Almost 100 eco-friendly transport projects have been earmarked for funding across Europe, including rail, inland waterway and maritime routes.  

Over 350 proposals were submitted to the European Commission (EC) in 2022 in response to a call for the bloc’s nations to come up with ways to improve transport networks. 

Now, the EC has announced that 107 of these projects will become realities with funding support via grants from a pool of €6.2 billion allotted by the EU. 

MONEY FOR GREEN GOALS 

More than 80% of the pay outs will support eco-friendly projects, notably along the trans-European transport network, the TEN-T.  

The TEN-T is the bloc’s method for developing coherent, efficient, multimodal and high-quality transport infrastructure across the EU. It is made up of railways, inland waterways, short sea shipping routes and roads linking urban nodes, maritime and inland ports, airports and terminals. 

“Today, we are allocating €6.2 billion to projects across Europe that will take us closer to completing the TEN-T, the backbone of the EU’s economy,” said Adina Vălean, Commissioner for Transport. 

BIG PLANS 

Some of the bigger projects to be undertaken include an upgrade to infrastructure on the Seine-Scheldt waterway that runs between France and Belgium, as well as modernisation of inland ports on the Danube and Rhine basins.  

EU rail transportation will see increased interoperability and safety with the installation of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on trains in France, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Czechia and Slovakia. Other rail projects include cross-border rail connections between Italy and Austria via the Brenner Base tunnel, and a Rail Baltica plan connecting Poland and the Baltics to the rest of Europe.  

Additionally, maritime ports in Ireland, Greece, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland will receive funding to develop on-shore power supplies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from moored vessels. 

Finally, air transport will also get a look in, with several member states getting support for air traffic management projects aimed at increasing efficiency as well as creating a single “European sky”.  

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Photo source: Ian Taylor on Unsplash