Rhine-Alpine News
08.04.2024
EGTC Rhine-Alpine represented in CED NSRMED Transport Corridor Meeting
Pictured: Dr. Cecilia Braun, Director Interregional Alliance for the Rhine – Alpine Corridor EGTC
On Friday, April 5th the North Sea –Rhine–Mediterranean (NSRMED) European Transport Corridor Meeting took place during Connecting Europe Days (CED).
The panel consisted of:
- Paweł Wojciechowski, European Coordinator, European Commission
- Beata Tuszyńska, Advisor to the European Coordinator, DG MOVE, European Commission
- Cecilia Braun, Director Interregional Alliance for the Rhine – Alpine Corridor EGTC
- Koen Cuypers, Mobility Expert at Port of Antwerp-Bruges
- Guus de Mol, President of the Management Board EEIG Corridor Rhine – Alpine
- Gilles Ryckebusch, Manager of the GEIE Seine-Escaut
After an introduction to the cornerstones of the TEN-T Regulation by Beata Tuszyńska, Advisor to the European Coordinator, the panellists gave their input and feedback.
Moderated by Paweł Wojciechowski, the panellists engaged in a focused discussion on the regulatory framework, infrastructure development and strategic planning of the corridor. The discussion and input from the panellists addressed the implications for the development of the NSRMED corridor, including funding, project prioritisation and modal integration to achieve TEN-T objectives.
An emphasis was laid on the cost of rail interoperability and the lack of standardisation resulting due to the history of national agencies and companies guiding rail development in different directions across countries in the past. The panel agreed that pushing coordination and network enhancement requires the involvement of the top political level.
Particularly noteworthy was Dr. Cecilia Braun’s contribution on governance. Based on a unique bottom-up approach, the Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC with its 26 members and a dynamic strategy represents the local and regional stakeholders. Giving them a strong role in corridor development is key to facilitate the interconnection with urban nodes and a smooth implementation of infrastructure projects. She heartfully invited stakeholders from the western part of the merged NSRMED for cooperation in the pursuit of mutual gain.
One Corridor – One Strategy!
On the left: Paweł Wojciechowski; Center left: Beata Tuszyńska ; On the right: Dr. Cecilia Braun
Position Paper: Urban Nodes Empowering cities and regions to build the TEN-T
Urban Nodes Position Paper, POLIS
The position paper “Urban Nodes: Empowering cities and regions to build the TEN-T” was jointly issued by the Urban Nodes Alliance during the 2024 Connecting Europe Days.
In order to guarantee that urban nodes can carry out their essential function within the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), the document describes the governance and financial requirements.
POLIS, the Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor (EGTC), Eurocities, ERRIN, EMTA, and Scandria Alliance have collaborated to publish a joint position paper titled “Urban Nodes: Empowering cities and regions to build the TEN-T” as part of the Urban Nodes Alliance. Following the inauguration of this year’s Connecting Europe Days in Brussels, where from 2nd April to 5th April mobility leaders from all over Europe gathered to talk about the shift to a sustainable, intelligent, and resilient European transport and mobility network.
The recommendations made by the Alliance are in response to the TEN-T regulation’s 2023 update by the EU, which calls for an increase in the number of specified urban nodes in the network from 88 to 431. This significant growth emphasises how important local governments are to the management of transportation infrastructure. The study urges EU Member States to provide more support to urban nodes so they can carry out their essential role within the TEN-T.
The full position paper can be read below.
Creating a Corridor community.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/document/urban-nodes-empowering-cities-and-regions-to-build-the-ten-t/