Brussels, 21/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - Around 10 or so different groups and companies representing the interests of the transport industry have launched an appeal to the political authorities to support the electrification of surface transport.
These groups launched a platform on Tuesday 19 March to encourage efforts to be made towards achieving this goal. They believe that electrification is the best way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport and reducing the EU's dependency on oil imports. In a joint declaration, they argued that the electrification of surface transport could be achieved for trains and in an urban context for the metro, trams, trolleybuses and even with the promotion of light vehicles, buses and two-wheeled electric vehicles. The platform has the backing of Gésine Meissner MEP (ALDE, Germany) who sees this as “an exciting prospect for European citizens and businesses, with significant growth and employment prospects”. The groups and companies participating in this platform include Alstom, AVERE, CER, ETRA, EURELECTRIC, EUROBAT, Going Electric, Nissan, Polis, UITP, and UNIFE. (MD/transl.fl)