Coordinator Telička and team (photo MPC)
The preparation of the Corridor Studies for the nine Core Network Corridors was launched by the European Commission in January 2014 as part of the TEN-T implementation. The kick-off organized in Brussels (January 8-9) started also the work of Proximare with the Corridor Study of the North Sea – Baltic.
After an intensive period of studies and initial data analysis (January-March) the first Corridor Forum meetings took place in Brussels in early April. The Corridor Forum of the North Sea – Baltic brought together the European Commission, eight Member States along the Corridor (FI, EE, LV, LT, PL, DE, NL, BE) and Proximare. The following Corridor Forum meetings will invite the key stakeholders in transport and logistics, including infrastructure managers and operators, cities and regions, industry and civil society. In 2014, there will be total four Corridor Forum meetings.
Chaired by Coordinator Pavel Telička, the meeting elaborated on the results of the first progress report of Proximare. The Report provides a general overview of the Corridor and points out the most severe bottlenecks along the corridor. Importantly, the report calls for political decision-making that supports the efficient implementation of the TEN-T strategy. The most striking bottleneck – 1000 km long – on the Corridor is the lack of the European 1435 mm gauge railway infrastructure across the Baltic States. Other important bottlenecks include eg. Amsterdam sealock and Rijnkanaal, to mention but few. Proximare continues the data collection and analysis of the Corridor towards the next progress report which will be presented to the Corridor Forum in June 2014.