Legal Aspects of the EU Intermodal Transport Policy

Abstract

The only solution to the growing problem of transport infrastructure congestion is the intermodal transport. With the sharply increasing number of vehicles on the roads and the ever decreasing possibilities for creating enough new resources to cater to demand, road traffic threatens to come to a grinding halt. Clearly other transport modes - especially railways, inland waterways and sea shipping, will have to play a greater role, if we are to avoid the chaos that looms ahead. The major obstacle to the smooth implementation of the plans in regards of intermodal transportation is the lack of a strategic plan, which should include an analysis of regional needs of individual parts of the country, and the demand for such transport. To cope with the extra traffic prompted by economic growth, different modes need to combine their services to create a sustainable and efficient transport system. And this system must be environmentally-friendly and not put the competitiveness of the European economy at risk. For this purpose the European Government and UE members have to concentrate on a law regulation in order to avoid problems with proper intermodal transport implementation.