Brussels, 10/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The six European coordinators (EUROPE 8996) whose mission is to facilitate implementation of certain priority projects in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) presented Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot, responsible for transport, with their second annual activity report. For the Berlin-Verona/Milan-Bologna-Naples-Messina-Palermo railway link (No. 1 priority project), the coordinator, Karel Van Miert, said that the possibility for Community funding would be decisive, particularly for launching the construction of the Brenner tunnel linking Berlin and Palermo. According to Van Miert, the launch of the pilot project in 2007 will allow work to be completed in 2020. The memorandum of understanding signed on 10 July by the German minister of transport, Wolfgang Tiefensee, and his Italian counterpart, Antonio di Pietro, envisages completion of the work in 2022. Van Miert stated that “the highest level of co-funding should be pursued”. In connection with the high speed railway connection for the south west of Europe (No.3 priority project), which is expected to ensure the connection between the Iberian peninsula (Portugal and Spain) and the rest of Europe, the coordinator, Etienne Davignon has observed some significant differences in national procedures. According to Davignon these difficulties are affecting the timetable of the work as timing is rarely identical. In an effort to solve this problem, the coordinator is proposing phases for the completion of the infrastructure depending on its use, and more integrated planning instead of the current national planning programmes.
For the Lyon-Turin-Milan-Trieste-Ljubljana-Budapest connection (priority project No.6) the conclusion is similar. The timetable and funding guarantees for the Lyon-Turin tunnel on the French side, as well as the cross-border trunk between Trieste and Divaca, is a result described as “very positive”. On the other hand, the Italian part of the tunnel leaves a lot to be desired. The rapporteur, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, pointed out that the intergovernmental observatory, set up in 2006 for facilitating dialogue between the inhabitants of the Susa Valley who were hostile to the construction of the tunnel and the government (EUROPE 9470), will not have completed its analysis until the beginning of 2008 at the earliest. In this respect, it will, according to the report, be necessary to ensure that coherency is guaranteed in completion of the whole of the Lyon-Turin section by taking into account the surcharges incurred through any delays. Uncertainties remain with regard to the timetable for completion of the Treviglio-Padua and Slovenia sections, particularly in the east of Divaca, for which the question of financing is also problematic. With regard to the “European Rail Traffic Management Systems” (ERTMS) for the six European freight transport corridors, progress has been noted since the publication of the last report in 2006, notably with the opening last June of the Lötschberg rail tunnel and the Betuwe line (EUROPE 9447). The objectives for the future will be to double the volume of goods traffic by 2020 on the Rotterdam-Genoa line and reduce travelling time by 20%. On the Antwerp-Lyon line, the aim will be to increase goods transported by 55% before the same date and reduce the number of late trains, which would allow, according to the coordinator Karel Vinck, the transfer of 7 billion tonnes/kilometre from the road to the railways. Another positive result, progress with implementation of the Paris, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Vienna, Bratislava line (No.17). A high speed line was inaugurated on 15 March (EUROPE 9378), followed by the TGV East linking Paris and Strasbourg becoming operational from 10 June. The line could be finished in 2015.
Rail Baltica is due to link up Warsaw to Kaunas, Riga, Tallin and Helsinki. Its potential is enormous and the interest the private sector has in operating the line is considerable. The coordinator has called for the gradual implementation of the line. The project is currently stagnating. Priorities are expected to focus on cross-border trunks with the ultimate aim of creating a consolidated railway network that is able to operate at a speed of 120 km/h by 2013.
Commenting on the reports, Mr Barrot confirmed the appointment of two new coordinators in the next few days. He said that they would be able to provide some dynamism to the motorways of the sea and navigable waterways projects. According to available information these two coordinators will be Karla Peijs from the Netherlands for navigable waterways and Valente de Oliveira from Portugal for the motorways of the sea. The reports can be consulted at: (http: //ec.europa.eu/ten/transport/coordinators/index_fr.htm). (aby)