TEN-T,                 
              Project of the Future

We continue to present you the projects reunited under "the coat of arm" TEN -T, approaching in the following lines other seven programs regarding the development of certain railway networks on the territory of Europe.

Conventional line and the combined transport Betuwe
Through the building of this line crossing Netherlands there is developed the freight transport and there is created a shorter German-Dutch link to Rotterdam Harbor, strengthening its position of important "hub" of the European transport and goods distribution market. The transposition in practice of this fifth project on the TEN-T list will lead to an improvement of the goods transport conditions came from the sea to the heart of Europe.
The railway, in a length of 160 km will cross the territory of Netherlands up to the borders with Germany. Approximately three fourths from this railway section will represent new lines, the another quarter being a railway that is already in operation, between Maasvlakte and Kijfhoek, which will be also modernized. The works on this last railway section, called port railway line consist in the doubling and the electrification of the existing line, as well as in the building of a bridge and a tunnel.
The new railway section will be located, most of it, along an important road route from the area (A-15). This location will offer to the companies willing to transport their products to the Netherlands the possibility to opt for the railway transport. Fact that will represent a great advantage, because presently on this route there are only two viable means of transportation (road and maritime), there occur congestion. The railway will also improve the commerce between the countries from the region and the rest of Europe, fact that will stimulate the affirmation of Rotterdam as an important transportation center of distribution and production.
Betuwe section is designed to transport almost 74 million tons of goods per year, being quite obvious the fact that in the first years it will reach, maybe, at about half of this volume. Transferring to the railways part of the goods transported on the roads, this project will bring advantages to the same extend to the environment and also the road transport.
The modernization of the port railway section has started in year 1997, up to the present time being finished the railway bridge from Dintelhaven (in 1999) and the tunnel from Botlek (in 2002). The building of the new railway section in 1998 with the preliminary works (embankments, tunnels and bridges), the posing of the railway section is going to be started off at the end of year 2003, once with the electrification and the assembling of the security equipment, and up to 2006 the new railway section will be put into operation. This project will is financed through the community help with about 80 million Euro, within a RTE program 2001-2006.

High speed lines/ combine transport between France and Italy
The main traffic section between France and Italy through the valleys of the Alps Mountains on Lyon - Trieste railway route is quite affected lately due to the agglomeration of the road traffic and, implicitly, there are registered in this case serious problems of pollution. Consequently, the creation of a new railway link in this area could represent a welcomed…saving swim-belt.
The present list of 20 priority TEN-T projects at position six, Lyon - Torino - Milano - Verona - Venetia - Trieste, meant for passengers transport, as well for the freight transport, includes 750 km of new lines and a tunnel through Alps, of almost 52 km, which will compete with the title of the longest tunnel in the world. As there is stipulated through the putting into operation the new railway section the quantity of goods transported on this route will be considerably increased.
There will be also provided a maximal speed of train operation with 300 km/h, there will be registered great reductions of traveling times by train. Therefore, for example, between Milano and Paris, from a voyage of six hours and 35 minutes, it will get to a three hours and 40 minutes travel. Along the entire route the transport capacity will be doubled in order to satisfy the demands that are permanently increased by the clients, and there are also added the major improvement of the services offered to the passengers by the railway transport companies.
There is also expected a great part of the freight presently transported on the road to be transferred to the railways: once finalized, this line will allow the transport of over 40 million of tons of goods per years. Therefore, the number of trucks that are crossing and are polluting the Alps will be decreased and once with them, the noxious gas emissions.
Looking towards the future, there could be said that through the achievement of this project there will be created another "gate" for opening the communication ways to the countries that are getting ready now to become part of the great continental family - European Union.
As there is natural, for the finalization of this projects there has been also contracted a series of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. For example, in France, for Lyon - Chambery railway section, the current year there are going to be issued the results pursuant to such a study. This high - speed line has as deadline 2006. A French-Italian governmental commission organizes the working way for the sections that are considered international and, according to an agreement concluded between the French Railway Network (RFF) and the Italian network (RFI), for Lyon - Torino railway section there have been equally shared, creating in this respect a joint venture. The building of the 52 km of tunnel will start in year 2005 and are foreshadowing that this section will be put into operation in year 2013.

Multimodal line Portugal - Spain - Central Europe
The eighth project recorded on the TEN -T projects list is related to the improvement of the transports on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as of the connections with the rest of Europe, the common purpose of all these works being the reduction of the transport times for freight and passengers.
Through the works that are going to be executed there will be modernized three multimodal transport corridors uniting Spain and Portugal with the other European countries, and the towns located along these corridors will make better links with the harbors and the airports from the area. The benefits of this project represent another important contribution to the permanent efforts of the two countries to improve their transport system. Practically, through the achievement of the project there will be strengthened the position of the Iberian Peninsula as the western gate of Europe. As on this route the freight transport on the road presently reaches 97% of the traffic from the two areas, there is obvious the fact that the putting into operation of the new railways offers a welcomed alternative to the road transport, with significant reductions of running times, in the conditions of more safety, especially for the international traffic. The importance of the railways in the freight transport in the community area will be increased, contributing, in the same time, to the fight against the pollution. The project will also stimulate the economical development of this area, through the apparition of new places of work.
In Portugal, the works have started since 1998; as there was natural, with studies for the road, railway and port infrastructure that are going to be performed. The electrification, doubling of the lines and the modernization of the railways have started off in the area Mihno, Norte, Beira Alta, Beira Baixa and Algrave. There has been also finalized Porto- Vigo and Lisbon - Faro - Seville highways. In the next years, the funds stipulated for this TEN - T project will lead to the modernization of the existing airports and the building of a new one, at Ota, in the proximity of Lisbon.
In Spain, the studies have been achieved between years 1997 and 2001. The projects stipulate the modernization of the transport railway corridors to the north and east, where there are going to be developed works on Valladodi - Salamanca and Bernavente - Verin railway sections.

A finalized project: Cork - Dublin - Belfast - Larne - Stranraer
One of the TEN -T projects that have been already finalized is the one aiming at improving the main north -south railway line from Ireland.
Through this project, three large towns - Belfast, Cork and Dublin are inter -connected on the railways, and, further on, with the rest of Europe through the use of the Ferryboat. The 502 km of line have been improved for the freight transport, as well as for the passengers one, the increase of the traffic speed for both modes significantly contributing to the transfer of a quite large part of the traffic from the roads to the railways. The traveling time reduced to one hour and 40 minutes, also adding the nine departures/day to each direction (on Belfast - Dublin route) have transformed the services offered by the railways to be very appreciated, even familiar services.
Londonderry - Belfast railway section has been also modernized, and this fact has reduced the transport time between the two cities to 40 minutes. Cork - Dublin railway section has been finalized in 1996, Dublin - Belfast section, in August 1999,and in 1997 a new type of high-speed services has been launched. Presently being well known and appreciated.
There is expected further on, as through the improvement of the services offered to the passengers on these routes, to be reduced the traffic, that is still crowded, recorded on the roads.
There should be also mentioned that, during the works, Belfast - Londonderry railway section has been closed, being reopened on June 2001. The only section from the program that still remained in study stage is Belfast - Larne, presently being in discussion the modernization options.

Oresund Bridge - a new link between Denmark and Sweden
The building of Oresund Bridge represents, concomitantly, a symbol of human ingenuity and a practical help for the future development of one of the most prosperous and more productive region of Europe.
A double railway line and a road with four traffic lanes make the link, through the agency of Orestund Bridge, between Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmo (Sweden). The projects includes; one tunnel under the sea, in a 4 km length, an artificial isle, still in a length of 4 km, and a bridge of 7.5 km - currently, the longest bridge in the world sustained on cables that has railways and road.
The project has also included the building, in both countries, of certain road and railway links, as well as of new railway stations, in the airport from Copenhagen.
The enumeration of the benefices offered by putting into practice this project has been finalized on July 2000, can start with the immense reduction of the traffic times and continues with the improvement brought to the safety of transport on the railways and road between Sweden and Denmark.
There is expected that this bridge will also bring other benefices to the population from this geographical area, among the most important being the improvement of the connections with the countries around the Baltic Sea and with the other regions of Europe. There should be also mentioned that the link over the Orestund Bridge represents an extension of the Corridor St. Petersburg - Helsinki - Stockholm - Copenhagen.
Being in the third year of exploitation, Orestund Bridge has brought an increase of the traffic on the road with 20%, being also noticed the increase of certain large companies for this region.

Northern Triangle - road/railways/maritime transport
The railways, the road and the port infrastructure from the northern countries will suffer a welcomed amelioration through the achievement of the project symbolically called Northern Triangle, which will improve the freight and passengers traffic in Sweden and Finland, between Orestund bridge, Stockholm, Oslo, Turku, Helsinki and the Finnish-Russian borders. For the Finnish railways corridor there have been stipulated works aiming at increasing the traffic speed up to 200 km/h, fact that will reduce with 50% (to approximately three hours) the transport times between Helsinki and St. Petersburg (Russia), and there are expected that this will lead to the increase of the number of passengers on this route. The projects also stipulates the modernization of the highway linking Turku and Helsinki towns and the road between Turku and Hamina, the main purpose of the works stipulated being the reduction of the agglomerations recorded in the road traffic. On Swedish railway section there has been stipulated the reduction to less than four hours of the travelling times between Stockholm and Malmo, and between Goteberg and Oslo, the railway section that the tilting trains will use, of four hours, to two hours and 20 minutes.
One of the main railway lines, the one between Turku and Helsinki, has been finalized in 2000, and up to 2006 there are scheduled works for connecting it with the Finnish -Russian border. Two sections of the highway have been also finalized (in 2001), the sections remained in working stage having as deadline the year 2008.
The development of a management program of the traffic and the transport systems, as well as the improvement of the ferryboat running between Turku and Stockholm continue. The main section between Malmo and Stockholm will be modernized in order to provide the passengers train operation with 200 km/h, up to 300 km/h, especially in the more crowded areas. On the western coast of Sweden there is stipulated the doubling of certain lines, and the current year there will also start the construction of a tunnel under the Malmo town, which will be concluded in 2008.

Modernization of the railways from the western coast of Great Britain
The improvement of the railway network capacity and of its performances for high-speed, for the passengers transport, as well as for the goods transport, is the main objective that the projects number 14 from the priority TEN-T projects lists is aiming at. The foreshadowed modernized railway transport route, situated on the western coast of Great Britain, is crossing Glasgow - Liverpool - Manchester - Birmingham - London and covers 850 km. This section reunites London with the modern railway that is crossing the Eurotunnel and offers high-speed services. Through the modernization of the railway section that we were talking about will reach to 200 km/h. The benefices of the works developed here will be felt by all those travelling from Great Britain to France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. There is also expected the attraction of certain new clients, tempted to renounce at the utilization of the car as means of locomotion, fact that will lead to the decongestion of the traffic on the roads and, naturally, to the reduction of the pollution.
The works have started off in 1994, a great part of them being presently finalized. In London, between Euston and Wembley, the signaling systems and the line have been rebuilt; there are still developed electrification works on certain sections between London and Crewe. The finalization of all the objectives of the project has been scheduled for year 2007.

Silvia Mirea