It will connect 94 major ports and 38 airports via 15,000 kilometers of track
The goal of these investments is to optimize the use of infrastructure along the corridors, primarily through smart transportation systems, efficient management, and the promotion of environmentally friendly and forward-looking transportation solutions.
By analyzing these studies, the EU can identify the problems that hinder the flow of passenger and freight traffic, as well as existing bottlenecks, both within member countries and at their borders. Furthermore, it will enable the implementation of the Investment Plan published by the European Commission, which aims to unlock public and private investments totaling at least 315,000 million for the period 2015–2017.
«Time to Invest»
According to EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, efforts must be stepped up to ensure that the core network is fully operational by 2030. According to Bulc, «the time has come to invest in Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects and to maximize the benefits of the Connecting Europe Facility and the Commission’s 315,000 million investment plan.».
In the commissioner's view, the RTE-T is «essential for the EU as it seeks greater growth, employment, and competitiveness.» She believes that as the EU slowly emerges from the crisis, it must remain united so that «our single market can thrive.».
The core network will connect 94 major European ports via rail and road links; 38 airports connected by rail to major cities; more than 15,000 kilometers of rail lines upgraded for high-speed service; and 35 cross-border projects aimed at reducing existing bottlenecks. This will ensure that the single market’s economic infrastructure enables the free movement of goods and people throughout the EU. The infrastructure forms part of nine corridors considered priorities, which must be operational by 2030.
Nine Priority Corridors
The EU has identified nine corridors that will enable the mobility Europe seeks for the future; these are expected to improve mobility efficiency for both goods and people. These nine priority corridors are based largely on rail and connections to ports, but the road network is also an important component.
The first of these is the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, a north-south route that is considered crucial to the European economy. Starting in Scandinavia, it crosses the Baltic Sea, passes through Germany, Austria, and Italy, and reaches Sicily and Malta by sea.
The second runs from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, connecting the ports on one coast with those on the other. Finland is connected to Estonia by ferry and provides modern rail links between the three Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), on the one hand, and Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, on the other.
A third corridor is the Northern Corridor to the Mediterranean Sea, which extends from Ireland and the northern United Kingdom, through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, toward the Mediterranean Sea via France. This corridor is considered multimodal, as it includes waterways in the Benelux countries and France, and aims to provide improved intermodal services between ports on the North Sea and the Mediterranean, as well as river ports in the Meuse, Rhine, and Rhône river basins, among others.
The fourth corridor is the one connecting the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea, and it is one of the corridors the EU considers most important.
The Eastern Mediterranean, the fifth corridor, connects the North Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Sea regions, thereby optimizing the use of the “motorways of the sea.” It stretches across the sea from Greece to the island of Cyprus.
The sixth is the so-called Rhine-Alpine Corridor, which is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe. The Atlantic Corridor is the seventh and is very important for Spain, as it connects the Iberian Peninsula with the French Atlantic coast via high-speed rail lines and parallel conventional lines.
The eighth priority corridor is the one linking the Rhine with the Danube, which is considered a key waterway corridor, as it connects the central regions around Strasbourg and Frankfurt with Austria, Hungary, and the Black Sea. The last one is the Mediterranean Corridor, possibly the most important for Spain, as it will link the Iberian Peninsula with the border between Hungary and Ukraine.
