The UK’s infrastructure will suffer outside the TEN-T
By Harry Simpson
The European Union has always been a forward-thinking group. Its TEN-T policy, or Trans European Transport Network policy, outlines different strategic corridors in which investment could bring about increased economic and social output, through simpler and faster travel. Brexit means the UK will miss out, but how?
The European Parliament adopted the guidelines for a TEN-T in 1996, and then set out its 9 core network corridors in 2013 and 2014. These 9 network corridors are the Atlantic, Baltic - Adriatic, Mediterranean, North Sea - Baltic, North Sea - Mediterranean, Orient/East - Med, Rhine – Alpine, Rhine – Danube, and Scandinavian – Mediterranean. Motorways of the Sea and the European Rail Traffic Management System are also included, but not in this article. The TEN-T is part of a wider system of Trans-European networks including a proposed energy network. The TEN-T seeks to identify interventions and investments in European Union transport infrastructure that will provide improved national and European mobility, cohesion, and economic opportunities. 30 priority projects were also identified including EuroCap-Rail, Rail Baltic, and the Øresund Bridge. Some like the Øresund Bridge have been completed or started, like the EuroCap-rail. The Bridge has produced immeasurable benefits for the region. For example, in a few months I will head to Copenhagen on holiday and after flying in to Kastrup airport I will be able to take a high-speed train to Stockholm or Malmö, instead of a slow ferry link up north. It has simplified and sped up travel for millions while also providing environmental benefits to marine life.
If we turn to look at Section 7.1 of the North Sea – Med corridor’s most recent work plan, it recognises that ‘the existing high-speed network already connects virtually all Corridor urban nodes in continental Europe.’ It goes on to express concern regarding the modernisation of the EuroCap-Rail link between Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg, more specifically that improvements are needed between Luxembourg and Metz. An Implementing Decision is recommended to ‘fix the timeline.’ The implementing decision directs Brussels and Luxembourg to implement a list of actions to ensure the timely delivery of the project and its benefits, as experienced with the Øresund Bridge.
One of the Leave campaign’s main slogans in the Brexit referendum was ‘Take Back Control’. This catch-all term regarding anything from immigration to transport describes ways in which the European Union supersedes national and regional precedents or decisions. This was seen to be one of the main reasons many voted to leave; to take back control of borders, taxpayer money etc. However, the powers that the European Union has in directives such as an Implementing Decision could have changed the course of transport across the UK.
A few of the EU’s priority projects were in the UK, including the West Coast Main Line’s capacity enhancements and the High-Speed rail link between London and mainland Europe. Residents and visitors now enjoy a high-speed and sustainable way of travelling between the UK and the continental mainland. These were completed whilst the UK maintained its EU membership. Brexit, however, has meant projects of national and continental importance, such as High-Speed 2 (HS2), have been scaled back or cancelled altogether. The UK’s Conservative Government of Rishi Sunak, recently decided to cancel Phase 2 of HS2 to Manchester and the East Midlands. After the cancellation of many phases that would have truly connected the country’s economic centres, transport hubs and airports, it has been scaled down to a glorified commuter railway from Birmingham to London. Due to this reduced connectivity of the project and its high ecological cost of the route, the Green Party of England and Wales opposes HS2. It does however seek its completion and an inquiry into its mismanagement, instead of the project’s cancellation. The European Union could have released funds and issued an Implementing Decision to speed up the timeline of this project and force the UK government to deliver HS2, at least to Manchester. Unlike the UK Government, the European Commission is not worried about an election and so can be more forward-thinking and can support a project not so popular in the short term, but vital in the long term.
The UK has suffered from its decision to leave the European Union, but nowhere has it suffered more than its transport system. Where the continent is moving to a green hierarchy of transport, the UK is prioritising drivers. Europeans will see their travel times decrease, while Britons face train delays and difficulties accessing continental Europe. Will a North Sea – Mediterranean Corridor work plan in the future include the UK, whole or in part? We can only hope.
