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Mobility and Transport

Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor

Russian border – HaminaKotka – Helsinki – Turku/Naantali – Stockholm – Malmö

Oslo – Goteburg – Malmö – Trelleborg

Malmö – København – Kolding/Lübeck – Hamburg – Hannover

Bremen – Hannover – Nürnberg

Rostock – Berlin – Leipzig – München

Nürnberg – München – Innsbruck – Verona – Bologna – Ancona/Firenze

Livorno/La Spezia - Firenze – Roma – Napoli – Bari – Taranto – Valletta

Napoli – Gioia Tauro – Palermo/Augusta – Valletta

The Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor is a crucial north-south axis for the European economy.

Crossing the Baltic Sea from Finland to Sweden and passing through Germany, the Alps and Italy, it links the major urban centres and ports of Scandinavia and Northern Germany to continue to the industrialised high production centres of Southern Germany, Austria and Northern Italy further to the Italian ports and Valletta.

The most important projects in this corridor are the fixed Fehmarnbelt crossing and Brenner base tunnel, including their access routes.

It extends, across the sea, from Southern Italy and Sicily to Malta.

Mr Pat Cox is the European Coordinator for the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor.

Map: Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor

The overall TEN-T corridor map

Description

This north–south corridor will integrate Priority Projects (1, 11, 12 and 20), ERTMS corridor B and Rail Freight Corridor 3. It is a crucial axis for the European economy, linking the major urban centres in Germany and Italy to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

The longest of the Core Network Corridors starts at the Finnish-Russian border, and goes via Helsinki, Stockholm and Malmö to the European mainland. There it continues via the German seaports of Hamburg and Rostock, following the major traffic flows in the west of Germany, via Hannover, and the east, via Berlin and Leipzig. The eastern and western sections come together in Nuremberg and continue to the south to Munich, following the Brenner Corridor to Verona. In Italy, the corridor continues via Bologna, Rome and Naples, with branches to the ports of Genova, Livorno, Bari and Taranto, before going to Palermo. The last section connects Italy with Malta via Motorways of the Sea.

Main bottlenecks

The Brenner Base Tunnel

The cross-border section between Munich and Verona going through the Alps is a major bottleneck on the Scandinavian - Mediterranean Corridor. The removal of this bottleneck is crucial for the realisation of the entire corridor.

Moreover, the realisation of the Brenner Corridor will have an effect on other rail networks linking northern and southern Europe. Together with the Gotthard-Monte Ceneri axis in Switzerland and the Lyon-Turin rail connection, the Brenner Corridor will establish a complex of high-capacity rail links. They will help achieve the environmental objectives set by the EU and ensure the modal shift from road to rail so necessary for the future of the ecologically sensitive Alpine region.

The Fehmarn Belt crossing

The Fehmarn Belt crossing is a key component in the main north-south route between central Europe and the Nordic countries. This cross-border bottleneck will be removed by the construction of the new immersed rail/road tunnel under the 19 km wide Fehmarn strait between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany. After the completion of the project, the travel time between Copenhagen and Hamburg will be reduced by approximately one hour, and for rail freight transport by approximately two hours.

Success stories

1. A Scandinavian success story: the Øresund fixed link

The Øresund Bridge is a combined two track rail and four lane road bridge and tunnel across the Øresund Strait between Sweden and Denmark. It is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe. Works started in 1995 and the link was opened to traffic on 1 July 2000, with a project cost of €2.7 billion. Railway and road transport have developed quickly, mainly as a result of the increased integration between the areas in both sides of the link.

2. An Italian success: The Milano – Napoli high speed line

The Milano – Roma – Napoli high speed line became fully operational with the completion of the section between Bologna and Firenze at the end of 2009. The travelling time between Milano and Roma has been reduced from 5 hours to 2 hours 45 minutes. This high speed section now takes 60% of the total passenger traffic flow between the two cities. The passenger volume between Milan and Napoli has increased by approximately 25%. In 2010, almost 20 million passengers used this line.

CEF: Pre-identified projects

HaminaKotka – Helsinki

Port, rail

port interconnections, rail upgrading, icebreaking capacities

Helsinki

Rail

airport-rail connection

RU border – Helsinki

Rail

Works ongoing

Helsinki – Turku

Rail

Upgrading

Turku/Naantali – Stockholm

Ports, MoS

port interconnections, icebraking capacity

Stockholm - Malmö (Nordic Triangle)

Rail

Works ongoing on specific sections

Trelleborg - Malmö – Göteborg – NO border

Rail, port, MoS

Works, multimodal platforms and port hinterland connections

Fehmarn

Rail

studies ongoing, construction works Fehmarn Belt fixed link to start in 2015

København - Hamburg via Fehmarn: access routes

Rail

access routes DK to be completed by 2020, access routes Germany to be completed in 2 steps: one track electrification with the completion of the fixed link and two-track seven years later

Rostock

Ports, MoS

interconnections ports with rail; low-emission ferries; ice-breaking capacity

Rostock - Berlin - Nürnberg

Rail

studies and upgrading

Hamburg/Bremen - Hannover

Rail

studies ongoing

Halle – Leipzig – Nürnberg

Rail

works ongoing, to be completed by 2017

München – Wörgl

Rail

access to Brenner Base Tunnel and cross-border section: studies

Brenner Base Tunnel

Rail

studies and works

Fortezza - Verona

Rail

studies and works

Napoli - Bari

Rail

studies and works

Napoli – Reggio Calabria

Rail

Upgrading

Verona – Bologna

Rail

Upgrading ongoing

Ancona, Napoli, Bari, La Spezia, Livorno

Ports

Port interconnections, (further) development of multimodal platforms

Messina - Catania – Augusta/Palermo

Rail

upgrading (remaining sections)

Palermo/Taranto - Valletta/Marsaxlokk

Ports, MoS

port interconnections

Valletta - Marsaxlokk

Port, airport

upgrading of modal interconnection, including Marsaxlokk-Luqa-Valletta

Bologna – Ancona

Rail

upgrading

Forum Meetings 2014

  • 4th Forum Meeting of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor, Brussels, 20th November 2014

Agenda

  • 3rd Forum Meeting of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor, Brussels, 2nd October 2014

Agenda

  • 2nd Forum Meeting of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor, Brussels, 18th June 2014

Agenda

  • 1st Forum Meeting of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor, Brussels, 1st April 2014

Agenda