The paper provides an overview of the most important technical requirements for railway infrastructure as regulated by the standards proposed by the European Union. More precisely, the paper gives an insight into the following Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) requirements: track gauge, axle load, train length, electrification and speed. In addition, each parameter is illustrated by a practical case where appropriate.
In order to strengthen the Orient/East-Med (OEM) Corridor by the means of railway transport, certain measures are necessary. Considering the insights gained from planning and developing the concept of transalpine railway transport in Switzerland, the future capacity of the corridor and plans for the required expansions in time are proposed. This primarily requires the definition of the assumed services and thereafter a determination of the capacities of the sectors in order to define the required expansions. The project should function as a continuous railway network spanning across many country borders so that not much time is lost at border-crossings.
Corridor Fora is a young, yet important tool to promote transnational cooperation along TEN-T corridors, worthwhile scrutinizing. They bring together various stakeholders and perspectives. Public authorities and infrastructure providers and operators are the main stakeholder groups in the Corridor Fora. Experience shows that the members use the forum meetings for policy coordination and lobbying, networking and learning, but also as a source of inspiration. However, it is also important to note that some interests are underrepresented in the Fora and synergies between the corridors are not yet fully exploited. Corridor Fora are embedded in a wider system of European transport and cooperation policies. To promote transnational cooperation along the Orient/East-Med Corridor and develop understanding and trust, additional tools such as INTERREG A, INTERREG B, macro-regional strategies and bottom-up initiatives are important complementary activities. In this way, corridor development can be addressed from different perspectives to further build on cooperation traditions.
Budapest metropolitan area is the major logistic hub of Hungary, as major TENT-T corridors cross the city. Growth potential is high, and railway infrastructure, brownfields and new hubs of logistics are key areas of development; still none of these sectors are at their full potential. The case study introduces the historical background and evolution of logistics and the rail network, and national objectives aiming to improve efficiency in infrastructure to foster sustainability and competitiveness. The focus areas are rail freight, offshore trade, service export, intermodal terminals, air cargo terminals, suburban passenger services and investments aiming to increase the usage of railway in freight and passenger transport. The study highlights how the region is seeking its competitive edge, and how progress is hindered by the lack of railway capacities or a lack of integrated urban planning. The urban rail concept and large brownfield sites along the lines may create opportunities for exploitation, but a lack of synergies impedes strategic development for now.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the countries of central and eastern Europe were eager to reshape their societies both in terms of transforming the social system and upgrading the physical environment. The European transport network policies were considered an appropriate instrument for the latter. More importantly, the transport policies highly affected spatial development as they preceded the first European spatial policies. As Serbia suffered from internal social and political problems, it was excluded from the support offered to the European Union Member States. However, due to the geopolitical importance of the Western Balkans, the entire region has become an interesting target for investments from Russia, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. In extreme need of an economic upturn, the Western Balkan states are usually forced to accept the conditions of foreign investors, no matter what the consequences for society and space. An example that illustrates such ad-hoc political decisions is the Belgrade Waterfront project, which is growing on an 90-ha area, including the recently closed railway station and its shunting yard. As spatial planners and other relevant experts are considered too weak to oppose the political regime, and as the only true critics of the project came from citizen organizations, the paper highlights the role of the civil sector, considering it a tool for transforming the spatial planning approach of a transitional society. Critical analysis of both the regulatory and institutional framework of spatial planning in Serbia indicates a paradox: on the one hand, formal documents highlighting the need for and the role of the civil sector exist, but they are not implemented in spatial planning practice; on the other hand, the mechanisms for active participation have already been developed by the civil sector, however, the institutional framework necessary for formalizing these informal instruments is missing. Solving this issue is a small step towards the progress of Serbian spatial governance, still in transition.
For four years, a group of experts from public administration, academia and practice has collaborated to highlight the important aspects of corridor development, to provide a first integrated assessment for the entire corridor system and to prepare a draft of an integrated strategy. Of course, this is just a beginning and should be followed up by additional initiatives to produce an organisational framework that will allow intensified collaboration on the corridors, which are so important for the cohesion of Europe. Moreover, we hope that our insights will also stimulate the development of the OEM Corridor and similar investigations into other European corridors. Due to the international nature of the project topic, the working group comprises prominent experts of spatial development and infrastructural engineering from both academia and from planning practice, and from various countries along the corridor.
