Brussels, 20/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) has given strong backing to the preliminary outline for the French transport infrastructure (SNIT) plan presented on 12 July by the minister for ecology, Jean-Louis Borloo. The document will still be subject to public consultation before its planned adoption at the end of the year. According to the UITP, the plan includes total investment of €170 billion staggered over 20-30 years for alternative modes of transport (excluding roads), including €55 billion for urban public transport. The Le Monde newspaper explained that 51.9% of investment is expected to be allocated to railway infrastructure, as opposed to 4.5% for the road sector and 0.5% to aviation. The development of high-speed (LGV) railway lines (€65 billion up to 2020 for 2300 kilometres of new lines and railway freight) - the updating of the Perpignan-Bettembourg railway highway, the Lyon city bypass and the Paris-Hendaye line - will be priorities in this investment plan. Urban public transport is expected to be allocated €53 billion for funding tramways and “high level service” buses and automated metros. One of the objectives also aims to increase the specific lanes for public transport (own transport network site), which will increase from the current 329 kilometres to 1800 in 15 years' time. The UITP welcomed the fact that these objectives replicated the scale of the international strategy launched by the UITP to double the public transport markets by 2025. In a press release the organisation urges the French government to stick to these investment priorities and for other countries to follow this example. (A.By./transl.fl)