Waterway infrastructure development must be a priority

Inland waterways are the solution. Improving and updating the existing waterway network, which already connects major ports and freight generation regions will maximise an existing asset and enable the optimal usage of a congestion free, low carbon and safe transport solution. This is the main message in Inland Navigation Europe’s (INE) submission to the European Commission’s consultation on the future Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) policy.

According to the submission, the waterways solution is both sensible and extremely cost-effective one. For example if, despite only receiving 1.5% of TEN-T investment between 1995 and 2005 inland waterway transport has grown by 14.5%, further investment clearly offers good value for public money in times of cash strapped budgets.

Karin De Schepper, INE general secretary said, “The modal approach clearly has not worked. Rather than offering lip-service to co-modality, we should practice it. If we want more sustainable traffic while maintaining competitiveness, it is time to allocate more money to improving the quality of Europe’s main inland waterways network and ensuring inter-connectivity with major nodes. The success of the Rhine river shows how a multi-modal and low-impact link provides maximum benefits at low costs to both industry and society. The Rhine can serve as an example for all the other main rivers of the Ten-T core network.”