TRANSPORT

Major achievements in 2003

The Inland Transport Committee adopted Resolution No. 251 on the Fourth Road Safety Week in the UNECE Region. Road safety campaigns will be organized in UNECE member States to make drivers of motor vehicles aware of the vital importance of keeping calm behind the wheel and of being respectful of other drivers.

Proposals regarding the introduction of the digital tachograph on new vehicles assigned to international road transport into the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) were endorsed; they will become mandatory for Contracting Parties to the AETR four years after the entry into force of the proposed amendments. The tachograph is the device on board commercial vehicles that measures drivers' working hours and rest periods.

The Consolidated Resolution on the Facilitation of International Road Transport (R.E.4) has been finalized. R.E.4 is a collection of recommendations for simplified and harmonized road transport procedures in Europe. New provisions include a recommendation regarding access to the profession of road transport operator.

Annex II to the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries (AGR) – the E-Road Network – is being modified in order to develop further certain aspects related to the environment and to integrate a number of the recommendations drawn up by the group of experts on safety in tunnels which was established by the UNECE following the tragic accidents in tunnels in Europe in 1999 and 2001.

The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations updated 74 regulations annexed to the 1958 Agreement and adopted a new one. This brings the total number of UNECE Regulations to 115. With regard to the 1998 Global Agreement, one additional accession was registered, thus bringing the number of Parties to this Agreement to 22. In this framework, global technical regulations are being prepared on the basis of agreed priorities.

The set of Guidelines for Socio-economic Cost-benefit Analysis of Transport Infrastructure Project Appraisal, based on the state-of-the-art methodology used by the international financial institutions and specific CIS needs in particular, was published. Work continued on transport connections between Europe and Central Asia, including also the organization of demonstration runs of block trains along two Euro-Asian routes.

In rail transport, amendments to the European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines (AGC) were adopted and monitoring of border-crossing rail transport in East and South-East European countries was continued.

For inland water transport, Resolution No. 252 on the Implementation of the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of International Importance (AGN), Resolution No. 49 on the Inventory of the Most Important Bottlenecks and Missing Links in the E Waterway Network and Resolution No. 50 on Technical Requirements for the Prevention of Pollution from Vessels were adopted. The European Code for Inland Waterways was published.

Countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia are being included in the European Agreement on Important International Combined Transport Lines and Related Installations and the role of combined transport has been promoted through the development of new recommendations and effective procedures with the aim of amending the Agreement to improve performances in combined transport services.

In respect of the Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods substantive progress was made in developing a new annex 8 on border- crossing procedures for international road transport, including its technical appendices on international technical inspection and vehicle weight certificates.

Concerning the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention), considerable progress was made in defining the parameters for the computerization of the TIR procedure.

Amendments to the various legal instruments regulating the transport of dangerous goods by road (ADR), rail (RID) and inland waterway (ADN) were adopted in most UNECE countries and will enter into force on 1 January 2005. A consolidated version of the restructured ADR has been published. The ECOSOC Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals published the thirteenth revised edition of the Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations; the fourth revised edition of the Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Tests and Criteria; and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.

The 2000 Combined Census of Motor Traffic and Inventory of Standards and Parameters on Main International Traffic Arteries in Europe was published.

Major challenges for 2004

The Inland Transport Committee will continue updating the international agreements and conventions that are the backbone of the European inland transport system and will pay special attention to their implementation.

In the context of these legal instruments, it will also focus on the development of transport infrastructure in the UNECE region, including Euro-Asian transport links, and promote actively the implementation of the Development Account Project.

In order to bring the legal instruments and resolutions in line with the current requirements of the European transport system, the following activities are expected to be undertaken: