No vision, no strategy, no promotion of railways and waterways, not even equal treatment with roads: South Tyrolean Member of the European Parliament Herbert Dorfmann harshly criticizes the EU Commission and its transport policy. "We are miles away from relieving the roads of freight traffic, although we have long known that this is the only way towards a more sustainable transport of goods," says Dorfmann. He therefore also shares the assessment of the European Court of Auditors, which has shown that freight traffic on the roads is continuing to increase - also due to the lack of commitment on the part of the EU Commission.

In a report published earlier this week, the Court of Auditors had revealed that roads would have to swallow 77 percent of freight traffic in Europe. This is also because there is currently not a level playing field for rail and shipping, for example. "That alone shows how far Europe is lagging behind developments and current necessities," Dorfmann said. He added that those who suffer are not least the residents of the Brenner route, which is one of the busiest transit routes in Europe.

The South Tyrolean EU parliamentarian therefore calls on the EU Commission to immediately draw up a strategy to shift freight traffic from road to rail or water as quickly as possible. "What is needed for this is the promotion of intermodal freight transport, i.e. transport that uses different means of transport - depending on which is the most efficient and sustainable where," Dorfmann said.

The second starting point, he said, is to invest more in freight transport infrastructure. "The EU must massively promote the expansion of the rail network and also create facilities that facilitate intermodal transport," said the South Tyrolean member of the European Parliament. What is also necessary, he said, is the inclusion of Switzerland. "If we want to have a paradigm shift in transalpine traffic, then this cannot be done without Switzerland," says Dorfmann, who specifically mentions, for example, the relief of the Brenner axis through an increased use of the Gotthard railroad line.

The EU parliamentarian also cites this as an optimal example of a future intermodal-oriented, sustainable transport of goods. "Instead of carting goods along the north-south axis in trucks over the Brenner Pass, they could use the modern rail route from northern Italy through Switzerland, which connects directly to the waterway across the Rhine to Rotterdam and Antwerp," Dorfmann says, adding: "But what is needed in any case is an overall strategy for the Alps."