| Pan- and Trans-European Infrastructure Networks: Corridor 5 and Corridor 8 |
| Written by Giu |
| Wednesday, 17 March 2010 15:27 |
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The concept of trans-European transport corridors arose after the fall of the Berlin Wall. They are meant to facilitate the exchange of goods, persons, oil and other energy supplies, and telecommunications systems between Europe and the Balkan countries. These complex infrastructure networks are of strategic importance for Italy from a geopolitical and geo-economic point of view. Trans-European Corridor 5, the rail and road network that the European Union is committed to building by 2015 was pinpointed during the Pan-European Transport Conference in Crete (1994) and Helsinki (1997). Corridor 5 is a major east-west artery linking Barcelona (Spain) and Kiev (Ukraine). The Turin-Venice-Trieste/Koper-Postojina- Ljubljana-Budapest-Uzgorod-Lvov-Kiev section in particular would bring a number of advantages to Italy. The so-called "Balkan segment" of Corridor 5 running east-west in the northern Adriatic region involves complex infrastructures in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary. The route covers 1,600 km, not to mention its branches: one leading from Fiume to Budapest via Zagreb, another from Bratislava to Izgorod and the third from Ploce to the Hungarian capital via Sarajevo. The multimodal Pan-European Corridor 5 is thus planned along three axes. The "a" axis is Venice-Trieste/Koper-Ljubjiana-Budapest-Lvov, the "b" axis is Rijeka (Fiume)-Zagreb-Budapest, and the "c" axis is Ploce-Sarajevo-Osijek-Budapest. Two major links have been identified in the section between north-eastern Italy and the western border of Hungary, one running in the direction Venice-Trieste- Ljubjiana-Maribor-Slovenian-Hungarian border and the other in the direction Fiume-Zagreb-Croatian-Hungarian border. Axes "b" and "c" converge near Letenje in Hungary, continuing towards the Ukraine via Budapest, Gyongyos and Nyiregyhàza. Definition of Axis "c" fulfills the commitment of the Dayton Agreement for greater integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the framework of the pan-European network. As for the rail system, the direct link recently built between Slovenia and Hungary avoids having to route traffic through Austria and Croatia as in the past. Consequently, the Corridor 5 rail route includes a Trieste-Koper-Ljublijana section that goes directly to the Hungarian border and continues to Budapest via Zalaegerszeg, Boba and Székesfehérvar. The new infrastructure is an east-west artery south of the Alps and is of great importance to the development of Central and Eastern European countries. Forecasts are that the accession of Slovenia and Hungary as well as other candidate countries to the European Union will bring about considerable increase in rail traffic in Italy's north-eastern mountain passes. On one hand, the corridor will require expansion of the already existing road and rail structures. On the other, new infrastructures will be needed. Furthermore, there will be improvements in some transport nodes that at present impede the smooth, rapid flow of traffic of passengers and goods. Multimodal Corridor 5 is indicated as a "European priority". Van Miert's Tran-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Plan also calls for a Lyon-Turin-Trieste- Ljubljana-Budapest rail network that includes construction of a 52-kilometre tunnel through the Alps (at a cost of 5.9 billion euro). The entire project should be completed by 2015 although, according to forecasts, the Moncenisio tunnel will be completed some time between 2015 and 2017. In Italy, the project also includes construction of new lines in the sections Bussolino-Turin (47 kilometres to be completed by 2011 for a cost of 2.35 billion euro) and Venice-Trieste (125 kilometres to be completed by 2015 for a cost of 5 billion euro). Overall cost is estimated at 20.64 billion euro. Four projects to expand shipping routes are also included in the project. One is the south-eastern route including Cyprus and linking the Adriatic and Ionian seas. It will also reinforce Corridor 8 linking the peninsula with the Balkans and Greece. The other is the south-western route with links within the Tyrrhenian Sea. European priority infrastructure also include other important links such as the Paris-Bratislava rail line, the multimodal route between Spain and Portugal and rest of the continent and the Ireland-United Kingdom route. The central segment of Corridor 5 areas are supported to the south by the ports of the Mediterranean and Adriatic seaport systems and to the north by the road and rail routes of the Simplon, Gothard and Brenner mountain passes. These axes will allow the corridor areas to integrate with Central Europe, the productive realities of the Bavaria region and the strategic axes linking the corridor with the entire Rhur basin. Tran-European Network Corridor 8 Tran-European Network - TEN-T - Corridor 8 runs east-west through south-eastern Europe, linking transport flows from the Adriatic and Ionian Seas to those from the Black Sea. From the port of Durres, Albania, the pan-European axes runs towards Skopje, via Tirana, Albania. It then heads towards Sofia, Bulgaria and to reach the seaports of Burgas and Varna on the Black Sea. It covers a total of 1,300 km of rail line and 906 km of road network. This artery has grown in importance in the system of pan-European links thanks to the creation of another, Corridor X, directly linking Austria and Greece. Moreover, the project listed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) drawn up during the Italian EU Council Presidency contemplated a route that included the Italian ports in the region of Apulia along the follow axis: Bari/Brindisi-Durres/Vlore-Tirana-Popgradec-Skopje-Sofija-Burgas-Varna. Corridors 8 and 5 converge in the Sofia-Plovdiv section, thus engaging both Greece and Turkey in the project. During a meeting in Rome on 7 July 2000, the countries involved stipulated an agreement accepting the portions of the MOU defining the corridor. In May 1997 a working group, chaired by the Bulgarian State Railways, (BDZ) was set up to study the rail system. Today, the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe has funds available to finance construction of the missing rail links from Skopje to Bulgaria. The rail line is interrupted in two sections, between Albania and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and between the latter and Bulgaria. Approximately 80 km of track must be built in a region whose morphological features make access difficult. Corridor 8 is another of the priority projects of former EU commissioner Karel Van Miert. The Corridor 8 Technical Office and Control Centre were opened at the Fiera del Levante Trade Fair Centre, Bari and will host a yearly forum of representatives of the governments that signed the Memorandum, for the purpose of verifying the progress made regarding the commitments undertaken.
Useful Links Tran-European Network Corridor 8
Fonte: Italian Foreign Ministry http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 15:37 |