Brussels, 07/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The coordinators of six priority projects of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) delivered their fourth report on the state of progress of work to the European transport commissioner on Wednesday 7 October. This is the final report of their first term of office, presenting details on priority projects under their responsibility.
As for the Berlin-Palermo section (No 1 priority project), the coordinator notes “satisfactory progress” in work. In particular, the report welcomes the imminent launch of the Brenner rail tunnel which has long been the project's weak point. Action taken in 2009, which allowed work to be speeded up, by: - the signing of a joint declaration on the Brenner tunnel signed in May by the three member states concerned (Italy, Austria and Germany); by the five regions responsible for building access routes to the tunnel in the section between Munich and Verona and by the suppliers of rail infrastructure; - the finalisation of an environmental impact assessment study and a study of the costs and risks for the project promoter; - financing granted by the European Commission (€960 million of which €903 is intended for the Brenner tunnel and the construction of access roads to the south and north of the project), as well as the release of funding by Italy and Austria for the construction of the crossborder rail section of the project and the decision with a view to delivering the permit for building in this section; - reinforcement of investment by Germany and Italy on other sections of the project. Action to be undertaken in the near future includes: - the definition and the choice of future operator for the Brenner tunnel infrastructure (to be determined by Austria and Italy); - the joint establishment by Italy and Austria of a single funding structure; - and strengthened financing and better coordination of work between Germany and Austria (for the access route to the north of the tunnel) and in Italy (for the southern access road). In the same way, the priority project No 17 (Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienna-Bratislava) is making good progress and, according to coordinator Peter Balazs, could be realised in the relatively near future. The most important move forward is the signing of a financial agreement for the most difficult part of the project linking Stuttgart to Ulm. This section should be completed by 2020. Other work should, however, be completed - like the second part of the TGV East European, the financing of the Munich-Salzburg section and the link between the rail axis and the airports of the region. For project No 6 (Lyons-Torino-Milano-Trieste-Ljubljana-Budapest rail link), it is more difficult to assess progress and it is impossible to give dates for the end of specific sections. The coordinator, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, remains convinced that, despite the financial crisis, the states concerned (Slovenia, France, Hungary, Spain and Italy) remain keen on the idea of implementing such a corridor, which could in time ensure a large part of the traffic from the Iberian Peninsula, through the Alps and up to the border with Ukraine. Special attention should be attached to eliminating the obstacles to interoperability, especially customs formalities (mutual recognition of some procedures), technical issues (recognition of rear, stop and forward lights) or non-discriminatory access to energy. At the funding level, Mr Brinkhorst calls on all states to speed up investment and to keep to schedule. The situation of the Rail Baltica, which links Warsaw-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn and Helsinki (priority project No 27), is still more serious. Coordinator Pavel Telicka fears that the economic situation as well as the difficulties for obtaining funding will considerably delay the project's realisation. He remains convinced, however, that achievement of the project could help to reduce unemployment in the regions concerned. In his opinion, finalisation of the project must be carried out “step by step” with the main objective of achieving freight traffic along this line as soon as possible and, by 2013, to reach a system that is adjusted to trains travelling at 120 km/hr. Reports may be consulted at: http: //ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/european_coordinators/2009_en.htm. (A.By./transl.jl)