Overview
The Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor represents a crucial north-south axis for the European economy. The corridor extends from the North of Finland, Sweden, and Norway, through Denmark, Germany, and Austria to the Mediterranean coast of Southern Italy and further on by sea to Malta. Major ports and network nodes are Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen in the North, Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Munich and Innsbruck in the centre and finally Verona, Bologna, Rome, Naples, La Spezia, Ancona, Livorno, Florence, Cagliari (Sardinia), Bari, Palermo (Sicily) as well as Valetta and Marsaxlokk (both Malta) in the southern part of the corridor. It comprises rail and road and European Maritime Space sections (e.g. Lübeck/Rostock to Scandinavia or southern Italy/Sicily to Malta) sections as well as 21 airports, 33 ports, 29 rail-road-terminals and 74 urban nodes. The key infrastructure projects on this corridor are the Fehmarnbelt fixed link and the Brenner base tunnel.
Main bottlenecks and missing links
The cross-border alpine connection between Munich and Verona represents a major bottleneck on the corridor and will be alleviated by the construction of the Brenner Base Rail Tunnel, when it becomes operational in 2032. The removal of this bottleneck is crucial for the realisation of the entire corridor, linking Northern and Southern Europe. Together with the Gotthard-Monte Ceneri axis in Switzerland and the Lyon-Turin rail connection, the Brenner corridor will bind together a complex network of high-capacity rail links. Together these networks will help to achieve the environmental objectives set by the EU and ensure the modal shift from road to rail; necessary for the future of the ecologically sensitive alpine region.
The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link 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 18 km wide, Fehmarn Strait, between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany. Following the completion of the project in 2029 including its access routes in the south and in the north, the travel time for passengers between Copenhagen and Hamburg will be reduced to approximately 2.5 hours. Time gains freight services will be even more significant.
Other major cross-border bottlenecks and missing links on the corridor are the sections Lulea – Narvik (SE/NO), Lulea – Oulu (SE/FI), Stockholm – Oslo (SE/NO) and Gothenburg – Oslo (SE/NO).
Additionally important national sections in this respect are North-Bothnian and New East coast line (SE), Stockholm – Malmö (SE), Helsinki – Turku (FI), Helsinki – Kouvola (FI), Bremen/Hamburg-Hannover (DE), Erfurt-Fulda-Frankfurt (DE), Salerno - Reggio Calabria (IT), Messina Strait bridge (IT), Catania - Palermo (IT), Napoli – Bari (IT).
Mr Martin Zeitler, Adviser of the European Coordinator
MARTIN [dot] ZEITLER
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (MARTIN[dot]ZEITLER[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
MOVE-SCANDINAVIAN-MEDITERRANEAN-ETCec [dot] europa [dot] eu (MOVE-SCANDINAVIAN-MEDITERRANEAN-ETC[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Postal Address:
Scandinavian-Mediterranean CNC / TEN-T
Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
Rue de Mot 28
1049 Brussels
Belgium