Discussion Papers 1999.
Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration 43-48. p.
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
43
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
IN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
TEOFIL LIJEWSKI
THE INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION
The integration of Europe contributes to the growth of international links: the flow
of people, goods and information. This process will take place in the future, therefore
it is important to improve all means of communications.
Recently an immense increase in transportation has taken place, particularly on
roads and in the air. The number of motor road vehicles is increasing very quickly, with
the number of passenger cars enjoying most rapid growth. (Table 1)
Table 1
Increase in the number of passenger cars in some European states,
1960-1995 (thousands)
States
1960
1970
1980
1995
Austria
404
1 197
2 247
3 594
Belgium
753
2 060
3 159
4 239
France
5 546
12 900
18 400
25 100
Germany — GDR
299
1 160
2 678
-
- FRG
4 337
13 514
23 192
40 499a
Great Britain
5 542
11 599
15 350
21 740
Greece
43
226
880
2 205
Italy
1 995
10 209
16 241
31 700
Holland
522
2 500
4 100
5 633
Spain
281
2 378
7 557
14 212
Sweden
1 194
2 289
2 883
3 631
Poland
117
479
2 383
7 517
Czechoslovakia
247
826
2 274
4 129b
Hungary
33
236
1 012
2 284
a including the former GDR, b the Czech Republic and Slovakia
Teofil Lijewski : The Role of Transport Corridors in European Integration.
In: Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies,
1999. 43-48. p. Discussion Papers. Special
44
TEOFIL LIJEWSKI
In the period 1960-1995 in the ten most important Western European countries
(Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands,
Spain, Sweden) the number of passenger cars increased from 20.9 million to 152.6 mil-
lion (7.3 times), while in the countries of the Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia) the rate of increase was much higher: from 397,000 to 13.9
million (35 times). The number of trucks in the afore-mentioned ten Western coun-
tries increased in the same period from 5.4 million to 16.4 million (3 times), in Poland
11 times, in the Czech and Slovak Republics 6.4 times. (Table 2)
Table 2
Increase in the number of trucks in some European states, 1960-1995
(thousands)
States
1960
1970
1980
1995
Austria
204
378
526
293
Belgium
177
281
252
418
France
1 634
2 745
2 686
3 685
GerminY G
213
399
516
729
1 002
1 570
2 202a
Great Britain
1 482
1 710
1 995
2 655
Greece
37
117
367
861
Italy
459
929
1 648
2 429b
Holland
157
335
355
620
Spain
149
747
1 405
2 873
Sweden
130
158
194
318
Poland
120
260
684
1341
Czechoslovakia
105
218
276
676c
a including the former GDR, 17 1990, the Czech Republic and Slovakia
The bus transport system developed quickly in the first post-war years, but later a
stagnation or regress of this type of transport occurred, as most people began to use
their own cars. Yet despite this a dense network of regular bus lines exists in most
European countries. Recently long-distance international bus traffic has been growing,
both regular and occasional use.
Formerly leading the field, railway transport is in decline, both in passenger and
goods transportation. In particular, local and regional trains have lost their importance
due to the frequent use of private cars. On the other hand, interregional fast trains
Teofil Lijewski : The Role of Transport Corridors in European Integration.
In: Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies,
1999. 43-48. p. Discussion Papers. Special
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
45
such as Inter-City, Euro-City, and TGV have enjoyed success. The railways may partly
regain their former position by improving services (speed, punctuality, comfort).
Inland shipping is characterised by slow development, limited mostly to bulk cargo.
Much more important is sea shipping, which is introducing bigger vessels, especially
tankers, and leads in intercontinental goods transportation. In Europe sea shipping is
vital for the integration of Great Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia into the main core of
Europe, as well as connections between Mediterranean countries.
Rapid development of air transport leads to competition between companies,
improvement of services and reduction of fares. At the same time the growing air traf-
fic creates a danger to safety owing to the congested air corridors and airports.
International integration connected with the opening of borders leads to an increase
in international traffic, both of people and goods. Recent political changes in Eastern
and Central Europe, and especially the cancellation of visa restrictions in most
European countries, contributed to the increased mobility of people. They now travel
more frequently and for longer distances, crossing many state borders. Governments
and transport enterprises must take this new development into account.
DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT NETWORKS
The rapid increase in car transport led to congestion on roads and streets in the
cities. The result was time wasted in queues and on crossings and growing number of
collisions. It was necessary to improve and reconstruct the road network. The follow-
ing tasks take priority:
—
reconstruction of the existing roads: widening, change of surface, con-
struction of by-passes and double-level crossings, regulation of traffic
(traffic lights, restrictions for some kinds of vehicles);
-
extension of the area devoted to transport by construction of new roads,
parking, garages, service stations;
-
construction of motorways, independent from other roads. This type of
road was introduced on a large scale first in Germany and subsequently
in Italy, France, the Benelux countries, Great Britain and Austria. Now
many other countries are following in their footsteps and constructing
motorways.
This development changed the distribution of traffic flow. The flow has the tenden-
cy to concentrate on motorways and the main roads connecting with them, creating
traffic corridors. It is necessary for each country to plan a network of main transport
corridors, which will link main cities, urban agglomerations, ports and the most impor-
tant border crossings to the neighbouring countries. These corridors should be
equipped with motorways and by-passes around major cities.
On the other hand, there is no need to construct many railway lines. Railways,
owing to the decrease of traffic, have in general reduced their network. Many sec-
ondary lines have been closed and abandoned. Traffic is more and more concentrated
Teofil Lijewski : The Role of Transport Corridors in European Integration.
In: Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies,
1999. 43-48. p. Discussion Papers. Special
46
TEOFIL LIJEWSKI
on main lines which have been modernised (electrification, automatic regulation of
traffic) and now allow certain trains to travel at high speed, such as the TGV in France
or the Inter-City-Express in Germany. The most spectacular examples of such develop-
ment are the TGV lines in France, starting with the Paris-Lyon line; the north-south
line in Germany crossing the central mountainous zone, thus reducing the travel time
between Hamburg and Munich to 8 hours; the Direttissima in Italy between Florence
and Rome. This development creates also transport corridors which may be parallel to
road transport corridors or independent from them. The railways, with their reserves
of capacity, may overtake a part of motor-car transports, such as containers or whole
trucks, thus contributing to the decrease of traffic congestion on main roads.
The congestion in air traffic must be regulated by air corridors which are introduced
in all countries in order to protect aircraft from accidents. A part of air traffic may be
overtaken by railways, thanks to rapid Inter-City and TGV trains. The travel time by
such trains may be equal or even shorter due to the localisation of railway stations in
the centres of cities while access to distant airports takes often more time then the
flight itself.
THE NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION
Political changes, such as the territorial expansion of the European Union, favour
international integration. But integration needs numerous transport connections. In
Western Europe the network of international connections is already dense due to his-
torical development and the abolition of frontier control between countries which
signed the Schengen Treaty. The lack of frontier control allows to cross the borders
almost everywhere. For mass and heavy goods traffic the international motorways and
railways are the most important.
Besides the development of motorways some other new investments have improved
international traffic. The most spectacular include:
-
the Eurotunnel between England and France under the English Channel;
the road tunnel under Mont Blanc between France and Italy;
-
bridges and tunnel across the Straits of Denmark linking Sweden with
Central Europe (under construction);
-
the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in Germany, which allows direct inland
shipping from the North Sea to the Black Sea;
-
the bridge over the Bosporus linking the European and Asian parts of
Turkey;
-
planned tunnels under the Alps allowing the traffic between Germany
and Italy almost without use of the surface of Switzerland, which limits
the traffic of heavy trucks, preferring to transport them on railways.
Another type of developing international transport connections are ferry lines, most
numerous across the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic
and the Aegean Sea. They transport, besides people, mostly passenger cars and trucks,
Teofil Lijewski : The Role of Transport Corridors in European Integration.
In: Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies,
1999. 43-48. p. Discussion Papers. Special
THE ROLE OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
47
whilst some are equipped with rails and also transport railway carriages. These and
other investments created a dense network of international connections, allowing fast
and easy contact between different states and their peoples. However, the proper use
of these connections depends on the policy of the states. They may be used also for
criminal purposes, such as illegal immigration or drug-smuggling.
THE SITUATION IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
Eastern and Central Europe holds an important position in the pattern of interna-
tional transport corridors. It is situated between the states belonging to the European
Union and the block of states formerly dependent on the Soviet Union. It may be the
link between these two large groups of states, gradually approaching the European
Union. Poland is situated almost at the geometric centre of Europe. The situation of
Poland is convenient for east-west transport, because Polish territory forms a gate
between the Baltic Sea and the mountainous zone (Sudetes, Carpathians) and is most-
ly made up of lowland plain. It allows the construction of straight roads and railways.
The only natural obstacle are the rivers, and in the north of Poland the morainic hills.
Polish territory is important for international traffic as it is the most convenient area
for transit between Eastern and Western Europe. For the Baltic states and Belarus it is
the only possible way to the west of Europe (besides the sea route). For Russia and
Ukraine it is not the only possible way but the shortest and the most convenient. All
east-west routes situated south of Poland have to cross mountains, and most routes
cross the River Danube, on which the number of bridges is insufficient.
Polish territory is less important for north-south transit because the connection with
Scandinavia means crossing the Baltic Sea. Recent investments allow transit through
the Straits of Denmark; in addition, the ferry route to German ports is shorter than to
Polish ports. Another reason is the low population of Scandinavia and the decrease in
traffic to South-Eastern Europe owing to the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and
the economic collapse in Romania and Bulgaria. The traffic to Greece prefers now the
way across Italy and the ferry line from Brindisi to Greece.
The most important transit routes across Poland are the two east-west corridors:
— The central corridor linking the capitals Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk and
Moscow, passing two large Polish cities, Poznan and L60:12. It is equipped
with a railway currently under reconstruction (allowing speeds of up to
160 km/h for passenger trains, 120 km/h for goods trains) and a highway
with a motorway section. Construction of motorway over the whole dis-
tance is planned; in the western part it is already under construction. The
thoroughfare through Warsaw is under discussion.
-
The southern corridor linking Central Germany with Ukraine through
Silesia and Cracow, the most important for the Polish domestic traffic
because it links the urban agglomerations of Wroclaw and Cracow and
the biggest industrial region of Upper Silesia. This corridor is already
Teofil Lijewski : The Role of Transport Corridors in European Integration.
In: Spatial Research in Support of the European Integration. Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies,
1999. 43-48. p. Discussion Papers. Special
48
TEOFIL LIJEWSKI
equipped with a motorway from Berlin to Cracow, although unfortunate-
ly with two interruptions and lacking a second lane for long distances.
Most important in the north-south direction is the central corridor from Gdansk
through Lod2 and Upper Silesia to the coal basin of Ostrava. It was planned as a great
international motorway to the coasts of the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Sea.
The events on the Balkan Peninsula have delayed realisation of this plan. An express
highway with two roadways already links Lod2 with Upper Silesia and the vicinity of
the Czech border. The northern part, between Gdansk and Loth, is partly under con-
struction, including a new bridge on the River Vistula near Torun. An almost straight
railway, constructed in the inter-war period, allows transit between the ports of Gdynia
and Gdansk and the countries in South-Eastern Europe.
Another north-south corridor is planned in Western Poland, close to the German
border. Actually, there are only the standard highways connecting the ports of
§winoujicie and Szczecin with the Czech Republic, through Gorz6w Wielkopolsld and
Zielona Gora. A direct straight railway is lacking, in the southern part of this corridor
only one-track non-electrified sections exist. The development of this corridor is
planned.
Besides these four main corridors, which are predicted in the planned pattern of
motorways, one can distinguish some others which may be important in the future.
A northern east-west corridor was planned by Germans in the inter-war period
when German East Prussia was separated from the core of Germany. They started the
construction of a motorway and finished only the section between Berlin and Szczecin,
as well as a partly-constructed section between Elblag and Konigsberg (now
Kaliningrad). The Russians completed the section on their territory, while Poland is
not interested in the reconstruction of this transit corridor. Poland is promoting anoth-
er route: via Baltica as a branch of the central east-west motorway, from Warsaw in the
north-eastern direction towards Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Saint Petersburg. It is
already used even by cars from Finland. In addition, direct trains to the Baltic states
run already through Warsaw and Bialystok, not through Kaliningrad.
Finally, an important transport corridor is developing between Ukraine and
Warsaw, already with heavy road traffic. This corridor may be extended to Polish ports
Gdansk and Gdynia, creating access for Ukraine to the Baltic ports. Unfortunately, a
direct Warsaw-Lviv railway route is lacking. The trains must go around through
Przemygl or Chelm. The border between Central Europe and the territory of the for-
mer Soviet Union is an important obstacle for railways, owing to the different width of
gauge.