Tweet21-08-2009 om 16:30 by Stafford Wadsworth

In this story, we look at ‘taking the train’ in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregional context’, where three national rail systems and a range of local initiatives are trying to breathe life into rail traffic. We see that cost, convenience and complexity are all factors that militate against, what might seem obvious solutions to local public transport problems. Nevertheless, the authorities are sticking to a program that will lead to improved circumstances within a decade.

The cargo situation seems at first to be a lost cause, with ultra slow, single-track connections, subject to central government obfuscation and delay. Both issues are discussed with a specialist and the initial, rather dull picture does not seem to lighten up, until we take into account the high-tech ‘deus ex machina’ of the TGV high-speed train.

The world as it is
It’s Our human condition makes it difficult for us to discuss things dispassionately, because of the natural (perhaps neurobiological) tendency to turn the theme of an argument into an article of belief. Nowhere is this more the case than when one is talking about energy today — climate change, for example — and, by extension in this context, about concrete matters (in a non-metaphorical sense) such as: transport by road and rail.

We are going to ask whether there is a rational perspective for the highly tangible infrastructural needs in Meuse-Rhine, where three countries and five separate sub-regions meet and need ways of communicating more efficiently. The perspectives have to be in keeping with the prevailing ideas of saving energy and the social value of public transport; and also, consonant with proposals, already made, to link public local transport systems - not to forget cargo.

On the public transport front, one has to be honest and say that generally, if people want to go to major towns, that are less than 30 minutes’ drive away by car, most of them are going to jump into theirs and drive there. And, while there is a need for public transport for students, incidental travelers and old people and for the future, it will surely come. However, right now, the costs of local public transport are relatively high.

An argument for Euroregional local public transport is that once you lay down the infrastructure, you can use it for a lot of other things, and this is particularly relevant when one looks at cargo. This is because rail cargo is a disaster. This is the real reason why roads in Europe are full of trucks and cars. Mainlines are often single track and freight trains in Europe travel at an average of 18km per hour.

In this article we talk to a senior policy advisor in the Dutch Province of Limburg’s mobility department who has been working on the subject of public transport for more than 20 years. Marc Onnen (MO) has been particularly concerned with cross-border public transport and he is now developing the policy focus:

Cross-border public transport
MO: “I’m working on transport and traffic planning at the policy level but I’m also closely concerned now with cross-border contacts in this area — in Belgian Limburg, the Walloon Country and North-Rhine Westphalia. Now, in these contacts, the familiar topics recur and cross-border public transport plays a major role.

At a European level, there are lots of attempts to reach agreement in technological areas, on safety, and things of that sort. An effort is being made to get rid of the major differences; but this tends to focus on the high-speed, long-distance lines. In Limburg, there are a number of lower level problems but these tend not to receive the attention they deserve.”

SW: What’s the reason for this lack of cooperation? Is it just a lack of interest?

MO: “Yes, it is a lack of interest; it’s a lack of focus, too. There is another aspect to the problem too. In the Euroregions, we are dealing with small-scale problems. Somehow public transport is being left behind. What one does see, in an area like this, is a great deal of cross-border traffic of various sorts: from home to work, shopping trips etc - in this area with three major cities. It is a densely populated area: 3.9 m inhabitants in an area of 10,500 m². People are crossing the borders all the time, for recreational purposes as well; but public transport has not kept up with the situation. In the end, it is a question of money; and, the maintenance and management of infrastructures, especially rail infrastructure, is expensive.”

SW: Can you give an example of the sort of expense involved?

MO: “Well, just to take one example, to turn the line between Heerlen and Aachen, into a twin track of less than a kilometer, means that you are talking about at least EUR 5m. If you want to extend the whole line, a link of some 15km, then you are talking about tens of millions of Euros. Talk about electrification and you can add further tens of millions. When you start developing this small area further, you’re getting towards EUR 100m and that is just for the infrastructure.

Cross-border traffic by public transport, in this area, probably amounts to one per cent. So you’re actually ‘between the Devil and the deep blue sea’. You have to have your infrastructure ready and rail companies wants to see the market there before they do anything.

In essence, light rail public transport is more flexible and you can move around more quickly and you can stop more often, and in fact we’re introducing more stations on the route, one in Maastricht and two in Heerlen and a couple more that will actually link into the Euregiobahn.

With the public transport system, that we have just mentioned, we now get a frequency of four trains per hour, which is good, and then there’s the coming link to Germany. On the German side, the Euregiobahn is better developed and that is because of the devolution of rail competence responsibility to a local level; this is something that happened earlier in Germany than here in Limburg.”

“The picture is fragmented,” says Mr Onnen, “but you do see that wings are being spread. We have talked about the Hasselt–Maastricht tram connection; we mentioned the EuregioAixpress, linking the stations between Liège and Aachen. Slowly but surely things are coming together, but it is a slow business and we think in terms of another ten to 15 years before we get where we want to be.”

And, this would appear to be ‘where it is at’ with the specialist reechoing the speculation of our earlier paragraphs

Rail Cargo Logistics
To recapitulate, we asked Marc Onnen about rail cargo too; its infrastructure and systems cause quite a lot of problems because there are differences in technology. The main problem with the freight trains is that they are slow.

SW: Isn’t the figure something like 18kph?

MO: “Yes, they are slow and they are expensive, and this means that they do not compete well with road transport. Rail freight only really works on long distances of 250km and more. The added problem you have with freight is that you are putting it on the same rails as passenger transport and, because it is slow and as passenger traffic has to keep to schedules, this makes for further problems. The problems are exacerbated by the fact that there is only a single track, crossing over to Aachen, for example.”

Pro Rail, the Dutch government agency that is concerned with rail infrastructure, is also not always very cooperative in cross-border activities. There is the issue of the national interest, which they feel called upon to represent. It seems to be easy to do business with airports and ports but the railway system is anchored in the soil.

There is also a certain fear of market liberalization in this area. These nationally based infrastructural authorities can take a lot of time over things and there can be trains which run perfectly adequately in a country for years and years, but when they cross the border then they have to be tested again. The commercial parties are, of course, not encouraged by this type of situation.”

A new solution
There is one project on the horizon that looks as if it will consign a lot of thinking about rail freight to the garbage can. Why not develop a blend of high speed and rail cargo?
Today, Liège is at the heart of a high-speed rail hub, with a 5,000 km radius, which is set to triple through 2020. The pattern of development that this is bringing in its wake is breathtaking. The story, like so many others, begins in Paris.
CAREX Roissy, the express-rail-cargo-dedicated organization, is a private/public partnership, which includes Air France Cargo, La Poste, FEDEX, WFS, TNT-Express, TLF and the airports of Paris and Liège. This organization has created the EUROCAREX project which is going to create an express rail cargo network with a radius of 800 km from Charles de Gaulle International Airport at Roissy – Paris’ biggest.
Air cargo containers will be rail-freighted, at night, at a speed of 300 kph, using specially developed rolling stock, with air cargo pallets able to carry 80 to 100 tons. The project has the advantage of reducing environmental impact but it also clears the skies at night. The energy costs and speed limits on heavy vehicles and the gradual silting up of highway systems makes this solution a win-win option on the economic, logistical, environmental and real-estate fronts.
At the end of 2007, the first calls for tenders were scheduled; and, in 2012, the principal European airports will be interconnected. These stations and networking agreements are being set up with airports in Paris, Amsterdam and Lyon, Liège and the outskirts of London.
EUR 220m in public and private funding has been invested in the Liège airport area over the last few years. The public investment in infrastructure has attracted purely private real-estate investment. The dedicated logistics zone, commercialized by SPI+ and Meusinvest (both development companies), has already achieved 100% occupancy; and, the waiting list of those who want to invest is a long one.
The projected arrival of TGV cargo at the airport and the fact of being in the first round of this development means real acceleration in this process. It also means that these sites, foreseen as extensions to the logistical zone, must be ready to attract international players. Liège already number 8 in European cargo airport rankings, with the lowest commercial rental rates in Europe, has many cards up its sleeve for the first round of EUROCAREX as the program is to be called.
Business locations offered to the transport business are already being snapped up. Major groups national and international investors are interested in the zone, both in terms of developing their own European hubs and for venture capital investment. Things are “hotting up” in Meuse-Rhine’s infrastructure market which is where this story started.

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