Freight transport master plan is a good basis, now it has to be implemented consistently, quickly and with concrete measures.
Vienna (OTS) – The master plan for freight transport 2030 states that there is “increasing focus on shifting freight transport to rail”. According to the association’s chairman Thomas Scheiber, the challenges in the master plan are clearly formulated, and there is no lack of awareness of the great importance of rail freight transport for achieving the climate goals. “The master plan was drawn up with the broad involvement of the railway companies. I am fundamentally positive that all those responsible have recognized the great urgency for faster implementation and investment in rail freight transport. But what I am missing are the concrete measures, implementation steps and timing. Now we finally have to get down to business, our proposals are all already on the table,” emphasizes the chairman of the Rail Transport Association in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ).
Railway expansion means climate protection
The transport sector is responsible for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and is therefore one of the biggest causes of climate-damaging emissions. Public passenger transport with buses, trams, underground trains and the rest of the rail passenger and freight transport accounts for less than five percent of the energy requirements of the entire transport sector. Individual transport accounts for the overwhelming remainder of energy consumption.
Promote infrastructure investments in rail
In order to increase the modal split between rail and road, the association is calling for sufficient funding to be made available. Railway infrastructure companies must be able to rely on EU funding when planning projects. In order to be able to cover the future increasing demand for passenger and goods transport services, these subsidies must primarily flow into the expansion of the rail network.
The following measures are also necessary for this:
- Creation of a level playing field for the rail sector in Europe
- Reduction of traction current prices
- An EU-wide promotion of digitization and automation of the railways
- Reduction of infrastructure charges and subsidies for train path prices
- Harmonization of wage and social standards in the transport sector
“We are ready, you just have to let us, that’s especially true at European level. Shifting traffic to rail is one of the central levers for achieving the goals formulated in the master plan, namely a climate-neutral Austrian mobility system by 2040,” Scheiber concludes. (PWK09/DFS)
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