<![CDATA[Nyheter]]> http://192.168.33.10/ en gurries@hafen-hamburg.de Copyright 2019 2019-05-13T11:56:00+00:00 Regions, Corridors and Urban Nodes – Competences, Capitalisation and Cooperation in the BSR http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/regions-corridors-and-urban-nodes-competences-capitalisation-and-coope

The final joint conference of the three Flagship Interreg BSR Programme projects, NSB CoRe, Scandria®2Act and TENTacle titled Regions, Corridors and Urban Nodes – Competences, Capitalisation and Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) took place in Brussels on March 6, 2019.  The European Union-funded initiatives work on the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core network corridors in the BSR to create an environmentally sustainable, innovative, and efficient transport system that is cohesive and beneficial to European citizens throughout the continent.  Aside from the project representatives, the conference was attended by high-level regional and national elected officials as well as EU representatives. During the event, members of several panels discussed achievements, challenges, and best practices learnt during the program ahead of the 2030 deadline. 

Each of the three projects has its own objectives and therefore its own set of obstacles. NSB CoRe brings together transport and spatial planners to improve interaction and cohesion between local and transnational TEN-T implementation, and to overall facilitate an open dialogue among local, national, and EU-level decisionmakers. The TENTacle project – comprised of seven regional pilot cases – focuses on urban nodes and balancing the goals of transport intermodality and interoperability with sustainable urban mobility. The Scandria®2Act project intents to advance connectivity of corridor regions while minimizing transport’s negative impact on the environment. Its goals include “harmonized clean fuel deployment” and development of related infrastructure within the Scandria®Corridor along with studies on incentives and financing of “multifuels and multimodes.”

Heral Ruijters, Director Investment, Innovative and Sustainable Transport at DG MOVE (European Commission), Petri Sarvamaa, Member of the European Parliament and Kurt Bodewig, European Coordinator Motorways of the Sea, welcomed representatives of the three projects and all participants in Brussels. Although Mr. Bodewig could not attend in person, a pre-recorded message was streamed to the audience. Klaus-Uwe Sondermann, managing director at KombiConsult GmbH led through the event.

The first panel “Into the sixth year of the core network corridor implementation. Achievements vs. persisting challenges” featured official representatives in charge of the TEN-T core network corridor (CNC) development. Pat Cox (European Coordinator Scan-Med Corridor), Catherine Trautmann (European Coordinator North Sea-Baltic Corridor), Anne E. Jensen (European Coordinator Baltic-Adriatic Corridor) discussed achievements, challenges, and hopes with Kaarin Taipale (Member of the Board Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, lead partner of NSB CoRe), Kathrin Schneider (Minister for Infrastructure and Spatial Planning of the Federal State of Brandenburg, Lead Partner of Scandria2Act) and Lennarth Förberg (Chair of the Regional Development Board, Region Blekinge, Lead Partner of TENTacle). The countries in the Interreg BSR Programme include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Norway. The level of cooperation, as well as local and regional government involvement in the projects, was praised, while the issues of the ongoing need for funding, were presented as the burgeoning challenges for the TEN-T initiative.

The panellist discussed the “need to fill (the) corridors with life,” the growing concerns for road safety, highway congestion problems, and climate change. At the same time, the panellists underscored that the projects are already zooming in on these problems by reducing travel time and improving road connections which helps cut CO₂ emissions and brings businesses to remote areas in need of economic development.

Of most importance were issues related to the environment and funding, both of which are obviously very closely linked to all methods of EU transport policies. In his remarks on sustainability, Pat Cox, had some strong words. “The level of greenhouse gas emissions from transport is going the wrong way,” said Cox. “We are losing the battle. We are not winning the battle (…). For 2020, most EU states will not hit their targets. The 2020 targets are lowball targets compared to 2030, 40, and 50. If we’re not hitting 2020, it’s a wake-up call that we’re not in the game. If we’re running a race against time, we’ve got to speed up.”

Difficulties related to funding were mentioned repeatedly throughout the conference. While some innovative solutions have already been incorporated in TEN-T, such as blended financing of EU and private sector’s funds, the coordinators at times run into unforeseen situations mid-project: “We also see, all the time, new things coming up,” said Anne Jensen. “For instance, in Poland, so many things are happening that the economy is overheating and all of a sudden you have a cost overrun on some of the projects and you have to find more funds.” But Jensen was optimistic about the TEN-T projects overall and the commitment from the EU to develop an advanced transportation system. She spoke about the exciting changes for the continent with the development of her corridor which will provide landlocked countries and industries with access to the seas. This offers new opportunities for businesses and shipping thus making it relevant for intra-European trade.

The human factor in transport was also highlighted. The speakers brought up the importance of recognizing that the TEN-T initiative is about connecting people to other communities, providing better job prospects and business opportunities, access to hospitals and schools, that the corridors are not just “lines on a map,” as Herald Ruijters put it.

Catherine Trautmann elaborated on the social aspects and consequences of marginalization of some groups, particularly in the rural areas. Trautmann spoke about Brexit and the Yellow Jackets protests in France as examples of the type of social unrest that materializes when communities feel isolated and “not in the game.” In Trautmann’s view, the success of the corridors is directly linked to levelling the playing field for these groups which improved transport can do.

In the first session lead by representatives from the Scandria®2Act project under the headline of Competences, the panel discussion shifted into more detail on building cohesion in large projects and urban nodes while addressing the clean fuel deployment and the utilization of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Here, the speakers highlighted the crucial aspect of an open multi-level dialogue among operatives from the European Union, the Member States, and stakeholders, especially when it comes to funding and sharing knowledge. Multi-level governance is needed, in line with its fundamental objectives of achieving greater economic, social and territorial consistency, to reduce the administrative and legal burdens for projects and to make it easier for experts in different regions to find each other and form cohesive partnerships.

“We’re talking about competence sharing within the projects, and matchmaking between professionals and policymakers,” said Kaarin Taipale. Ultimately, the goal is “to break silos,” as Taipale concluded.

Additionally, Dr. Michał Tuszyński, who represented Gdynia Municipality, called urban nodes the “key players for the success of the TEN-T initiative” and port cities “the engines of growth in Europe.” Aivar Jaeski, Rail Baltica Country Manager Estonia and Finland, highlighted the trans-European project’s positive influence on trade and transport capacity in the region as well as improved accessibility to medical care, universities, and cultural events. The greenfield rail will link Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to a European standard gauge rail line. 

The issue of sustainability was also raised in this session as it relates to the issue of promoting alternative fuelling options. The Clean Fuel Deployment Strategy within Scandria®2Act has been concentrating on clean fuel development in the BSR region, with consideration for electricity, hydrogen, and natural gas.

“There is no one instrument that fits all regions and countries,” said Jan Carsten Gjerløw, Akershus County Council Senior Advisor. “That’s where the Clean Fuel Deployment comes in to figure out an option that works best for a specific country.” To make the process easier, Gjerløw said that incentives as well as sharing information and experiences are of most benefit when it comes to shifting towards green transport.  

In the second session panel discussion, titled Capitalisation: Reaping benefits of large infrastructure projects on the corridors and organised by the TENTacle project, the speakers touched on issues such as coherent cross-border transport planning, integration and improved accessibility for remote areas, and increased awareness about large infrastructure investments along with proper branding strategies.

The panel illustrated that the benefits of large infrastructure projects go way beyond just the immediate vicinity of the site of the project. The advantages of such projects also affect communities long-term and on a fundamental level for years to come. This message is often lost in a cost-benefit analysis as well as in communication with stakeholders. Consequently, when developing a strategy for a project, the need for active dialogue with people as future users and customers is necessary to “build joint ownership of the vision.”

The large projects also need cross-border collaborative planning. “We need better planning methodologies,” said Stefan Engdahl, Executive Director, Market and Planning at the Swedish Transport Administration. “We also need better prognosis methods that have the same basis when we calculate the future and the demand of transport.”

Engdahl also underscored the need for a “firm and active commitment from EU Corridor Coordinators and EU” to uphold the efforts to “strengthen Core Network Corridors (CNC) implementation.”

Thomas Becker, Managing Director of STRING, said that EU should take care of large project infrastructure because individual countries – their governments – don’t have a cross-border mind-set. “I’m not that convinced of infrastructure for the sake of infrastructure,” said Becker. “I’m convinced that you need to decide what the regions affected by a certain infrastructure project, what they should develop into before you install the infrastructure.”  

The panel lead by NSB CoRe concluded the conference under the banner of Collaboration:Alliances for innovative implementation strategies. Panellists discussed responsibility of multi-level governments to engage in active and permanent dialogue with each other as well as local communities and clean fuel incentives. Topics as the general necessity of long-term vision in transportation planning and incorporation of multimodality in cargo and passenger transport were also touched upon.

On clean fuels, Anette Solli, Regional Mayor of Akershus County Council and Founding Partner of the Scandria Alliance, pointed out that only one percent of European vehicles are zero-emissions. The incentives that work well in this aspect, in terms of government involvement, include financial breaks (especially upfront reduction in price) when purchasing a vehicle – whether zero emissions or hybrid.  Additionally, multimodal transport is another green solution that’s increasingly popular. It involves using different modes of transport for the same trip. Multimodality helps in keeping transport sustainable and well integrated.

At the end of the conference, the panellists reinstated the role of transportation as a link between communities and a way to reach marginalized groups to bring about positive economic and quality of life changes. In order to achieve that, collaboration and cooperation among the European countries, on government-level, as well as among stakeholders, is crucial. 

Closing remarks were given by two members of the European Parliament, Michael Cramer, and Gunnar Hökmark, and Thomas Erlandson, Coordinator for Policy Area Transport in the EU Strategy for the BSR.

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2019-05-13T11:56:00+00:00
TENTacle is changing the maritime face of Gdynia - Conference summary http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/tentacle-is-changing-the-maritime-face-of-gdynia-conference-summary

The Gdynia port development, important road and railway city investments, as well as the Baltic states integration and the region's connection to the transport corridors network into the European Union - these are the objectives that Gdynia intends to implement in the framework of the TENTacle project. A conference summarizing the project took place in the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park in Gdynia.

The conference was attended by around 70 representatives of organizations and institutions that cooperated with Gdynia as part of the project.

One of the Gdynia main aims of participating in the project was to analyze the needs related to the transport node’s development in the city. The TENTacle project was to help to define what type of infrastructure and services are necessary for the better and faster development of Gdynia and the entire Baltic Sea Region, and what actions to take to maximize the advantage of the seaside location of the city.

The project helped to acquire a great knowledge that will allow to disseminate all activities related to transforming Gdynia into the TEN-T core network node by 2030 - explains Ryszard Toczek, TENTacle project manager in Gdynia. - It was an introduction to the preparation and implementation of 23 investments implemented as part of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor’s construction in Gdynia. These are closely related works, requiring coordination, synchronization and, above all, cooperation of all partners. Meetings and workshops that we conducted as part of the TENTacle project will certainly facilitate this cooperation.

In accordance with EU guidelines, a key development goal in the area of TEN-T Baltic-Adriatic corridor core network is "Gdynia node" with a seaport and a rail-road terminal. Activities include the Kwiatkowski Route modernization, as well as deepening the approach fairways and widening the vessel’s turning area in the Gdynia port.

The resulting investment is definitely a new ferry terminal. We await with interest reconstruction of the entire railway system with the Gdynia Port station. Intensive preparations for the construction of an external port are also underway, which will soon change the maritime face of Gdynia.

Western Pomerania was also included in the area of the TENTacle project activity.

TENTacle is the first such comprehensive project in the field of transport solutions implemented in Gdynia. Together with Gdynia, Poland was represented by the Port of Gdynia Authority S.A. and the self-government of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The project was also supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure, the self-government of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, the City of Gdańsk as well as local government and economic organizations.

For more information please contact: 

Marta Myszor
m.myszor@gdynia.pl

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2019-04-12T13:32:00+00:00
Focus on climate and railways! - Final report of the Scandinavian Borderland Pilot Case http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/focus-on-climate-and-railways-final-report-of-the-scandinavian-borderland-p

The Central Scandinavian Borderland is one out of five pilot cases within the TENTacle project. The report can be downloaded here.

The proposed strategy will be presented to the Värmland-Østfold Border Council, in May 2019. It focuses on the region between the Oslofjord and the Vänern lake in the east, Hedmark county in the north and Bohuslän/Gothenburg in the south. The region falls within the Nordic Triangle, between the capital cities.

The report describes the opportunities for establishing more efficient and climate friendly transportation across the borders. Today most of the transport goes on roads and by air traffic. The report is exploring how millions of air flights can be shifted to high speed railways.

TENTacle project organized its´ final conference in Brussels 6th March together with other projects. Present at this conference were EU parliamentarians, national and regional decision makers, experts, project workers and others. Read more about the conference here.

EU representatives and others focused on the climate change and the job we all have to do in order to combat the global warming and CO2 emissions from the transport sector. EU will take a leading role in this work, according to President Juncker. At the same time there is a strong engagement from young people in Europe demanding more proactive actions, initiated by a Swedish teenager.

This report is an answer to some of the challenges and is showing how millions of flights can be shifted to rails by the establishment of high-speed railways. The good news is, that an efficient high-speed network will take a huge part of the transport market and because of that, it will not need state funding. On the contrary, with state funding to lean on, it will certainly be established in a more suboptimal way, with many political considerations and delays. That will be a great loss for the environment and for the tax payers.

This report is also focusing on conventional railways and the need of upgrading and some new missing links. Some of the elements in the proposed strategy are the following:

  • The whole Stockholm-Oslo corridor should be included in the Scan-Med corridor
  • More integrated road connections around Oslo and across the border, such as the Ring 4. Finalize the planned project at E18 through the Follo region and improve the capacity at E18 through Värmland.
  • Upgrade the Kongsvinger railway, and establish a fast connection to Gardermoen and Hovedbanen, and and upgrade the Värmland railway Charlottenberg-Karlstad.
  • Finalize the Intercity network construction Oslo-Halden and extend it to Sweden, including a new tunnel Halden-Kornsjö.
  • The proposed double track to Mysen shall be implemented as soon as possible and considered to be extended to Ørje/Töcksfors and to Arvika
  • Consider climate taxes on the E6 and E18 border crossings, dedicated to new railway links across the border.
  • Establish a high-speed railway between Oslo-Stockholm and Oslo-Gothenburg, primarily by private investments.
  • Establish an Oslofjord railway connection which will enhance the regional coherence and labour market integration.
  • Develop the “1hour region” around Oslo, which include Gothenburg, Karlstad and other towns in Värmland with and towns like Askim, Fredrikstad, Skien, Larvik, Hamar, Maps:

The first picture below shows the connection between the new Oslofjord railway bridge and the border crossing railways. The HSR lines are green.

  

In the second picture the HSR lines are red and it shows how the high speed trains from Gothenburg and Stockholm will meet in Ørje, 80 km south east of Oslo, and will use the same railway to Oslo-Drammen-Bergen.

The third picture is an illustration about how the high-speed railways can cover a big part of the Nordic region and connect cities and regions which today are mostly connected by air traffic, lorries, busses and private cars.

The last picture shows how the comprehensive high-speed network can reach all parts of the Nordic region, linked to the TEN-T core network and beyond.

For more information please contact:

Alf S. Johansen
Värmland-Østfold Border Council
Phone: +47 913 37013
alf@varmost.net

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2019-03-21T08:53:00+00:00
TEN-T projects conference touts BSR cooperation, underscores the need for more funding and environme http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/ten-t-projects-conference-touts-bsr-cooperation-underscores-the-need-for-mo

Representatives from three European Union-funded Interreg infrastructure projects held a final review conference on March 6, 2019, in Brussels, Belgium, where they provided recommendations on how to best invest and develop the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core network corridors in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). Panels from the three closely collaborating Interreg BSR Programme projects, NSB CoRe, Scandria®2Act, and TENTacle, along with members of the European Parliament, European Commission, and local elected officials, discussed the successes and challenges of their work. The conference, under the theme of Regions, Corridors and Urban Nodes – Competences, Capitalisation and Cooperation, focused on ways to achieve the goal of creating a sustainable and efficient transport system in the BSR as well as the rest of Europe before the deadline of 2030.

The conference highlighted the unprecedented level of collaboration in the BSR among the Member States which include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany with notable cooperation and partnership with Norway. In fact, the most frequently repeated concept throughout the forum was that cooperation and partnership are crucial to success when it comes to transnational as well as regional infrastructure projects. As Catherine Trautmann, European Coordinator for the North Sea-Baltic Corridor, put it: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  

   

Representation from NSB CoRe, Scandria®2Act, and TENTacle projects hosted the conference in three sessions where they provided findings and evidence pertaining to achievements vs. challenges in the core network corridor implementation, best practices and lessons learned “from megaprojects, urban nodes and clean fuel development,” and “coherent cross-border transport planning, integration of remote areas and branding corridor investments.”

The first session scenario, under the theme of “Competences,” highlighted the need for multi-level governance (MLG) to overcome administrative and legal barriers between transport authorities. Additionally, as urbanisation increases the need for long-distance commuting, effective cross-border services are necessary for well-functioning long-distance commuting corridors. From the angle of climate change, a “radical change” can happen if all clean fuels and innovative solutions are effectively used. Here, better inter-sectoral collaboration is needed between transport planning, spatial planning, and regional planning towards one cohesive strategy. The panellists also stressed that better public-private collaboration (between public authorities and private companies) is needed on environmental matters.

  

The second session, titled Reaping benefits of large infrastructure projects on the corridors, underscored the positive changes in the society due to improved accessibility in the catchment area of the large infrastructural projects and improved quality of life and new investment potentials in the area. Those concepts need to be better presented and discussed in the corridor projects. Both positive and negative consequences of these type of projects require a qualitative approach through appropriate governance arrangements, policy responses, and business strategies. Furthermore, the role of stakeholders should be taken into account to build high motivation, increase awareness, and gain acceptance for the project. Collaborative planning and wise local and regional decisions are crucial to the success of large infrastructure projects in the BSR.

In the third scenario, discussed in a “Collaboration”-themed session, the issue of clean fuels, economic models of multimodality, and urban nodes’ responsibility for interactive communication Europe-wide were highlighted.  When it comes to clean fuels, there is no “magic formula” that fits all countries at this time. The most effective political action that governments can undertake is granting upfront financial incentives to consumers when buying vehicles. Also, multimodality for cargo as well as passenger transport needs more effort from private as well as public sector. In short, collaboration should focus on innovation, be open-minded, have a long-term vision, and it needs political support and reliable partners. 

The panel discussions touched on successes of decreasing travel time and as such reducing CO2 emissions and the importance of environmental sustainability when it comes to transport planning. The panellists additionally stressed the positive impact of participation and cooperation among the local, regional, and transnational governance.  The “uniquely detailed knowledge” and “a degree of understating” that have been shared among the Baltic region countries, their governments, and the project promoters, with additional assistance from external consultants, are all credited with successful progress of the projects as well as speedy and efficient funding allocation and financial innovation, such as blended financing using EU money and private sector funding. “Knowing what you’re talking about is [helpful] to make good public policy,” said Pat Cox, European Coordinator for the Scan-Med Corridor. The financial aspect of the infrastructure development in the BSR is one of the most significant challenges for the TENT-T initiative.

The speakers also highlighted the human factor in transport. They emphasized the significance of one of the main goals behind the TEN-T initiative which is to reach marginalized populations and give them the opportunity for overall better quality of life.  “We really need to fill these corridors with life, and that’s what the three projects are doing,” said Herald Ruijters Director of Investment, Innovative and Sustainable Transport at DG MOVE (European Commission). “This is not just about lines on a map; it’s about the citizens who are behind them.”  Ruijters underscored that the corridors would provide the regional population and businesses with opportunities and a “meaningful life” long after the projects are finished. “We are allowed to dream (…) we need to have the courage to dream,” said Ruijters.  Along the same lines, Trautmann mentioned her native France, and the social unrest involving the so-called Yellow Jackets, together with Great Britain and its looming Brexit, as consequences of a lack of interconnectedness where some groups, such as those in rural areas, feel isolated and ignored by political classes.

The forum clearly illustrated that while the collaboration and progress of the three Interreg projects is certainly a success story, an undertaking of this magnitude is not without its own inherent challenges. Road safety is one of the main concerns in Europe where there are around 25,000 fatalities per year, according to most recent statistics. The safety issue is related to corridor congestion and the need for better multimodal transport solutions. This is where the projects run into the “not in my backyard” mentality that often trumps the desire for new development. The environmental problem in the transport sector also needs immediate attention from governments. None of the EU Member States are on track to keep up with the requirements of the Paris Agreement, while several countries are nowhere near it.  The unforeseen changing financial needs of projects that are already in progress have also slowed down the pace of growth. The need for new and innovative ways for financing infrastructure has been underscored several times throughout the conference.

              

Concluding the conference, Gunnar Hökmark, Member of the European Parliament, pointed out what a vast difference transportation infrastructure has already made throughout the world, effectively erasing some of the economic differences among the First, Second, and Third World countries. He stressed that despite the progress and the successes of the three flagship projects, there’s still significant lack of roads and railways as well as transport funding in some areas in Europe, especially in the eastern part of the BSR.

For more information please contact:

Inga Gurries
TENTacle Communication Manger
gurries@hafen-hamburg.de

Mattias Andersson
TENTacle Project Manager
Mattias.Andersson@regionblekinge.se

This text and the pictures were provided by the Baltic Transport Journal
For more information please contact: 
Przemek Oplocki
Managing Director
po@baltic-press.com

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2019-03-19T12:09:00+00:00
Results of the Gdynia urban/transport CNC node Pilot Case published http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/reports-gdynia-urban-transport-cnc-node2

Gdynia is a key port gateway and an entry and exit hub for the eastern branch of the TEN-T Baltic-Adriatic Corridor (BAC) with its primary transport infrastructure. The railway links form the European Freight Corridor No. 5, the road connections of E-75 and E-77 have the European status, while the maritime stretches compose short sea shipping connections with many Baltic ports as well as an important Motorway of the Sea (MoS) between the ports of Gdynia and Karlskrona. At the same time, Gdynia serves as a key urban node where the last mile TEN-T corridor infrastructure mixes with the infrastructure for regional and local traffic.

As stated in the TEN-T Guidelines, in urban nodes seamless connection should be ensured between the two subsets of infrastructure. However, no guidance has been issued how to achieve that. Neither is advice available how to combine it with the need to improve accessibility and multimodal capacity of the TEN-T core seaport in the context of dynamically growing volumes. The current last mile access networks are not able to carry the flows, forecasted to almost double in 2027, and nearly triple in 2045 This threatens Gdynia port’s capability to long-term serve supply chains in the global and the Baltic trade dimensions.

The predominant objective of Gdynia in the BSR flagship TENTacle project is preparing the urban-port (cohesive) transport system as a vital node in the TEN-T. TENTacle project may bring groundbreaking urban node “road map” of Gdynia and the Tri-City MEGA Metropolis by meeting and agreeing the opportunities and possibilities for the development and integration of transport infrastructure, to implement modern, innovative technologies and transport management systems. All stakeholders of the Gdynia “urban node” were invited to cooperate in identifying the most important transport needs. Only miltimodal transport can be utilised  to optimise the  development (competitiveness) of cities and regions as well as environmental protection. TENTacIe project continued the earlier involvements oriented at greening transport system ("SoNorA” or "BGLC" projects).

Within the framework of the TENTacle projetc, the City of Gdynia in the TENTacle project has generated the following reports:

1. Last mile study for integrated CNC-urban node focusing on investments complementary to BAC work plan

The goal of the study is to develop the concept of an optimal, resource-efficient transport system in the last mile section of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor in Gdynia in 2030 and prognostically by 2045.

The study consists of 5 separate documents that make up the entire content:

  • Document 1a: Analysis and forecast of freight and passenger traffic from / to the sea port in Gdynia,
  • Document 1b: Multi-variant concept of road infrastructure access to the Port, industrial shipyard areas and neighboring communes based on projects included in the document: “BACWork Plan” 
  • Document 1c: Traffic forecast in the BAC Work Plan implementation area  in the city of Gdynia and neighboring communes (including: Kosakowo, Rumia, Reda).  
  • Document 1d: Technical and technological as well as operational, economic and financial analysis of the variants presented in the Document 2 and a comparative analysis (financial and socio-economic) of these variants, enabling decision regarding the implementation of the best option for the Gdynia transport system development in the TEN-T core network
  • Document 1e: Transport White Paper of the CNC node Gdynia (seaport) - the concept of a freight and passenger traffic organization in view of 2027 and 2045

2. Road map (multi-level governance schemes for Gdynia urban/transport CNC node)

The road map is a schedule for implementing optimal methods to improve the management of the core network transport node in Gdynia, with consistent consideration of the needs of all stakeholders of the node.

Urban nodes shall make best use of their exemplary roles on multi-level governance and as forerunners on innovative and low-carbon solutions.

(TEN-T Corridors: Forerunners of a forward looking European Transport System Issues papers of European Coordinators – TEN-T Days 2016 Rotterdam)

The road map schemes of multi-level management of Gdynia city/transport node in the corridor of the TEN-T core network of the flagship project TENTacle merges key tools of EU transport policy in the city area, indicated in the Transport White Paper (2011) to create a competitive and resource-efficient transport system in the EU. These are:

  • TEN-T core transport network,
  • Multi-level management (MLG),
  • TEN-T urban node. 

The study presents, for example, proposals for formal changes and cooperation models for the development of the TEN-T core network node in Gdynia, legal and formal aspects related to the development of the TEN-T core network node in Gdynia, good practices of multi-level management in TEN-T transport policy, recommendations for MLG of EU projects and others, local, regional and subregional bases of building MLG in Gdynia, consistent EU and national MLG building rules (significant for Gdynia), entities pursuing development policy, MLG in leading the country's development policy, multilevel Gdynia management, TEN-T network in Gdynia.

Gdynia seaport and its rail and road terminals as well as the port connections of the last mile with the road and rail connections of Gdańsk airport - determine Gdynia is in fact a core network node in passenger and freight transport.

In its area, basic or comprehensive TEN-T infrastructure projects and other transport infrastructure development projects are implemented or planned for implementation - for mobility in passenger and freight transport, belonging to different infrastructure managers.

The Gdynia location as the gateway of the Baltic-Adriatic corridor gives the European added value to B-A corridor’s infrastructure in the city; in addition to the potential value of Poland - it leads to a significant improvement in transport connections or transport flows between Member States, especially motorways of the sea.

3.Gdynia CNC node statistics data atlas – 2016

The statistical report is a pilot document on a European scale, presenting a numerical image of the node of the TEN-T core network in Gdynia, based on data of all transport modes in 2015-2016.

4. Research report – The stakeholders' tendency (suppliers, clients, employees) of the back-up facilities of the Port of Gdynia to cooperate for the benefit of logistic efficiency of the transport / urban junction within the TEN-T core network in Gdynia

Its goal was to acquire information on different aspects of operations in the context of identification of the propensity of stakeholders (suppliers, clients, employees) of the back-up facilities of the Port of Gdynia to cooperate for the benefit of logistic efficiency of the transport/city junction within the TEN-T core network in Gdynia.

5. Pilot action plan: Gdynia CNC urban/transport node (Final report to be finalised in April 2019):

  • Last mile capacity studies for the Gdynia transport node,
  • TEN-T maritime dimension:  MoS Gdynia – Karlskrona Road Map (extending the BAC northwards),
  • Bottlenecks and missing links within the BAC last mile section – from the interoperability and sustainable urban mobility perspectives (including traffic flows),
  • Traffic development forecasts until 2050 vs. capacity of the port-city infrastructure,
  • GdyStat CNC urban/transport node: statistical measures included to the city, port and metropolitan area development (MEGA Gdańsk),
  • A holistic approach to the corridor’s last mile development with established multi-level governance model,
  • Reference for business decisions on supply chains to and from the Port of Gdynia,
  • Added value to the BAC Work Plan – TEN-T revision proposals.

All documents can be found in the download section of the TENTacle website.

For more information please contact: 

Marta Myszor

m.myszor@gdynia.pl

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2019-03-14T14:53:00+00:00
Brussels to host Baltic Sea Region transport and development review http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/brussels-to-host-baltic-sea-region-transport-and-development-review

Gdansk, PL., 27 February 2019 – The three Interreg Baltic Sea Region (BSR) Programme projects, NSB CoRe, Scandria®2Act, and TENTacle, announced a joint final conference, Regions, Corridors and Urban Nodes – Competences, Capitalisation and Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, to take place on 6 March 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. The conference, a showcase of implementing the TEN-T Policy, will highlight the benefits as well as the challenges of infrastructure investments and regional development in the BSR.

Through the joint final event, the three projects aspire to reach the relevant target groups with the outcomes of thematic activities in such areas as: corridor urban nodes, clean fuels, multilevel governance for transport and regional growth, and regional impact of large investments in corridor infrastructure.

On this occasion forms and collaboration of transnational intermodality will be discussed including the Scandria®Alliance and BSR Access project platform.

The event will see interactive discussions in the panels and with the audience. There are over 160 registered participants, including the European coordinators for the TEN-T core network corridors, members of the European Parliament, local and regional politicians and officials from the BSR countries and high-level decision-makers from the European Commission and the EU member states.

The event will take place on March 6th, 2019, 9:00-16:00, with an informal get-together on March 5th, 2019, 17:30-19:30, at Representation of the Federal Land of Sachsen-Anhalt at the EU, Boulevard Saint Michel 80, Brussels, BE. Post-conference, the Baltic Transport Journal will offer an article and a report with a summary of the event.

More information about the program and participants you could find here.

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2019-02-27T10:54:00+00:00
Regions, Corridors and Urban Nodes – Competences,&nbsp; Capitalisation and Cooperation in the Baltic Sea http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/regions-corridors-and-urban-nodes-competences-capitalisation-and-cooperatio

Background 
The three Interreg BSR Programme projects: NSB CoRe, Scandria®2Act and TENTacle, accompanied and supported by high-level regional, national and EU representatives, invite to a joint final conference in Brussels on the 6th of March 2019. 
The three projects have agreed to closely coordinate their work in tackling the shared challenges and addressing the shared target groups with the proposed policy and action solutions. Thereby, the three projects can synergise on individual results and provide strong recommendations to help exploit the added value of the TEN-T core network corridors for better infrastructure and regional development in the Baltic Sea Region. 
Ambitions of the three projects have been acknowledged by the European Commission and transport ministries of the Baltic Sea countries. Each of them has been granted the stamp of a flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Together, the three projects represent very well the needs and interests of both the regional and local authorities and the manufacturing, transport and logistics industries in the core network corridor implementation. The multilevel and cross-sectoral partnerships the projects have developed as well as the complementary geography of their activities provides a substantial contribution to this process, also in relation to the better understanding of mutual impacts between the core network corridors and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. 

Key profile of the conference 
Through the joint final event, the three projects aspire to reach the relevant target groups with the outcomes of thematic activities in such areas as: corridor urban nodes, clean fuels, multilevel governance for transport and regional growth, and regional impact of large investments in corridor infrastructure. 

  • Time: 6 March 2019, 9:00-16:00; informal get-together: 5 March, 17:30-19:30. 
  • Venue: Brussels, Representation of the Federal Land of Sachsen-Anhalt at the EU, Boulevard Saint Michel 80. 
  • Aims: Interaction with the European Coordinators, high-level decision-makers and the audience on (1) policy and action proposals laid down by three projects to fully exploit the benefits of the TEN-T core network corridors for the transport infrastructure and sustainable regional growth in the Baltic Sea Region; (2) long-term use of the projects’ results for the EU Cohesion Policy and the EU Transport Policy in the new funding period; (3) transition from single projects to coordinated processes as illustrated with the new Scan-Med Corridor governance body of Scandria®Alliance and the project platform cooperation of the BSR Access. 
  • Audience: About 150 decision-makers representing the European Parliament, the European Commission, national, regional and local authorities of the Baltic Sea countries, intergovernmental networks and industry.
  • Format: interactive sessions involving the panels and the audience; inspirational presentations by the three allied projects.

The full programme can be found here.

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2019-02-26T07:44:00+00:00
TENTacle Fehmarnbelt Pilot Case discusses final results together with STRING http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/tentacle-fehmarnbelt-pilot-case-discusses-its-final-results-together-with-s

Joint event by the TENTacle Fehmarnbelt Pilot Case and STRING organization: On the 19 February 2019, Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) as a partner in the EU Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme project invited relevant stakeholders from the Fehmarnbelt catchment for a final discussion on how to prepare now for the future fixed link. The event was co-hosted by the cross-border organization STRING, who sees the tunnel as a key element in establishing one Mega Region spanning from Hamburg to Oslo.

As the TENTacle project is going to be finalized this April, representatives from the Fehmarnbelt Pilot Case presented their results before passing the torch to members of the STRING organization and the EU Interreg Project “Greater Copenhagen”, who are going to continue the work on cross-border cooperation and connection the region to European infrastructure projects.

Sönke Maatsch, Economist and Project Manager at the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) Bremen, confronted the audience with cargo traffic simulations conducted as part of a study to help understanding the structural impact of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link on transport flows across Europe. The impact is not limited to the coastal areas, since ferry lines and already existing fixed links in the region are part of trans-European supply chains spanning across large parts of central and Central-Eastern Europe as well as Scandinavia. Frede Danborg, Project Manager at Guldborgsund Municipality, showed the audience how their involvement in the Fehmarnbelt Pilot Case revealed development opportunities arriving from the municipality’s proximity to the future Fehmarnbelt tunnel and two European transport corridors. Guldborgsund’s traffic analyses show a significant increase in truck and train cargo. Using workshops, dialogues and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and investors within the transport and logistics industry, the optimal location of Business Park Falster was confirmed. It will serve traffic coming via two current ferry connections from Germany and the future tunnel. The chosen business model targets the immediate demand for safe storage and rest time for truck drivers.

 

Afterwards, Thomas Becker, Managing Director of String, explained their vision for regional cooperation from Hamburg to Oslo fuelled by the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. To him the future fixed link is one important tool to achieving this vision, which is bigger than just this one infrastructure project. The STRING ambition is to create a green hub, which will lead to investments, sustainable growth and job creation. One of the most important ways to achieve this is goal is building the right infrastructure – which needs to be coherent in the entire corridor.

 

A similar vision – although on a smaller scale – is shared by the Interreg project “A coherent transport system for Greater Copenhagen”, which was introduced by Sten Hansen, Project Leader for Strategic scenarios for railway services within this cross-border transport project. Greater Copenhagen (or Öresundsregionen) is a political co-operation between Denmark and Sweden. The expected outcomes include a joint Swedish-Danish plan for rail-services and common infrastructure, including new fixed links across the Öresund and preparing the region for the future Fehmarnbelt tunnel.

Following the presentations, Sönke Maatsch and Thomas Becker were joint on stage by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Jürgens, Managing Director of Lübecker Hafen-Gesellschaft (Port of Lübeck), Marko Möller, Manager for Special Projects at Scandlines and Per Thye Rasmussen, Senior Consultant Regional Development at the Danish Chamber of Commerce. Together they actively discussed current and future trends in the Fehmarnbelt region.

Per Thy Rasmussen reminded the audience that regional integration does not come by itself, which he further illustrated using the example of the Öresund bridge. Thomas Becker stressed the symbolic value of the future tunnel, connecting the regions and overcoming regional differences. Their cross-border ambitions were answered more critically by Sebastian Jürgens and Marko Möller. They both represent private transport businesses, which are going to face serious alteration of the conditions under which they do business once the tunnel is fully operational. According to Sönke Maatsch, their study shows that both companies are going to have to face a loss in traffic due to the fixed link. Jürgens and Möller did not question the reality or necessity of the tunnel, but nevertheless renewed their demand for a level playing field and fair and equal competition conditions. Despite the construction of a tunnel, infrastructure linking the ports and intermodal services should not be neglected and reliable data on the future prize of the tunnel is needed. Consumers should be left with more than one choice for crossing the Fehmarnbelt, rather than only the tunnel. Both companies are already preparing their businesses for possible future impacts. Scandlines aims to diversify their business with new ferry routes and will also deploy additional environment-friendly hybrid ferries to maintain its services on the Puttgarden – Rødby route. The Port of Lübeck is already one of the biggest employers in the region and is looking for new partners to establish a major logistics hub in northern Germany.

Per Thye Rasmussen concluded by emphasizing once again that not only the cargo transport industry, but also the labour market is going to change drastically due to the faster connection between Germany and Denmark. Border obstacles will have to be removed and the regions will have to work together on making the transition as seamless as possible.

The presented TENTacle reports and results of the project’s stakeholder interaction process on anticipating impacts of the future Fehmarnbelt tunnel can be found in the download section of the TENTacle website. The most important findings are summarized in the final guidance paper “How to use the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link as impulse for regional growth”.

Presentations: 

Introduction of the TENTacle project and the Fehmarnbelt Pilot Case
Stakeholder perception of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link 

Inga Gurries, Project Manager, Port of Hamburg Marketing 

Baltic Sea transport structures to 2035 (future trends) 
Sönke Maatsch, PhD, ISL 

Business Park Falster in Guldborgsund Municipality 
Frede Danborg, Project Manager, Guldborgsund Municipality  

Seeing the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link in a broader perspective – from Hamburg to Oslo  
Thomas Becker, STRING

A coherent transport system for Greater Copenhagen 
Sten Hansen, Projectleader Strategic scenarios for railway services in Greater Copenhagen

For more information please contact:

Inga Gurries
Port of Hamburg Marketing
gurries@hafen-hamburg.de

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2019-02-22T08:24:00+00:00
Satellite and Drone Data Analyses Take the Development of TEN-T to New Heights http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/satellite-and-drone-data-analyses-take-the-development-of-ten-t-to-new-heig

Regional growth is of great importance in the EU transport policy instrument on the major transport axes across Europe i.e. the Trans - European Transport Network (TEN-T) Core Network Corridors (CNC). The TENTacle project aims to further improve the planning process and infrastructures measures. One of the pilot cases looked into the feasibility of new technology based on air- or satellite-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar technology (SAR) to take over future measurement tasks of the TEN-T network. By using such means, infrastructure bottlenecks - for example in ports - can be identified more easily and therefore support the improvement of terminals or the development of road and rail networks.

Soon, the technology will be able to compare different parts and contribute to sustainable development and to the extension and improvement of the CNCs.

Within the framework of the TENTacle project, Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Sweden, has worked to exemplify how this new technology and modern data processing (such as Artificial Intelligence and Big Data) can be used to analyze good flows in terminals and harbors.

The goal is to find objective measures that in turn can lead to improvements in the handling of goods, docking embodiment frequency, port to port costs, and administrative tasks.

Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) proposes the use of new geospatial technologies and “Pixel-to-People”-measurements, i.e. to conduct analyzes without any hardware investments along the EU corridors. In the future, stakeholders and decision-makers of and along the CNCs can easily get access to satellite measurements to get better and more importantly live data on the traffic axes.

For more information please contact:

Mats Pettersson
Blekinge Institute of Technology
mats.pettersson@bth.se

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2019-01-25T13:17:00+00:00
Sustainable mobility planning in a shrinking city http://tentacle.eu/nyheter/visa/sustainable-mobility-planning-in-a-shrinking-city

The twin town Valga – Valka is located at the southern border of Estonia and the northern border of Latvia. Valga is the administrative centre of Valga Municipality and Valka is the administrative centre of Valka Municipality. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and Valka were one town. In 1920, after the proclamation of independence of the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia, the town was divided between two countries and both countries started to develop own town centre and the border area turned from the former town centre into the outskirts. This has affected the planning of two neighboring cities.

Mobility is an important aspect of city planning, including Valga, which by its character is a shrinking city. Planning of such cities is supported by sustainable mobility.

The study conducted in Valga by Hendrikson & Ko approached mobility from different aspects (modes of moving) and scales (from international to inner city level). Mobility was analysed both from the perspective of current mobility, but also from the point of view of potential mobility.

Cross-border movement analysis takes into account functions on both Valga and Valka side and the distribution of population and thus differentiates all streets crossing the border according to needs and importance. Analysis of the main streets in Valga and Valka revealed areas of different density and different need for street-crossing.

Different functions and distribution of population in the urban space were mapped what provided basis for the following analyzes. A betweenness analysis for Valga was calculated based on the functions and distribution of inhabitants – the method points out the streets and sections of streets with the greatest potential for pedestrian traffic.

The car usage needs were analysed on different scales in Valga and Valka and also revealed different needs for different streets. The results of the analysis should be taken into account, also in cases when the driving speed and space for driving is reduced or when other traffic pacification methods are applied. Both border crossing statistics and mobile positioning data provided insight and were used for assessing the needs of car traffic in Valga and Valka.

The study indicates that the most important aim should be developing Valga into walkable and bicycle-friendly city, concentrating on the streets pointed out by the analyses. The solutions for creating such a city include: wider sidewalks, narrower driving lanes, reduced speed, traffic pacification methods, creating a designated bicycling lanes and parking solutions, and developing a walking-cycling oriented urban space in general as an opposite to car-oriented space. In order to enhance connection between Valga and Valka it is important to connect the urban centres with walkable and bicycle friendly streets, since the short distance between the centres promotes both walking and cycling. 

Download the full TENTacle report here.

For more information please contact: 

Lea Vutt
Valga Municipality
Head of International Projects
Lea.Vutt@valga.ee  
www.valga.ee

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2019-01-03T13:20:00+00:00