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Nov 08 2023

New combined transport proposal could harm efficient intermodal cooperation

Despite hopes to the contrary, the European Commission’s long-overdue legislative proposal to amend the Combined Transport Directive could harm efficient intermodal cooperation, instead of boosting it, due to the ambiguous incentive framework for combined and intermodal freight.
The European Commission has proposed a fundamental overhaul of the current legal framework for combined transport. This would set incentives for combined and intermodal transport on an operation’s ability to reduce its external costs by 40% compared to a pure road goods transport operation.

 

The Commission did not provide any clarity on what will be considered an external cost and how these will be calculated. Member States will also have to develop policy plans that make combined and multimodal transport more efficient and reduce costs by at least 10% within seven years.

 

IRU Director EU Advocacy Raluca Marian said, “We appreciate the Commission’s efforts to finally address the combined transport rules. But we see the proposal as a missed opportunity to set a simple and transparent incentive framework for combined and intermodal freight transport users.”

 

“IRU is not convinced that linking combined transport incentives to the external cost performance of road freight operations is the right approach. It could slow down the reduction of road freight transport’s air quality and carbon dioxide footprint,” she added. Read more

 

Source: IRU