MANIFESTO OF THE ATLANTIC RAIL CORRIDOR FOR FREIGHT.

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1 MANIFESTO OF THE FOR FREIGHT. ETXEBIZITZA, HERRI LAN ETA GARRAIO SAILA DEPARTAMENTO DE VIVIENDA OBRAS PÚBLICAS Y TRANSPORTES

2 ATRCD WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BOOST THE WITHIN THE TEN-T REVIEW PROCESS? Because of the social-economic importance of the regions making up the Atlantic Arc. The Atlantic Rail Corridor connects the Atlantic coastal regions, consisting of those which are part of the Atlantic Arc Commission (Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland, UK and Ireland) along with Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and the extensions further south (port of Algeciras and Morocco) and north (the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, Northern and Eastern Europe). To the East it connects with the Lyon-Ljubljana- Budapest axis up to the Ukranian border (Kiev), and with the Berlin-Warsaw axis up to the Byelorusian border (Minsk). The population in the Atlantic Arc can be estimated at more than 80 million inhabitants (25% of the population of Eurozone) and is distributed around twelve urban agglomerations of more than one million inhabitants, among them European capitals such as Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, The Hague, London and Dublin. For Lisbon and Madrid, this corridor is the shortest route to get to Paris, London, Berlin, Northern and Eastern Europe or Russia. From an economic perspective, the Atlantic Arc accounts for 30-40% of the GDP in the eurozone: that is, a GDP of more than 2 trillion euros. Distributed along the corridor are more than sixty ports (those of Seville, Sines, Lisbon, Porto, Vigo, Gijon, Santander, Bilbao, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Nantes-Saint Nazaire, Lorient, Brest, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Dunkirk...), which carry annual traffic in excess of 650 million tonnes to which could also be added the traffic of the major ports in the extensions of the corridor: Algeciras, Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Hamburg. It is estimated that at present the corridor is used to transport approximately 100,000 million tonne-km of freight annually. Given this reality, there currently exists a significant modal imbalance which should lead to a redistribution in favour of more sustainable modes, particularly Rail/Maritime transport). As an example, we could say that approximately 50% of freight traffic between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe takes place along the Atlantic corridor. Only 1% of this traffic takes place by rail and 16% by sea, the remaining 83% by road. This has led to saturation in the road infrastructure and to the standstill and unsustainability of the system.

3 WHAT IS OUR PROPOSAL? (ARC) The promotion and execution of a series of intelligent infrastructure investments would permit spectacular changes in the modal share and an exponential increase in more sustainable forms of transport through the development of rail/maritime transport. What is the ARC network? The goal of the ARC network is the effective and sustainable promotion and development of the Atlantic Rail Corridor (ARC) for freight. It brings together public authorities and institutional agencies, chambers of commerce, freight carriers, private operators and different public and private agents interested in developing a sustainable means of freight transport as a real and complementary alternative to road transport. Some of the specific objectives of the ARC are: Promote the development of the rail infrastructure for the transport of freight on the Atlantic Rail Corridor and to foster intermodal transportation. Coordinate the planning and implementation of the different actions in the corridor Improve the quality, competitiveness and efficiency of the rail services Promote rail as a complementary mode to road transport Ensure interoperability in the rail transport of rolling stock, services and operators Boost the development and coordination of nodes and intermodal logistics centres as well as terminals, especially in port locations Its creation in late 2010 is the result of the push given by the Basque Government as coordinator of the Atlantic Arc Commission Transport Group (AATG) in the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) and by its close collaboration with the Government of Aquitaine.

4 ATRCD Positioning of the ARC network with respect to the TEN-T review process First of all, the ARC network wishes to state its agreement with Option 3 which has been accepted by a majority for the review and development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). This option 3 as defined in the Green Paper TEN-T Policy Review: Towards a better integrated trans-european transport network at the service of the common transport policy published in February plans for two levels: a comprehensive network (which would correspond to the current form of the reviewed TEN-T) and a core network. The ARC network asserts that the Atlantic Rail Corridor must become part of this core network as a major strategic axis of the comprehensive network for freight transport: Due to the contribution it makes to the accessibility of the Atlantic regions, To consolidate a sustainable alternative to freight transport by road which currently saturates the corridor, Due to its multimodal character and, in particular, its connection with the most important European ports (through road and rail links, the corridor connects major ports, multimodal terminals and motorways of the sea), And due to its connections with other European axes and, in particular with third countries, be it at the northern or southern extremes, through the routes to the East or through the ports that it links with. This connection also has great potential for growth based on the widening of the Panama Canal, the thawing of the Northwestern crossing (Canada) and the growing demand for maritime traffic with East Asia.

5 ATRCD FOR FREIGHT Atlantic Rail Corridor proposed as Trans-European Core Rail Network Atlantic Rail Corridor connections with ports and multimodal platforms Others axes of the Trans-European Rail Network Motorways of the Sea of the Atlantic Arc included in TEN-T priority project no. 21 Main Atlantic Arc Motorways of the Sea in operation

6 WHAT ACTIONS ARE NEEDED TO ACHIEVE A REAL, OPERATIONAL? Technical specifications for the Atlantic Rail Corridor for freight. Currently, the Atlantic Rail Corridor exists as a series of sections, belonging to several countries, with heterogeneous technical characteristics and with different management systems depending on the authority in charge. In the last few years, the trans-european Transport network (TEN-T) has dedicated more than 30,000 million of funding to the creation of a high speed rail axis along this corridor (priority projects no. 3 and no. 19 still in execution). As a consequence, thanks to the shift of passenger traffic to the new high speed axis, there will soon be excess capacity in the existing rail sections enabling the development of rail freight transport, in line with the goals of EU transport policies. Nevertheless, the conditions of this rail network, parallel to the new high speed network and with capacity available for the transportation of freight, are not the most suitable to achieve the levels of quality that are required to offer rail services competitive with road transport. In the light of this situation, the ARC network proposes a thorough renovation of the rail infrastructure of the corridor and its connections with the ports as a necessary condition for the success of the proposed actions to promote rail freight transport. The bulk of the investments needed would not be in new infrastructures but rather in the adaptation and improvement of the existing infrastructures and connections which would have a multiplier effect in achieving a better modal balance.

7 ATRCD Specifically, for the Atlantic Rail Corridor, technical specifications are proposed that will facilitate efficient freight transport with standardisation along the length of the corridor and compatibility with planned development in the other major European freight corridors. In line with the ARC network, the main technical specifications for the Atlantic Rail Corridor for freight should be: Electrification along the entire route (25,000 V) Track gauge UIC (1,435 mm) Loading gauge UIC-C Maximum axle weight: 25 tonnes Maximun length of trains: 1,500 m Maximum gradient: 12 Safety system: ERTMS Interoperable locomotives and wagons Bypass routes for major urban agglomerations Service 24 hours x 365 days Infrastructure usage fares that are homogeneous and reasonable Additionally, systems and criteria unified at European level are required for infrastructure management, rail traffic control, train monitoring, labour and social regulation, R&D+i for the rail industry, as well as to coordinate the funds allocated to the development of the trans- European core rail network. Priority rojects to execute on the Atlantic Rail Corridor for Freight In spite of the TEN-T priority projects (numbers 3, 8 and 19) which currently have work underway in the Atlantic Rail Corridor, the adaptation of the corridor to freight transport is still a pending task. In line with the ARC network, the work required for adapting the Atlantic Rail Corridor to the mentioned technical specifications should be treated as priority projects in the new Trans-European core rail network. While awaiting detailed studies that make it possible to decide the specific actions needed to facilitate efficient freight transport along the Atlantic Rail Corridor, the ARC network wants to make progress on the generic actions that it believes should be priority projects.

8 ATRCD Priority projects proposed by the ARC network in the Atlantic Rail Corridor. COUNTRY PORTUGAL SECTION Sines-Lisboa-Aveiro- Fuentes de Oñoro ACTION Alternative 1: renovate the new UIC gauge route (priority project no. 3) for freight traffic Alternative 2: adapt the Iberian gauge line (renovated in priority project no. 8) for the circulation of UIC gauge freight trains (installation of a third rail) SPAIN Fuentes de Oñoro- Valladolid Valladolid-Burgos-Vitoria Alternative 1: renovate the new UIC gauge route (priority project no. 3) to freight traffic Alternative 2: adapt the Iberian gauge line (renovated in priority project no. 8) for the circulation of UIC gauge freight trains (installation of a third rail) Vitoria-Astigarraga Make use of the planned new UIC gauge and high speed route for mixed traffic (priority project no. 3) Astigarraga-Irún- Hendaye Adapt the current route for more efficient freight transport, once the TGV-Atlantique high speed passenger line is completed FRANCE Hendaye-Bordeaux Bordeaux-Potiers Poitiers-Orleans Orleans-Paris Infrastructure actions to combat congestion París-Lille Actuaciones infraestructurales contra la congestión REINO UNIDO IRLANDA Lille-Londres Londres-País de Gales Londres-Liverpool Adaptation for efficient freight transport of the corridor's connection with England, Wales and Ireland BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, GERMANY, DENMARK, SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES Lille-Rotterdam- Bremen- Hamburg-Corredor Bothnian Infrastructure actions to combat congestion PORTUGAL, SPAIN, FRANCE Rail connections with Atlantic ports Adaptation for efficient goods transport of the rail lines connecting the corridor with Atlantic ports: Seville, Huelva, Sines, Porto, Vigo, A Coruña, Gijón, Santander, Bilbao, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lorient, Brest, Saint-Malo, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Zeebrugge, Bremen THIS NETWORK WOULD BE STRENGTHENED AND FUNCTIONALLY OPTIMISED THROUGH APPROPRIATE /MARITIME CONNECTIONS AND LINKS WITH THE LARGE MULTIMODAL PLATFORMS.

9 Thus, the signatories of this document DECLARE: THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE PROMOTION OF AN THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A MODAL BALANCE IN FREIGHT TRANSPORT SO THAT AND MARI- TIME TRANSPORT INCREASES IN IMPORTANCE AND PROVIDES COMPLEMENTARY MODES TO ROAD TRANSPORT. THE INCLUSION OF THIS AMONG THE MAIN, CORE OR BASIC LINES OF THE TRANS-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. THE EXECUTION OF THE INVESTMENTS NECESSARY TO RENOVATE THE NETWORK AND ITS CONNECTIONS WITH PORT TERMINALS AND MAIN INTERMODAL PLATFORMS SO AS TO CREATE A REAL AND EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO ROAD TRANSPORT AND THUS HELP TO IMPROVE THE INTEGRATION OF THE SINGLE MARKET.

10 AN INITIATIVE PROMOTED BY THE BASQUE GOVERNMENT-EUSKO JAURLARITZA AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE TRANSPORT GROUP OF THE ARC COMMISSION AATG-CPMR ETXEBIZITZA, HERRI LAN ETA GARRAIO SAILA DEPARTAMENTO DE VIVIENDA OBRAS PÚBLICAS Y TRANSPORTES