-Baltic Corridor (79%). 

The  hinterland  connection  by  rail,  road  and  inland  waterways  of  the  main  ports  and  the  port 
developments of the Corridor are supported by CEF Transport grants in Helsinki, Tallinn, Klaipeda, 
Bremerhaven,  Köln  and  Amsterdam.  Inland  waterway  and  river  information  services (RIS)  Actions 
are improving the inland waterways connections in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. 

Promoting innovation is a key objective of the Corridor Work Plan, therefore a significant number of 
innovation Actions (23 out of the total 76) along the Corridor are there to provide the basis for the 
large scale deployment of new technologies and innovation, which can help to enhance the overall 
efficiency of the European transport sector and help to reduce its carbon footprint. 

As  for  the  efficiency  of  the  main  urban  nodes,  particularly  the  multi-corridor  nodes,  more  than  9 
million EUR grant was awarded to study solutions and implement a multimodal and digital travel 
centre  in  the  urban  node  of  Helsinki,  linking  the  North  Sea-Baltic  with  the  Scandinavian-
Mediterranean  Corridor.  At  the  other  end  of  the  Corridor,  a  more  efficient  and  greener  public 
transport  of  the  urban  node  of  Rotterdam  –situated  at  the  crossroads  of  the  North  Sea-Baltic, 
Rhine-Alpine and North Sea-Mediterranean Corridors- is also supported with a grant of 3.2 million 
EUR. 

Most of the Actions of the Corridor are ongoing or to be started soon. Their level of technical and 
financial progress varies according to their complexity, maturity, etc.  The challenges mentioned in 
the report are substantial and both the beneficiaries and INEA are making considerable efforts to 
overcome them. The goal is to complete these Actions in line with the technical and financial plans 
of the Grant Agreements, absorbing therefore in full and on time the awarded CEF grants.  

From  the  estimated  budget  implementation  figure  it  is  evident  that  the  bulk  of  the  work  and 
financial  consumption  is  expected in  the  2018-2020  period  and the  beneficiaries  will  have  to  do 
their best to comply with the agreed implementation deadlines. Although several Actions  reported 
delays, they are all gaining maturity by each year and there is confidence that the vast majority of 
Actions will continue with their good progress and - once completed - will effectively contribute to 
the implementation of the North Sea-Baltic Corridor. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.  Statistical Annex 

Corridor funding (€ million) per country 

Corridor funding (€ million) per type 

PL

LT

LV

EE

NL

DE

367.6 

263.3 

202.8 

113.7 

84.7 

Other

72.7 

FI

38.4 

BE

7.4 

1,928.8 

Studies 
65.7 
(23) 

Mixed 
870.2 
(13) 

Works 
2,143.5 
(40) 

Corridor funding (€ million) per section 

Number of Actions and corridor funding (€ million) by 
national/multinational 

Helsinki - Tallinn

48.1 

Tallinn - Riga - Kaunas -
Warszawa

1,589.6 

48 

National 

€2,266.4 

Number of Actions  

                     Funding (€ million) 

Ventspils - Riga

0.0 

Klaipeda - Kaunas

0.0 

Kaunas - Vilnius

0.0 

Via Baltica Corridor

430.0 

BY border - Warszawa - Poznan -
DE border

713 

PL Border - Berlin - Hannover -
Amsterdam/Rotterdam

75.8 

Wilhelmshaven - Bremerhaven -
Bremen

Berlin - Magdeburg - Hannover,
Mittellandkanal, western German
canals, Rhine, Waal,…

38.4 

45.1 

Amsterdam locks and Amsterdam
- Rijnkanaal

15.4 

Non pre-identified section

57.2 

28 

Multinational 

€813.1 

Cumulative number of finalised Actions 

72 
(95%) 

73 
(96%) 

76 
(100%) 

67 
(88%) 

37 
(49%) 

24 
(32%) 

9 
(12%) 

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Disclaimer: The allocation of Actions and funding to the corridor is based on the assessment done by INEA. In the chart per beneficiary country, the funding of multinational Actions which are allocated to more 
than one corridor is included in the "Other" category. 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21 

 
 
6.  List of Actions on the North Sea Baltic Corridor 

Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Inland 
Waterways 

2014-DE-TA-0113-M 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Safeguarding and adaptation of 
waterway access to the Rhine-
Alpine and North Sea-Baltic 
corridors from the port of 
Cologne 

Extension of the Mittelland 
canal from km 302.377 to 
303.800 - Removal of the last 
bottleneck 

Bridges and culverts in the city 
section of Münster, Dortmund-
Ems Canal 

Removal of bottlenecks at 
bridges in the Western German 
canal system, Gartroper-
Straßen-Brücke and Hervester 
Brücke 

Construction of the second lock 
Zerben, Part 2 

Upgrade of the Sacrow-
Paretzer Canal in the km 21.00 
- km 32.61 section emptying 
into the Havel Canal at km 
33.80 - km 34.90 

Preparatory activities and 
project management for the 
new large Amsterdam lock 

FO 1 

Projects on Core and 
Comprehensive 

Mixed 

100% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2017 

1,976,200 

9,476,000 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/07/2015 

31/05/2018 

6,780,000 

33,900,000 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/03/2014 

31/12/2019 

4,304,420 

21,522,100 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/05/2014 

31/10/2017 

1,643,146 

8,215,730 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/04/2014 

31/03/2018 

5,132,000 

25,660,000 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

15/05/2014 

30/06/2018 

8,800,000 

44,000,000 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2019 

11,095,628 

27,739,070 

2014-DE-TM-0048-W 

2014-DE-TM-0076-W 

2014-DE-TM-0077-W 

2014-DE-TM-0278-W 

2014-DE-TM-0374-W 

2014-NL-TM-0241-W 

2014-NL-TM-0394-S 

Breakthrough LNG deployment 
in Inland Waterway Transport 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

33% 

01/01/2016 

31/12/2018 

3,608,588 

7,217,176 

2015-BE-TM-0024-W 

Upgrading Flemish RIS 
Infrastructure 

2015-EU-TM-0038-W 

River Information Services 
Corridor Management Execution 
(General Call) 

FO 3 

FO 3 

RIS 

RIS 

22 

Works 

100% 

16/02/2016 

31/12/2019 

1,175,000 

2,350,000 

Works 

100% 

15/02/2016 

31/12/2020 

9,886,679 

19,773,358 

 
Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Transport 
Mode 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 

Inland 
Waterways 
Total 

2017-EU-TM-0024-W 

Optimizing Inland Waterway- 
and Multimodal Transport in 
the Euregio, along the North 
Sea Baltic Corridor. 

2017-NL-TM-0056-W 

Port-Liner, "zero emission" ships 
for inland waterways 

Maritime 

2014-EU-TM-0087-M 

TWIN-PORT 2 

Maritime 

2014-EU-TM-0095-W 

Maritime 

2014-EU-TM-0120-W 

Maritime 

2014-EU-TM-0379-M 

Maritime 

2014-EU-TM-0437-M 

Maritime 

2015-EU-TM-0098-M 

Maritime 

2015-EU-TM-0179-W 

Maritime 

2017-FI-TM-0027-W 

Maritime 
Total 

ReaLNG: Turning LNG as marine 
fuel into reality in the North 
Sea-Baltic region 

HEKLA – Helsingborg & 
Klaipeda LNG Infrastructure 
Facility Deployment 

Back from Black -Study and 
deployment of the affordable 
scrubber retro fitting 
technology for SME shipowners 

Upgrading and sustaining 
competitive sea-based 
transport service on Baltic MoS 
Klaipeda-Karlshamn 

DOOR2LNG -Upgrade of the 
maritime link integrated in the 
multimodal container transport 
routes 

Blue Baltics – LNG 
infrastructure facility 
deployment in the Baltic Sea 
Region 

Vuosaari Fairway - 
Improvement of the maritime 
access of the Port of Helsinki, 
Vuosaari Harbour 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

14/07/2017 

31/05/2022 

10,873,127 

58,632,015 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Works 

33% 

15/07/2017 

31/07/2019 

2,268,394 

11,514,691 

FO 3 

FO 3 

MoS 

MoS 

Mixed 

100% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2018 

29,300,000 

97,600,000 

Works 

39% 

01/01/2014 

30/09/2017 

5,102,282 

15,625,684 

67,543,182 

270,000,140 

FO 3 

MoS 

Works 

99% 

01/01/2015 

30/06/2018 

4,657,220 

15,254,440 

FO 3 

MoS 

Mixed 

30% 

01/01/2014 

30/06/2017 

1,674,602 

4,456,448 

FO 3 

MoS 

Mixed 

84% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2017 

2,482,704 

8,183,280 

FO 3 

MoS 

Mixed 

49% 

16/02/2016 

30/06/2019 

8,309,420 

27,469,400 

FO 3 

MoS 

Works 

90% 

01/03/2016 

30/06/2019 

13,541,850 

42,844,500 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/01/2018 

31/12/2021 

6,720,000 

33,600,000 

23 

71,788,078 

245,033,751 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Multimodal 

2014-DE-TA-0296-W 

Multimodal 

2015-DE-TM-0050-W 

Multimodal 

2015-FI-TM-0127-S 

40-CONTECH - Investing in a 
just in time intermodal logistics 
concept with an innovative 40ft 
open top curtain side container 
to develop sustainable, 
interoperable and safe rail 
services through the Eurotunnel 
along the TEN-T core network 
corridors 

Quality and capacity upgrade of 
the railway system in the 
seaport of Bremerhaven 
(Imsumer Deich Plus) 

The Helsinki Multimodal Urban 
Node 

Multimodal 

2016-EU-TM-0277-S 

BENEFIC 

Multimodal 

2017-DE-TM-0040-W 

Multimodal 

2017-FI-TM-0031-W 

LNG Rollout in Central Europe - 
for a greener transportation 
sector 

The Multimodal Travel Centre 
of Helsinki Airport 

Multimodal 
Total 

FO 2 

Freight Transport 
Services 

Works 

7% 

01/07/2014 

31/12/2017 

100,687 

503,433 

FO 3 

Multimodal 

Works 

100% 

16/02/2016 

31/12/2018 

3,307,620 

16,538,100 

FO 3 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 3 

Nodes of the Core 
Network 

Studies 

100% 

01/06/2016 

31/12/2020 

2,250,000 

4,500,000 

Innovation 

Studies 

34% 

01/07/2017 

31/12/2020 

2,577,200 

12,631,000 

Innovation 

Works 

50% 

01/01/2018 

30/06/2021 

1,636,470 

8,182,350 

Nodes of the Core 
Network 

Works 

20% 

02/01/2019 

31/12/2020 

1,476,000 

7,380,000 

11,347,977 

49,734,883 

Rail 

2014-BE-TM-0660-W 

Deployment of ETCS Level 1 on 
the rail section Ans - Angleur 

FO 1 

ERTMS 

Works 

100% 

01/07/2015 

01/05/2018 

2,367,500 

4,735,000 

Rail 

2014-DE-TM-0368-M 

Rail 

2014-EU-TM-0217-S 

Upgraded Line Oldenburg – 
Wilhelmshaven with 
electrification, track and 
subsurface strengthening and 
construction of new 
subsections 

Establishment of Rail Freight 
Corridor „North Sea – Baltic“ 
and its further development 
aiming at improving conditions 
for international rail freight 
transport 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Mixed 

100% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2019 

35,132,095 

100,095,088 

FO 1 

Rail interoperability 

Studies 

100% 

01/01/2015 

31/12/2020 

4,131,250 

8,262,500 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Rail 

2014-EU-TMC-0560-M 

Rail 

2014-FI-TM-0142-M 

Rail 

2014-LT-TMC-0109-M 

Development of a 1435 mm 
standard gauge railway line in 
the Rail Baltic/Rail Baltica (RB) 
corridor through Estonia, Latvia 
and Lithuania 

The Planning of the Core 
Network Railway Corridors in 
Helsinki 

Bridging the missing links of 
the Rail Baltic/Rail Baltica EU 
gauge railway on line Polish 
and Lithuanian state border - 
Kaunas and preparation for the 
development of the EU gauge 
railway line Kaunas - 
Lithuanian and Latvian state 
border 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Mixed 

100% 

01/03/2015 

31/12/2020 

442,230,615 

540,427,656 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Studies 

50% 

01/01/2015 

31/12/2018 

8,152,500 

16,305,000 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Mixed 

100% 

24/07/2015 

31/12/2020 

105,898,408 

124,586,362 

Rail 

2014-NL-TA-0680-S 

3EUStates2cross (Study, Rail, 
Limburg S-E Netherlands) 

FO 1 

Projects on Core and 
Comprehensive 

Studies 

15% 

16/11/2015 

15/11/2018 

713,625 

1,427,250 

Rail 

2014-NL-TM-0233-W 

Rail 

2014-PL-TMC-0182-W 

Rail 

2014-PL-TMC-0185-W 

Removing the bottleneck on the 
rail freight corridor between 
mainport Rotterdam and the 
European hinterland by 
realising the Theemsweg 
railway section. 

Works on the E75 railway line 
Sadowne – Czyżew section, 
along with the remaining works 
on the Warszawa Rembertów - 
Sadowne section 

Works on the E 20 railway line, 
Warsaw – Poznań section – 
remaining works, Sochaczew – 
Swarzędz section 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/10/2015 

31/12/2019 

59,892,117 

199,640,390 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

15/11/2016 

31/12/2020 

179,200,409 

235,171,141 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

31/10/2015 

31/12/2020 

347,816,102 

462,706,002 

25 

 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Rail 

2015-DE-TM-0363-W 

Rail 

2015-EU-TM-0347-M 

Rail 

2015-NL-TM-0264-W 

Rail 

2015-PL-TM-0002-W 

Rail 

2015-PL-TM-0007-W 

Rail 

2015-PL-TM-0037-S 

Rail 

2016-BE-TM-0298-W 

Design and equipment of 
ERTMS for six border crossing 
corridor sections as well as two 
gap closings on German TEN 
core network corridors 

Development of a 1435 mm 
standard gauge railway line in 
the Rail Baltic/Rail Baltica (RB) 
corridor through Estonia, Latvia 
and Lithuania (Part II) 

Deployment of ERTMS level-2 
(only) trackside at the railway 
line Kijfhoek- Roosendaal- 
Belgian border 

Works on the E75 railway line, 
Czyżew - Białystok section 

Works on the E 20 railway line, 
Siedlce - Terespol section, 
stage III - LCS Terespol 

Modernization of railway 
infrastructure at the 
Małaszewicze Transloading 
Zone forming part of the Rail 
Freight Corridor no. 8, at the 
border between the EU and 
Belarus – studies 

ETCS L2 track-side deployment 
on 2 cross border sections of 
the Core network Corridors 

FO 1 

ERTMS 

Works 

29% 

16/02/2016 

31/12/2020 

7,225,192 

15,005,549 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Mixed 

100% 

16/02/2016 

31/12/2020 

130,193,541 

153,168,872 

FO 1 

ERTMS 

Works 

100% 

01/08/2017 

31/12/2020 

11,275,000 

24,417,500 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

13/09/2016 

31/12/2020 

283,249,774 

371,718,863 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

31/01/2017 

31/12/2020 

109,522,333 

131,007,575 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Studies 

100% 

01/08/2016 

31/03/2019 

3,241,104 

3,813,064 

FO 1 

ERTMS 

Works 

23% 

06/03/2017 

30/06/2020 

541,650 

1,083,300 

Rail 

2016-EU-TA-0108-W 

2EUStates2cross 

FO 1 

Projects on Core and 
Comprehensive 

Works 

2% 

07/02/2017 

31/12/2020 

573,600 

1,434,000 

Rail 

2016-EU-TMC-0116-M 

Rail Baltica - 1435 mm 
standard gauge railway line 
development in Estonia, Latvia 
and Lithuania (Part III) 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Mixed 

100% 

06/02/2017 

31/12/2023 

110,471,837 

129,966,867 

26 

 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Rail 

2016-PL-TMC-0135-W 

Rail 

2016-PL-TMC-0136-W 

Rail Total 

Road 

2014-BE-TM-0170-S 

Works on the E75 railway line, 
Białystok – Suwałki – Trakiszki 
(state border) section, Stage I 
Białystok - Ełk section 

Deployment of ERTMS/ETCS on 
the TEN-T core network lines 

Pilot deployment of a smart 
(bio-)LNG/CNG network in 
Flanders, investigating an 
innovative ‘mobile CNG pipeline’ 
concept 

Safe and secure infrastructure 
in Flanders 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

2014-BE-TM-0694-S 

2014-EU-TM-0196-S 

FAST-E (DE/BE) 

2014-EU-TM-0318-S 

Connecting Hydrogen Refuelling 
Stations (COHRS) 

2014-EU-TM-0563-W 

CROCODILE 2 

2014-EU-TM-0579-M 

UNIT-E 

Road 

2014-EU-TM-0643-S 

Road 

2014-FI-TA-0119-S 

Road 

2014-LT-TMC-0258-W 

Road 

2014-NL-TM-0153-W 

Road 

2014-PL-TMC-0214-W 

H2Nodes – evolution of a 
European hydrogen refuelling 
station network by mobilising 
the local demand and value 
chains 

Development of LNG/L-CNG 
network in Finland 

Development of Transeuropean 
Road Network Road E67 (Via 
Baltica) section from 
Lithuanian-Latvian border to 
Panevezys city 

Safe & Secure Truck Parkings 
on core network in the 
Netherlands 

Construction of S61 
expressway Szczuczyn - 
Budzisko (state border) 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/06/2017 

29/12/2023 

338,336,570 

398,043,024 

FO 1 

ERTMS 

Works 

86% 

19/05/2017 

31/12/2023 

251,962,167 

296,426,079 

2,432,127,389 

3,219,441,082 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

50% 

01/01/2015 

30/06/2019 

733,250 

1,466,500 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 3 

FO 2 

Safe and secure 
infrastructure 

Studies 

100% 

01/01/2014 

31/12/2019 

1,310,099 

2,620,198 

Innovation 

Studies 

Innovation 

Studies 

ITS 

Innovation 

Works 

Mixed 

4% 

25% 

20% 

19% 

01/09/2014 

30/09/2018 

350,394 

700,788 

01/09/2015 

30/06/2019 

3,244,447 

6,488,894 

01/01/2015 

31/12/2018 

1,651,400 

8,257,000 

01/07/2015 

31/12/2017 

338,808 

677,616 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

100% 

01/03/2014 

31/12/2018 

14,503,000 

29,006,000 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

21% 

27/01/2015 

29/12/2017 

556,197 

1,112,394 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

30/06/2016 

30/06/2020 

23,437,909 

38,817,338 

FO 2 

Safe and secure 
infrastructure 

Works 

32% 

01/01/2015 

31/12/2017 

413,792 

2,068,960 

FO 1 

Core Network Corridors 

Works 

100% 

01/01/2015 

31/12/2020 

406,496,417 

795,492,009 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Funding 
Objective 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Road 

2014-PL-TMC-0220-S 

Road 

2015-BE-TM-0244-W 

Study optimizing the 
functioning and deployment of 
alternative fuel stations of the 
TENT-T core network 

Elimination of level crossings 
on the Core Network Corridors 
in Belgium in order to increase 
safety and remove bottlenecks 
for both rail and road 

Road 

2015-EU-TM-0316-S 

Models for Economic Hydrogen 
Refuelling Infrastructure 

Road 

2015-EU-TM-0367-S 

ULTRA-E 

Road 

2015-EU-TM-0422-S 

Road 

2015-PL-TM-0093-W 

LNG motion: Fuelling trucks 
with LNG/CNG along the core 
network 

National Road Traffic 
Management System on the 
TEN-T network - Phase I 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

Road 

2015-SK-TM-0320-S 

NCE-FastEvNet 

2016-DE-TM-0332-S 

LNG4Trucks 

2016-EU-TM-0023-M 

North European cross-border 
ITS phase 3 – NEXT-ITS 3 

2016-EU-TM-0044-M 

URSA MAJOR neo 

2016-EU-TM-0121-W 

2016-EU-TM-0175-S 

2016-NL-TM-0339-S 

High speed electric mobility 
across Europe 

H2Benelux 

BIOLNG4EU 

Road 

2016-PL-TM-0281-S 

LEM project – pilot 
implementation of 
electromobility along the TEN-T 
base network 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

100% 

01/04/2015 

30/06/2018 

1,518,950 

1,787,000 

FO 2 

Safe and secure 
infrastructure 

Works 

4% 

01/03/2016 

31/12/2020 

286,000 

1,430,000 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 3 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 3 

FO 3 

FO 2 

FO 2 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

33% 

01/07/2016 

31/12/2020 

1,818,135 

3,636,270 

Innovation 

Studies 

12% 

01/03/2016 

31/12/2018 

785,118 

1,570,236 

Innovation 

Studies 

15% 

16/02/2016 

31/12/2020 

4,164,765 

8,329,530 

ITS 

Works 

6% 

01/11/2016 

31/12/2020 

7,392,695 

8,697,288 

Innovation 

Innovation 

ITS 

ITS 

Innovation 

Innovation 

Innovation 

Studies 

Studies 

Mixed 

Mixed 

Works 

Studies 

Studies 

28% 

36% 

6% 

5% 

12% 

25% 

50% 

01/03/2016 

30/03/2019 

912,492 

07/02/2017 

31/12/2020 

3,450,651 

1,073,520 

6,901,303 

01/01/2018 

31/12/2020 

584,064 

2,832,576 

07/02/2017 

31/12/2020 

1,606,469 

7,473,086 

01/07/2017 

31/12/2020 

1,220,160 

6,100,800 

07/02/2017 

31/12/2020 

1,804,719 

07/02/2017 

31/12/2020 

4,100,000 

4,371,137 

8,200,000 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

20% 

20/11/2017 

22/12/2020 

80,095 

160,191 

Road 

2016-SK-TMC-0317-S 

NCE-AdvancedEvNet 

Road 

2017-DE-TM-0064-W 

EUROP-E:  European Ultra-
Charge Roll Out Project - 
Electric 

FO 2 

FO 2 

Innovation 

Studies 

28% 

01/03/2017 

30/06/2020 

1,726,339 

2,030,987 

Innovation 

Works 

10% 

15/07/2017 

31/12/2021 

3,910,538 

19,552,689 

28 

 
Transport 
Mode 

Project Code 

Title 

Road 

2017-EU-TM-0068-W 

MEGA-E: Metropolitan Greater 
Areas - Electric 

Road 

2017-NL-TM-0060-W 

REMETBUS2 Rotterdam 

Funding 
Objective 

FO 2 

FO 3 

Priority 

Type 

Actual 
Corridor 
Share 

Actual Start 
Date 

Actual End 
Date 

Actual Funding 

Actual Costs 

Innovation 

Works 

17% 

01/08/2017 

31/12/2021 

4,981,056 

24,905,281 

Nodes of the Core 
Network 

Works 

100% 

01/01/2018 

31/12/2021 

3,266,579 

41,825,600 

Road Total 

496,644,538 

1,037,585,190 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EF-04-19-711-EN-N - ISBN:978-92-9208-039-6 - DOI:10.2840/678292