Brussels, 08/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 November, the European Commission will officially open six rail freight corridors, which will become operational from 10 November. These international corridors aim at fostering transport of freight by rail, making this energy-efficient transport mode more competitive.
In practice, for example, railway undertakings and authorised applicants, such as shippers, freight forwarders and combined transport operators will be able to request pre-arranged cross-border train paths at a single contact point, instead of having to submit individual requests to the various national infrastructure managers, thus reducing the administrative burden. The corridors in question are the Rhine-Alp-Corridor, the Benelux-France Corridor, the Atlantic Corridor, the Mediterranean Corridor, the Orient Corridor and the Eastern Corridor. Three further corridors are set to become operational by 10 November 2015, forming the rail backbone of the core network corridors of the trans-European transport network. (MD/transl.fl)