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The global INTERREG IIC project essentially aims to
develop cross-border co-operation between Spain and the other member
States of the European Union. The trans-Pyrenean railway project should
contribute to the success of the following objectives:
- To reduce the negative consequences of Spain and Portugal’s peripheral
positions in Europe and to make these regions more accessible;
- To reduce the effect on the environment, such as pollution and the
destruction of especial sites and the countryside;
- To facilitate universal access to the transport network.
The object of this project is to improve the interconnection of regions
in the southwest of Europe and to optimise railway, road and chipping
infrastructure systems. The area covered By this initiative consists of
Portugal, Spain, and the French regions of Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenees and
Limousin.
Only these three regions together with Alentejo in Portugal and Aragon
in Spain are taking part in the project that concerns us today. This
region is situated on the edge of Europe. It does not benefit from a
very high level of development. Moreover, communications there are
difficult by reason the terrain.
The autonomous region of Aragon presides over the management board and
is responsible for the general co-ordination of the project. It benefits
from the endorsement of the Regional Facilities Management for the Midi-Pyrenees
region, SNCF and the Spanish ministries for development and the
environment. Representatives of Toulouse and Zaragoza universities will
participate in the project by giving technical advice and making their
contribution to the scientific arena.
The regions of the South-West are relatively distanced from the major
communication routes. The development of the private car has encouraged
mobility. The increased mobility, however, has contributed to
aggravating pollution, to congesting traffic and to destroying the
environment. Building new road connections is increasingly difficult.
Similarly, European integration has encouraged goods and service
industries. With the entry of Spain and Portugal into the European Union,
the Pyrenean frontier has become the part of Europe experiencing the
greatest increase in goods traffic over the last ten years.
The transport of goods, services and passengers by
the sole infrastructure system currently available to the regions of
South-West Europe may have ominous consequences for regional cohesion
and the integration of those regions into the European Community. A
multi-mode transport solution is therefore urgently required. The
project is aimed at finding positive aspects for building a north-south
route, such as a railway crossing in the central Pyrenees.
The project is divided into four tasks:
Task A: The principal aim is to describe and
characterize the major global logistic systems in south-west Europe, to
analyse the co-ordination of the different systems and evaluate their
dysfunctional elements as well as putting the main agents in touch with
one another.
Task B: This aims to quantify demand, by simulating the behaviour of
logistic operators, whilst defining also the most favourable conditions
for the growth of the means chosen and evaluating the growth likely to
result from an attractive and innovative railway bid. It consists of the
following phases:
Phase 1: Feasibility study;
Phase 2: Polling the opinions of lorry-drivers and transport operators;
Phase 3: Constructing econometric models;
Phase 4: Simulation.
Task C: Analyses the contribution of secondary transport networks to the
regional balance and their co-ordination with the main network. This is
a comparative study and will be weighted towards the chosen forms of
transport adopted by the different participants. It consists of the
following phases:
Phase 1: A comparative study of the established regional practices;
Phase 2: A comparative study of the proposed solutions and their
operability;
Phase 3: A seminar to inform and communicate;
Phase 4: Writing specifications for the mew trials.
Task D: Looks to define the advantages and disadvantages of the current
rail system. It will principally analyse the chances of creating a
credible railway connection for trans-Pyrenean trade in the short-, mid-
and long-terms by using the logistic capacities of Zaragoza, Toulouse
and Bordeaux. It consists of the following phases:
Phase 1: Evaluating the modal solutions.
Phase 2: A business review of an alternative European north-south
network, with a study of rail traffic and the technical viability of
existing infrastructures.
Phase 3: Constructing growth scenarios for the bid.
Phase 4: Assembly and presentation of the results at the conference due
to be held at Zaragoza in 2000.
The cost of the program, 2.500.000 euros, is to be
shared between the participants in the project. Being responsible for
Task D, Aragon has already carried out Phase 1. Similarly, the Regional
Facilities Management for Midi-Pyrenees, responsible for Task A, has
prepared up-to-date studies for the first and second phases. The
remaining work taken on by the steering committees is out to tender.
Technical specifications for future tasks have been written and
published with a view to submission as follows:
For Task A: A study of trans-Pyrenean goods transport networks. The
Regional Facilities Management for Midi-Pyrenees has been tasked with
this.
For Task B: The Gremaq at the Toulouse University of Social Sciences has
been tasked with evaluating trans-Pyrenean goods traffic. The Regional
Council for Midi-Pyrenees is analysing the distribution of trade with
the Iberian peninsula by transport type and traffic.
For Task C: The French region of Limousin studies the contribution of
the secondary railway networks to the equilibrium of the territories.
For Task D: The Midi-Pyrenees Regional Council and Aragon’s General
Assembly have been task with studying the optimisation of the south-west
European railway system.
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