Inland ports co-operate to overcome border issues

Inland ports close to national borders could act as stepping stones to smooth out freight corridors, according to European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) president Roland Hoerner.

 

Speaking at the Ferrmed Manifesto Conference in the European Parliament last week, Mr Hoerner pointed to “interesting examples” including the co-operation between Basel-Weil am Rhein and Mulhouse, between Metz and Trier, and within the Dresden-Děčín cluster. But he added more could follow if they were given European and political support.

 

A cross border co-operation with inland ports on each side of a national border could also contribute to solving the problems which often exist near national boundaries. EFIP director Isabelle Ryckbost explained to Port Strategy that since national governments tend to concentrate on more national infrastructure, it often has the unintended effect of creating a “transport-no-man’s-land” near the national boundaries.

 

Further, both she and Mr Hoerner both pointed out the lack of interoperability of the European railways systems, where both different regulations and physical structures can cause difficulties.

 

But since inland ports are natural ‘nodes’ of activity, “by their nature they have international, and intermodal, strategies in focus”, said Ms Ryckbost. “While national governments are more tempted to support infrastructure on their own territory, ports on the other hand are directly involved at cross border issues. If you have inland ports co-operating on each side of a national border, they can activate their synergies as intermodal centres and help ease general cargo flows.”

 

Mr Hoerner went on to say, “The ‘corridor approach’ as chosen in different initiatives, be it ERTMS, the rail freight network for competitive freight is a good approach to overcome the remaining obstacles to interoperability.”

 

But he warned, “We should however consider these corridors as a step towards an overall EU approach. We should at all means avoid national barriers being replaced by corridor barriers.”
(source:http://www.portstrategy.com)