Investments in rail corridors are needed in order to face the dramatic growth of rail freight volumes expected until 2025, but they must be coordinated between the countries concerned, according to CER. There is a real need that investments are market-driven and not simply driven by short-sighted political considerations. There is room for the money to go towards small projects with high returns and complementary investments on the secondary network should not be forgotten. This was the conclusion of a panel discussion organised by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure companies (CER) on 10 May in the framework of the transport logistic trade fair in Munich.

During his keynote speech, Michael Harting, Director-General Land Transport at the German Ministry of Transport, highlighted the necessity for Germany to invest in corridors, as Germany is a major transit country. However, he also highlighted the additional constraints on public budgets as a result of the financial crisis. According to the recently adopted rail freight network regulation 913/2010, Germany needs to contribute to four corridors. Given the tight budgets, Germany had to set priorities among these corridors and will first concentrate its resources on the corridor from Rotterdam to Genoa.

The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion of high-level experts from the political world and the rail sector. Karel Vinck, ERTMS Coordinator representing the European Commission, Alexander Hedderich, Managing Director of DB Schenker Rail, Nicolas Perrin, CEO of SBB Cargo, Edward Burkhardt, President of Rail World Inc., Jürgen Müller, Partner at McKinsey and Michael Holzhey, Partner at KCW, discussed important questions related to the financing of European rail freight corridors. The panel discussion was moderated by Jan Sundling, Chairman of the Board at ASTOC and Member of the CER Management Committee. More than 150 interested visitors listened to the discussion.

The panelists agreed that money does not necessarily need to go to big investment projects. Small investments can bring high returns. For example, according to McKinsey, the measure that would bring the best return on investments on most of the European rail network would be to increase/harmonise the length of trains. In some parts of the network, there may also be a business case to increase axel load and loading gauge or harmonise train speed.

The speakers were divided over the relevance of implementing ERTMS, as the business case for ERTMS raises some doubts. There was however recognition that a harmonised signaling and train monitoring system is desirable in the long run. ERTMS can only bring its full benefits when coupled with parallel investments on opening up bottlenecks and harmonising of national operational rules.

In the same vein, when talking about infrastructure investments, the panelists highlighted that one should not simply think main line but also about rail terminals, railway sidings and secondary network which equally need to be developed in order to feed into corridors.

Concluding the discussion, the speakers agreed that it does make sense to invest in freight corridors now. It is time to switch focus from passenger to freight, because the growth expectations on freight traffic are much higher than the growth expectations on passenger traffic.