RAILFREIGHT's share of Europe's long-distance inland transport will almost double to 44 per cent by 2050 if all goes according to plan, reports IHS Media.
But the plan calls for an expenditure of more than US$500 billion in public investment, according to a new report by the International Union for Road-Rail Transport (UIRR).
But European rail freight has been struggling to grow its market share. According to a McKinsey study, railfreight's share has decreased from about 60 per cent in the 1950s to 30 per cent in the '80s to 15 per cent today, driven mainly by falling volume from large bulk shippers.
The UIRR released its 'Road Map to Zero-Carbon Combined Transport 2050' report that outlined the investment needed to match the projected rising rail volume across the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) of the European Union.
'The share of railfreight is projected to double by 2050, with combined transport filling 70 per cent of the freight trains,' the report noted. Combined transport refers to using rail for journeys of over 300 kilometres and using road to cover the first and last miles.
'In absolute numbers, this means that the tonne-kilometres in rail freight transport are expected to triple by 2050 and combined transport will grow by 360 per cent over the coming 30 years,' it added. 'As a result of the increasing transport volumes on rail, the number of freight trains is projected to double.'
Switching inland transport from road to rail, especially for journeys over 300 km (186 miles), is a key part of the European Commission's (EC) ambitious climate goal of achieving carbon neutrality and reducing transport sector greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.
The EC wants 30 per cent of road freight transported further than 300 km to switch to rail or waterways by 2030, increasing to 50 per cent by 2050.
SeaNews Turkey
But the plan calls for an expenditure of more than US$500 billion in public investment, according to a new report by the International Union for Road-Rail Transport (UIRR).
But European rail freight has been struggling to grow its market share. According to a McKinsey study, railfreight's share has decreased from about 60 per cent in the 1950s to 30 per cent in the '80s to 15 per cent today, driven mainly by falling volume from large bulk shippers.
The UIRR released its 'Road Map to Zero-Carbon Combined Transport 2050' report that outlined the investment needed to match the projected rising rail volume across the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) of the European Union.
'The share of railfreight is projected to double by 2050, with combined transport filling 70 per cent of the freight trains,' the report noted. Combined transport refers to using rail for journeys of over 300 kilometres and using road to cover the first and last miles.
'In absolute numbers, this means that the tonne-kilometres in rail freight transport are expected to triple by 2050 and combined transport will grow by 360 per cent over the coming 30 years,' it added. 'As a result of the increasing transport volumes on rail, the number of freight trains is projected to double.'
Switching inland transport from road to rail, especially for journeys over 300 km (186 miles), is a key part of the European Commission's (EC) ambitious climate goal of achieving carbon neutrality and reducing transport sector greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.
The EC wants 30 per cent of road freight transported further than 300 km to switch to rail or waterways by 2030, increasing to 50 per cent by 2050.
SeaNews Turkey
