1. QUICKER THAN ROAD, CHEAPER THAN AIR, A PROMISING COOPERATION BETWEEN RAILWAYS AND AIRLINES WORD FROM KLAUS EBELING – Secretary general of European Intermodal Association

2. FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION  DISTANCE  NARROW TIME WINDOWS  TRUCKS ARE REALLY USEFUL FOR DISTANCES UP TO 250 KM  NATURE OF THE FREIGHT  GROWING MARKET DEMAND FOR EXPRESS CARGO, THE KEY FOR A SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH

3. CONSTRAINING FACTORS  SLOT CAPACITY  AIRCRAFT PAYLOAD  AIRPORT SERVISEABILITY (WEATHER, ETC.)  FUTURE NIGHT-TIME RESTRICTIONS (TNT,UPS,DHL have their own planes and night slots obtained in different a/ps, but they will not be able to extend these in future)  The airfreight express market looks for a new solution to offer the same high quality as the present air distribution

4. NEED OF CHANGE Road Feeder Services to become Rail Feeder Services

5. NEW CO-MODALITY AIR/RAIL CARGO PROs IN FAVOUR OF FAST & HIGH-SPEED RAIL  REDUCED NOISE  LESS POLUTION EMISSIONS (French studies show that high speed freight train create only 2% from the carbon dioxide emissions of those created by cargo plane)  THE NEED TO LIMIT THE USE OF KEROSENE DUE TO ITS INCREASING PRICE (air/rail is less oil-dependent than the existing modes of transport)

6. ACTION PLAN  EIA (EUROPEAN INTERMODAL ASSOCIATION) LAUNCHED THE WORKING GROUP REX (RAIL EXPRESS) TO CONSIDER GENERAL INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES  INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES (loading units, transhipment systems, terminal infrastructure, intermodal process chain, IT processes)  RAIL NETWORK CAPACITY (relevant corridors, slot availability, missing air-rail links)  SECURITIES ISSUES (relevant transport chain, existing international regulations, necessary harmonisation)  ENERGY AND EMISSION IMPACT

7. RESULTS & FUTURE  LIEGE & KOLN ARE ALREADY CONNECTED TO THE HIGH SPEED NETWORK  DHL MOVED ITS EUROPEAN HUB FROM BRUSSELS TO THE AIRPORT OF LEIPZIG/HALLE, CONNECTED TO THE GERMAN RAIL NETWORK  MAJOR HUB AIRPORTS SHOULD ALSO CONSIDER CO- LOAD ON PASSENGER FLIGHTS  THE EXISTING FAST SPEED TRAINS ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORT  THE DOUBLE DECK TRAIN SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO ACCOMMODATE BOTH PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT  TERMINALS FOR FAST CARGO TRAINS SHOULD BE RENEWED  PROACTIVE STANDARDS ARE NEEDED FOR INTEROPERABILITY ISSUES, RAIL NETWORK, SECURITY ISSUES AND ENERGY & EMISSION IMPACT

8. INSTEAD OF CONCLUSIONS 1. RAILWAYS, AIRLINES, AIRPORTS AND FREIGHT INTEGRATORS SHOULD JOIN FORCES IN ORDER TO AVOID A NON- COORDINATED DEVELOPMENT 2. GENERAL COOPERATION AND SUPPORT SHOULD BE SOUGHT FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION