The multi-sectoral rail association FERRMED, the European Shippers’ Council (ESC), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) and the multi-sectoral association (MCRIT) joined forces to launch the ‘+FIRRST’ system on Thursday 13 November.
This alliance of stakeholders aims to integrate a system capable of transporting semi-trailers, swap bodies and insulated containers to and from various destinations as part of a fast, flexible and integrated road-rail transport system. Entitled ‘+FIRRST’, this integrated combined transport system, fully aligned with road transport, would be capable of responding in real time to daily demand everywhere, whether it be on departure, arrival or connections.
For the alliance, this solution is the only way to achieve the European Commission’s objectives for transferring road traffic to rail. For this reason, the EU institution hopes to carry out a pilot test of the implementation of the ‘+FIRRST’ system in the catchment area of the two proposed rail routes: - Rotterdam-Barcelona, via Belgium and France; - the Duisburg-Barcelona line, via Germany, Luxembourg and France.
Explanatory video: https://aeur.eu/f/jh8 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)