Letter of Intent
proposing the establishment of the
“Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor
by
the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology
of the Republic of Austria,
the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications
of the Republic of Bulgaria,
the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure
of the Republic of Croatia,
the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure
of the Republic of Serbia,
the Ministry of Infrastructure
of the Republic of Slovenia
in the following addressed as “the sides”,
taking into account the importance of the transport sector for the economic and social growth and in particular the importance of sustainable development and efficient use of energy;
recognizing the importance of the rail transport system as part of a sustainable transport system in Central and South Eastern Europe;
recognizing the importance of advanced transport interconnections between EU Member States and their neighbouring countries, in particular the connections of EU Members States crossing the territories of neighbouring countries that are candidates for accession to the European Union;
taking into account the European Union Strategy for Danube region of 8 December 2010 as endorsed by European Council on 24 June 2011, in particular for Priority Area 1b: "To improve mobility and multimodality – road, rail and air links";
taking into account Regulation (EU) No. 913/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight and recognizing its potential to promote a more effective coordination of necessary activities on freight corridors;
Having regard to the high level agreement between the Union and the Western Balkans6 states endorsed on 27 August 2015 at the Summit in Vienna identifying the core network in the region and to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/758 of 4 February 2016 amending Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 accordingly;
hAVING REGARD TO the Treaty Establishing the Transport Community, signed by the European Union and the South Eastern European Parties on 12July 2017 in Trieste, Italy (hereinafter: “the Transport Community Treaty”);
having regard to the Letter of Intent concerning the establishment of the Alpine-Western Balkan Rail Freight Corridor signed by the Ministers responsible for Transport of the sides in Zagreb (6October 2015), Luxembourg (8October 2015) and Belgrade (10December 2015);
taking into account and supporting the activities already carried out by rail infrastructure managers and allocation bodies under the auspices of RailNetEurope in the context of establishing the RailNetEurope Corridor C11;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the activities carried out and the structures created by the “CorridorXPLUS” Association;
Have reached the following understanding:
(1) The Letter of Intent concerning the establishment of the Alpine-Western Balkan Rail Freight Corridor signed by the Ministers in 2015 clearly expresses the political will of the sides to establish the “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor. The aim of the present Letter of Intent is to detail the proposal to establish this corridor within the framework of Article5 of Regulation (EU)913/2010.
(2) The Transport Community Treaty provides a legal basis to include the Republic of Serbia in the governance structure of the Rail Freight Corridor as a partner on equal terms with rights and obligations equivalent to those of an EU Member State.
(3) The Republic of Serbia commits itself to transpose the relevant European legislation into national legislation, in accordance with the Transport Community Treaty.
(4) The proposal takes into account the criteria set out in Article4 of Regulation (EU) 913/2010. AnnexI provides an evidence-based argumentation, addressing specifically each individual criterion.
(5) The infrastructure managers concerned clearly expressed their support for the establishment of the “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor in a joint letter of support included in AnnexII.
(6) Potential applicants concerned by the Rail Freight Corridor have been consulted as documented in AnnexIII.
(7) The proposed principal route of the “Alpine / Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridors is as follows:
Salzburg – Villach – Ljubljana –
Wels / Linz – Graz – Maribor –
Zagreb – Vinkovci / Vukovar– Tovarnik – Beograd – Sofia – Svilengrad (Bulgarian-Turkish border)
(8) The sides suggest using the name “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor which reflects the geographic setting of the corridor.
(9) The sides ask the European Commission to examine the present proposal for the establishment of the “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor and to adopt a decision on the compliance of the proposal with Article5 of Regulation(EU)913/2010, in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article21(3) of said Regulation.
(10) Subject to the adoption by the European Commission of a decision on the compliance of the proposal with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 913/2010, the sides have the intention to establish the “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor without delay and not later than two years after entry into force of that decision.
(11) The present Letter of Intent does not establish financial commitments for the sides.
(13) The sides underline that the “Alpine-Western Balkan” Rail Freight Corridor also provides a platform to carry out studies and considerations on the future development of the rail infrastructure in the region with a view to support a discussion process for the revision of the TEN-T network.
Signed in six original copies in English language.
For the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology of the Republic of AustriaHerbert Kasser
Secretary General / For the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Serbia
Miodrag Poledica
State Secretary
For the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria
Ivan Markov
Secretary General / For the Ministry of Infrastructure of the Republic of Slovenia
Jure Leben
State Secretary
For the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia
Nikolina Brnjac
State Secretary
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