The European Commission has unveiled plans to clean up and modernise urban transport within the bloc as it attempts to reach the targets laid out by the EU Green Deal and Fit for 55 package.
High-speed rail. Credit: aapsky / Shutterstock
High-speed rail will form part of the TEN-T system with plans to double adoption by 2030. Credit: aapsky / Shutterstock
New schemes will be put in place to increase connectivity, shift passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways, support the rollout of electric vehicle charging points, build alternative fuelling infrastructure and place a stronger focus on sustainable urban mobility with a goal of slashing emissions by 90%.
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Known as the EU's Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) system that connects 424 cities with ports, airports and railway terminals through the use of railways, inland waterways and short-sea routes.
The EU suggests the changes could significantly shorten public transport routes. For example, a trip from Copenhagen to Hamburg could be shaved down to 2.5 hours through the TEN-T system, opposed to the 4.5 hours it takes now.
“Europe's green and digital transition will bring big changes to the ways we move around", EU Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans said.
Today's proposals set European mobility on track for a sustainable future: faster European rail connections with easy-to-find tickets and improved passenger rights, support for cities to increase and improve public transport and infrastructure for walking and cycling, and making the best possible use of solutions for smart and efficient driving", he added.
The proposal lays out frameworks by which travel will be made more efficient on the continent, such as implementing high-speed rail that can travel up to 160 km/h (99.4 mph) by 2040, while ensuring canals and river routes always ensure optimal travelling conditions, such as ensuring steady water levels or minimising obstructions, for a minimum number of days per year.
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Plans exist to double access to high-speed rail by the end of the decade, with a view to tripling access by 2050. Brussels also hopes access to high-speed rail will encourage EU citizens to travel abroad on trips, which could help stimulate the travel economies of member states, particularly those whose economies depend on tourism.
It also calls for more transhipment terminals, improved handling capacity at freight terminals, reduced waiting times at rail border crossings, longer trains to shift more freight onto cleaner transport modes, and the option for lorries to be transported by train network-wide.
The proposal also requires all 424 major cities along the TEN-T network to develop "Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans" to promote zero-emission mobility and to increase and improve public transport and infrastructure for walking and cycling.
Many of these frameworks have a preliminary deadline of 2040 to ensure the bloc's 2050 climate goals of becoming completely carbon-neutral are met.
EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean said the bloc is looking to make EU transport "more efficient, safer and cleaner" for everyone.
The cities linked by EU infrastructure are our economic powerhouses", she added. "But they must also be lean cities – for inhabitants and commuters".
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The Commission is also proposing an update to the 2010 ITS Directive, adapting to the emergence of new road mobility options, mobility apps and connected and automated mobility, which should ensure certain valuable road, travel and traffic data are easily and readily available in a digital format.
By 2030, the bloc is also planning to run 15 cross-border pilots to test the Action Plan's approach, ahead of the new TEN-T requirements being implemented.
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