At the Bucharest Council in 2002 ECMT Ministers debated shifting freight from road to rail as a key part of their strategies for developing more sustainable systems of transport. The conclusions of their debate are available on the web site http://www.oecd.org/cem.
Achieving a shift to non-road modes in a manner that is efficient, compatible with the development of open market economies and which contributes effectively to the social, economic and environmental goals of sustainable development is not be easy. It requires major investments in railways, significant improvements in the quality and productivity of rail and liberalisation in freight transport markets. It will also require effective implementation of more efficient and equitable regulatory frameworks particularly in respect of charges for the use of transport infrastructure and the social working conditions that prevail in transport.
The full implications are explored below through an examination of the way rail policy has developed in three member countries: Switzerland, the United Kingdom and France.