From the perspective of transport specialists, the European Union is characterized by an imbalance between individual modes of transport. The share of rail in total land transport has been successively declining for a number of years. With the progressing process of globalization and the expansion of the EU, the need to create a global transport network and integrate logistics hubs is becoming increasingly clear. The creation of alternative connections, especially for sea-road (as well as in relation to maritime transport – particularly the so-called short sea shipping), based on the principles of land bridges, is gaining importance in the context of increasing the integration of transport systems and ensuring intermodal balance.
The competition between state-owned railway carriers currently operating in Europe, as well as the entry of a relatively large number of new private transport companies into the market in some countries, has contributed to an increase in the competitiveness of these enterprises, not only within the sector but also between sectors. However, an essential element for the development of rail transport is the improvement of the state of linear and point infrastructure and its ability to connect into a unified network, as well as the development of external structures. To this end, it is necessary, among other things, to change the approach of institutions responsible for shaping the transport network in many countries regarding the allocation of public funds for the maintenance, modernization, and development of railway infrastructure. In our country, transport infrastructure, both road and rail, requires significant financial outlays. The former – due to the dynamic development of road transport after the economic transformation; the latter – due to the lack of a proper approach by state institutions over many years to their role in maintaining railway lines, which is evidenced by deep underinvestment and a decline in the importance of ecological rail transport.
The appropriate state of infrastructure, ensuring a smooth exchange of goods, is a reliable indicator of economic development. This, however, requires consistent actions and long-term programs, and any attempts to temporarily shift already low funds – in relation to needs – from neglected railway infrastructure can only contribute to an even smaller market share for this branch.
The introduction of full interoperability, i.e., connecting rail networks into an integrated railway area, will depend on the efficiency of its elements. The further development of intermodal services and the development of increasingly advanced forms of logistics involving rail transport are of great importance for this process. To achieve the goal of a long-term shift of the center of gravity from road transport to rail transport, it is necessary for cooperation to take place between individual EU countries and for new ventures in the field of technical and organizational development to be agreed upon, and importantly, for these agreements to be kept. An effective railway network, operating in a system of interoperable transport systems, and at the same time allowing for the connection of individual transport branches (guaranteeing the ability to connect into a global transport network), requires high investment outlays. Networks using various transport branches work effectively for large cargo flows when there is high efficiency of the railway transport system in creating logistics bridges. Using land transport corridors, goods from the Far and Middle East can flow through the Suez Canal, for example, to the port of Koper, and then should be transported by rail to Świnoujście and – through ferry-rail connections – delivered to Scandinavian countries. Also, goods from the Mediterranean region do not have to be transported by sea through the Strait of Gibraltar to the ports of Northern Europe and Scandinavia. When creating this type of connection, there will certainly be a number of difficulties, not always dependent on the transport organizer, which include:
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customer attachment to currently used logistics solutions,
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non-competitive freight rates for rail transport compared to sea transport, resulting from relatively high infrastructure access charges,
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insufficient quality of service provision in relation to customer expectations regarding shortening delivery times using a land bridge, which results from the lack of full interoperability and the poor state of transport infrastructure in a number of EU countries,
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differentiation of the impact of economic potentials on the created transport chain,
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high competitiveness of road transport, which enjoys unjustified privileges in terms of access to transport infrastructure.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 4/2011.