This study was commissioned by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and conducted by K+P Transport Consultants (Freiburg) and the Fraunhofer-Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), Karlsruhe, between June 2010 and August 2011. Its core objective is to quantify the potential range and impact of modal shifts of rail freight to road due to the introduction of longer and / or heavier trucks (LHV). The two relevant rail markets "single wagonload" and "combined road-rail transport (CT)" are distinguished. For both markets the potential shifts by goods category and LHV setting are analysed in the short, medium and long run and including entailed shifts by the economic downward spiral.
 

The study, “Potential of modal shift to rail transport - Study on the projected effects on GHG emissions and transport volumes” was commissioned by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the International Union of Railways (UIC) to consider the potential levels of modal shift to rail, and in particular the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction savings that could result. It was undertaken by the consultancies CE Delft (Netherlands) and TRT (Italy).
 

The European social partners in the rail sector, CER, EIM and ETF (European Transport Workers’ Federation), have worked on the challenges of the demographic change in the context of a project funded by the European Union. The result is a guide with more than thirty examples of good practices, addressing the issue of demographic change and employability in the European railway companies. These actions centre on the areas of recruitment and education, further education and qualifications, health promotion, and appropriate working conditions for the various life phases.

Each publically invested euro in rail infrastructure brings an added value of two euros for national economies, shows a new study carried out by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna/Austria. In addition, just over half of the investments would be returned to the state in the form of taxes and social contributions.
 

The next five years will be decisive for the future of transport in Europe. In spring 2009, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso acknowledged that tackling greenhouse gas emissions from transport must become a top priority in the next legislative period. The EU will have to come up with concrete policies to reduce carbon emissions of the sector by focusing on fair pricing and technological change, a new communication on a sustainable future for transport affi rmed in June 2009. 

This new study published by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research reveals how introducing longer and heavier trucks on European roads would cause far more environmental damage than previously expected. The results of model simulations show that the use of megatrucks across the EU cannot be considered a suitable instrument to lower the environmental impact of transport: megatrucks would replace up to 30% of high-value and container transport volumes on rail. They would also produce an additional 2 million tonnes of CO2 each year.