The negative consequences of Transport such as pollution, climate change, noise, congestion, and accidents pose problems to European citizens’ economy, health, and well-being. Freight transport continues to grow, and road freight transport is projected to increase by around 40% by 2030 and by a little over 80% by 2050. Therefore, the EU transport policy aims at reducing road transport towards less polluting and more energy-efficient modes of Transport.

Four types of actions support greater use of multimodal solutions.

  1. The internalisation of external costs in all modes of Transport to send appropriate pricing signals to users, operators and investors. The social and environmental costs of Transport should be paid in line with the polluter pays principle.
  2. More targeted investments into physical infrastructure, aimed at better interconnections between the single modal networks.
  3. Better information (on traffic, capacities, availability of infrastructure, cargo and vehicle positioning).
  4. Direct support for intermodal Transport, as provided by the Combined Transport Directive (Council Directive 92/106/EEC), aims to increase the competitiveness of the combined Transport (defined as intermodal Transport with a strictly limited road leg). The EU also provides financial support to multimodal/intermodal Transport.

Combined Transport

Combined Transport is promoted within the European Union (EU) through the Combined Transport (CT) Directive (Council Directive 92/106/EEC). The Directive seeks to promote Combined Transport operations by eliminating authorisation procedures and quantitative restrictions for Combined Transport operations. It clarifies the non-application of road cabotage restrictions on road legs and provides financial support through fiscal incentives for certain Combined Transport operations. To be eligible for the provisions within the CT Directive, the movement of goods must meet several specific criteria regarding the type of load units and distances.

The CT Directive is supported by other EU policies, such as the Weights and Dimensions Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/719 amending Council Directive 96/53/EC) which provides for the Member States to permit movement of heavier intermodal load units by road when used in Combined Transport operations. Furthermore, the EU is also providing financial support for projects relating to combined Transport.

In 2014, a study on the EU combined transport market and two stakeholder consultations concluded that support for combined Transport is perceived as very important by stakeholders to support the modal shift. The contributions received in the public consultation are summarised in a report.

Based on the study, a REFIT (Regularly Fitness and Performance Programme) evaluation of the Combined Transport Directive is currently being finalised, with the outcome that it continues to be a relevant tool. However, efficiency and effectiveness could be improved.

Source: European Commission