“In May 2020 we called for relaunching rail freight across the European Union to achieve a 30% modal share by 2030. Three years later, this modal share has slightly decreased, although the volume has got higher,” said Karima Delli, chairwoman of the transport and tourism committee (TRAN) of the European Parliament.
“While we face climate emergency and we must comply with our climate objective – carbon neutrality by 2050 – rail freight is definitely part of the solution,” Delli added.
In their statement, the stakeholders make several recommendations to facilitate modal shift as well as to achieve the 30% modal share by 2030. Many issues are raised, such as track access charges, the implementation of the European rail traffic management system, relevant state aids regimes, as well as a review of the governance regime of rail freight corridors.
“The statement confirms our commitment to prioritize rail freight, which is not only more economical but also emits nine times less gCO2e than road freight,” explained Josef Doppelbauer, executive director of the European Union Agency for Railways. “Shifting from long-distance road to rail for distances over 700km could save 40 million tons of CO2 per year and increase rail’s modal share for freight to 36% in the EU. These impressive figures provide a compelling call to action for informed and sustainable decision-making.”
Alberto Mazzola, secretary general of CER, added, “Trains don’t fly. We need infrastructure. We count on the European Parliament and Council to take the appropriate decisions on TEN-T. Today, the Union is also facing another significant challenge: unprecedented energy scarcity. The Ukraine crisis has revealed how vulnerable we are in this regard, and this may well be the start of a long-lasting energy crunch.
“Whereas rail is nine times less CO2-emiting than road, rail is also, and perhaps more crucially, seven times more energy-efficient. While the Union is 58%-dependent on outside supply for its total energy needs, it is now clear that ‘energy consumption’ must become a default criteria in all policy initiatives, including the upcoming ‘Greening Transport Package’,” Mazzola added.
“Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by 32% between 1990 and 2020 across sectors,” said Conor Feighan, secretary general of the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA). “In the same period, however, transport emissions have increased by 7%. Our current transport policy, including freight transportation, is not aligned with our emissions reduction strategy. As pointed out, modal shift is a key enabler of achieving this, as rail freight has significant environmental savings, and must be pursued.
“However, we must also recognize that rail freight growth has stagnated over the past decade. It is therefore essential that there is a strong push now to ensure this legislative mandate is one that has a positive impact on rail freight. The current framework is clearly not meeting the needs of rail freight,” Feighan continued.
Issuing this statement at the end of Q1 2023 is significant, as 2023 will be of major importance when it comes to the freight sector in the European Union. The European Commission is indeed supposed to present several proposals in June and political negotiations linked to freight are ongoing (on the Trans European Transport Network – TEN-T, for instance).
The statement then considers those current and upcoming legislative developments, as well as addresses issues related to national public policies.
“We are absolutely aware about the fact that rail freight cannot meet all the needs. All modes of transport must be considered adequately with this regard. Rail freight has however been left behind for years and it is vital to make it a matter of top priority. We then call on the Member States and the European Commission to address the current challenges effectively. I really hope our voice will be heard,” Delli concluded.
Read the full Joint Declaration here.