The European Union has not yet recovered from the consequences of coronavirus, and European lawmakers and transport workers have already prepared an action plan for restructuring and modernizing the transport system of the region. By 2050, it will be 100% green.
The guidelines of the trans-European transport network were adopted in 2019. This year, the European Parliament revised them. Changes, however, will take effect only in the second half of 2021. The general strategy of the European Union includes in the first place that by 2030 at European roads will be operated at least 30 million cars with zero emissions, 100 European cities will be climate neutral, high-speed rail traffic across Europe will double, all trips less than 500 km should be To be carbon neutral, a significant focus on automated mobility will be made, maritime ships with zero emissions will come to the market. By 2035, the market will replenish and large aircraft with zero emissions. The most distant goals do not look fantastic in: by 2050, almost all cars, vans, buses, and new heavy trucks will have a zero level of emissions, and rail traffic will double.
Resuscitation of railway transportFrom January 1, 2021, the European Year of Railways began. The European Commission's initiative will emphasize the advantages of railway transport as a sustainable and safe means of movement. Throughout 2021, events will be held throughout the continent to stimulate the use of the railway both by citizens and business, and everyone will be able to contribute to the achievement of the EU goal: to become climate neutral by 2050. In other words, it is a goal to re-discover this type of transport in the scale of the European Union.
In the EU, railways are considered an environmentally friendly transport. They are responsible for less than 0.5% of greenhouse gas emissions related to transport. In addition to environmental benefits, the railway is also extremely safe and connects people and enterprises throughout the EU through the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
Despite these advantages, only about 7% of passengers and 11% of goods travel along the railway. In fact, railway transport in Europe degrades: largely due to the growth of the number of near-high rail flights in 2018, 149 of the 365 transboundary railway lines that have ever existed in Europe have not worked.
It is planned that the European Year of Railways will create an impulse to increase their share in passenger and freight transport. This will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution coming from EU transport, which will make a huge contribution to the EU efforts within the European Green Agreement. This year it is planned to create a single European railway space with transboundary mobility.
Ports as an element of the Blue EconomyParliamentarians indicate that ports are not only a component of sea transport, but also in an increasing degree of clusters of all types of transport, energy, industry and the "blue economy", emphasizing the transboundary aspect of seaports and recognizing the need to enhance synergies in ports between transport, energy and digital infrastructure. A call to simplify the requirements of regulators in order to create equal conditions of the game with ground regimes.
Transplanting for bicyclesThe EU Transport Committee on transport is paid to the development of alternative species, in particular bicycles. Among the areas for improving the report listed in the report is to improve the integration of cycling and EuroVelo to the overall transport system. It is worth mentioning that the trans-European transport network covers highways, railway lines, inland waterways, ports, maritime shipping pathways, airports and railway terminals in Europe. Now add bikes. EUROVELO bicycle routes network recognize part of the TEN-T network. Bicycle paths are planned to be integrated with other lines already at the construction stage or modernization of larger highways, such as railway lines, and the potential of cycling along and across the line will be estimated; Key items, such as bridges and tunnels, will also be integrated into the project. The report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism contains a call to the European Commission to increase Financial support for Eurovelo.
Revival of Trans-European ExpressHigh hopes are imposed on the revival of trans-European express - a network of direct railway routes of the 1960s between the largest European capitals. The report finanted by the Government of Germany states that this is the key to achieving carbon neutrality in the EU by 2050. At the same time, the network of routes that flourished in the 1960s and 70s can become a model for the new network since 2025. Trans-European Express was an extra-class service launched in 1957, which at his peak served more than 31 routes, including direct communication between key European capitals. Its luxurious trains stopped to run in 1995, as he lost to the near hospital flights and the desire of national governments to invest in domestic high-speed railways. After 2000, train operators also had to pay for access to ways, since the crossing of the borders was often expensive expensive.
In many cases, the existing infrastructure will allow new routes to enter into force, and it is mainly about improving the coordination of schedules. On the other hand, it is impossible to completely copy the idea of trans-European express: the joint venture of the French, German, Swiss, Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourg and Italian railways was offered only elite services and connected only a number of countries in Western and Central Europe.
PerspectivesWith Europe, actually, everything is so clear: such changes were twisted for a long time; You can only note what for some reason they took up during, when coronavirus is not yet destroyed. The question is what place in the European Transport Strategy can occupy Russia, which is part of the Eurasian transport corridor. Russia acts as it is known for the conjugation of European and Eurasian transport corridors. This will force Russia at least partially playing the European rules. A positive factor is that distant rail transportation, including passenger, in Russia did not undergone such degradation as in Europe. Even your version of Trans-European Express is preserved - the Moscow-Vladivostok train, from the window of which you can see most of the country, including Lake Baikal, which he carries around almost entirely. It is quite possible, in the future, with a competent formulation of the issue, a certain combined version will arise, which will carry passengers from somewhere from the Benilyux countries to the Far East. But for this you need to improve political relations with the European Union and at least a partial removal of sanctions.
Posted by: Roman Mamchits