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Scepticism from the rail freight industry concerning parts of the EU’s Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP) is now taking the form of direct calls to the EU Parliament and Council to avoid detrimental mistakes. A major point of concern addressed by sector associations UIRR, ERFA and CER is the amendment of the Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD), one of the package’s main pillars. The three parties stress the importance of considering it in conjunction with the Combined Transport Directive (CTD).
The EU Commission announced new GFTP measures on 11 July. The first reaction from the railway sector was quite positive, considering that the measures touched upon critical matters like optimising rail capacity management and allocation. Back in the day, Akos Ersek, chief policy advisor at UIRR, had stated that GFTP provided space for optimism, given that tangible solutions are implemented.
A concerning and unclear point for Ersek was the Weights and Dimensions Directive aiming to incentivise the use of low-emission lorries. This proposal foresees the revision of weight and dimension rules in road transport, resulting in heavier and longer trucks on the roads. “This can prove tricky,” said Ersek, who also stressed that “no heavy cargo should be travelling as a principle on the roads; heavy cargo belongs on rail”.
ERFA and CER expressed their position that the WDD should be revised together with the CTD from day one. At the same time, UIRR maintained an equally sceptical yet slightly positive stance, saying that everything would be determined after the release of the official GFTP documents by the Commission, implying that there could be a possibility that WDD would not be considered separately from CTD. Read more
Source: RAILFREIGHT.COM
