UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Transport

In the course of this year, the Transport Division continued to develop and promote a pan-European inland transport regulatory framework; further facilitation of the international movement of persons and goods; improved safety; environmental protection; energy efficiency and security in the transport sector to levels that contribute effectively to sustainable development. This work focused mainly on facilitating negotiations and managing international agreements, conventions, norms and standards. Additionally, UNECE work contributed to further development of safer, more secure and efficient transport operations, safer and less polluting vehicles, as well as simplified border crossing procedures.

In 2008, the number of countries that became Parties to the UNECE international transport agreements and conventions increased by 20, of which four were non-UNECE member countries. This may be attributed to increased efforts to further promote implementation of the regulatory framework through a growing number of capacity building and advisory activities which were carried out in collaboration with member Governments and which involved a large number of experts from both the public and private sectors.

Major achievements in 2008

With respect to transport of dangerous goods, the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) entered into force on 29 February 2008 and now counts nine Contracting Parties.

Amendments were adopted regulating the transport of dangerous goods by road (ADR), rail (RID) and inland waterways (ADN) for entry into force on 1 January 2009, and accordingly the secretariat published a revised consolidated edition of ADR (ADR 2009) and of ADN (ADN 2009), while the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Organization for the International Carriage by Railways, which cooperates with UNECE in this respect, published RID 2009.

The accession of Tunisia to the ADR raised the number of Contracting Parties to 44. After Morocco, Tunisia is the second non-UNECE country acceding to the ADR.

The EU has rationalized its legislation concerning inland transport of dangerous goods by adopting a single directive (Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods) which refers to ADR, RID and ADN and requires its Members States to apply their provisions to domestic and intra-community traffic.

The Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, of the Economic and Social Council and serviced by the UNECE secretariat, will towards the end of 2008 adopt amendments to its Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations and Manual of Tests and Criteria, and to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). These amendments are intended to take account of new technological developments in various areas, e.g. increased use – and transport – of lithium batteries and fuel cells, or, in the case of GHS, to complement the current system (e.g. criteria for classification of substances depleting the ozone layer), or to provide clarifications and facilitate implementation at national level.

Amendments to the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs (ATP) were adopted.

The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) continued to update the existing and adopted new regulations aimed at improving vehicles’ safety and their environmental performance. Among them, updated provisions for safety glazing, head restraints and electronic stability control systems have been introduced as amendments to existing Regulations annexed to the 1958 Agreement and as new global technical regulations in the framework of the 1998 Agreement. Studies indicate that electronic stability control systems on certain categories of vehicles used in some regions have shown the highest life saving benefits since the introduction of safety belts. New provisions for the mandatory fitment of safety-belts on coaches have also been introduced. In 2008, the World Forum commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1958 Agreement, to which 48 Contracting Parties worldwide have already acceded; 127 vehicle regulations are now annexed to the 1958 Agreement and constitute the basis for the vehicle’s construction legal framework in those countries, including the EU. In this respect, the European Commission continued to follow the recommendations of the report of a Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century (CARS 21) for the replacement of 37 EU directives concerning vehicle construction by reference to UNECE Regulations annexed to the 1958 Agreement.

The World Forum has continued to study the possibility of developing market fuel quality standards in order to further improve the environmental performance of vehicles. A Round Table on how to incorporate Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) into the UNECE legal instruments was organized in 2008. The World Forum secretariat participated in the 2008 ITS European Congress. Activities and work of the World Forum were presented to the first International Transport Forum held in Leipzig (Germany) in May 2008. The International Transport Forum urged the World Forum to accelerate work on development of common methodologies, test cycles and measurement methods for vehicles to reduce their emissions, including CO2 emissions, which could contribute to a reduction in global warming. In June 2008, the World Forum held a first meeting of expert groups to develop environmentally friendly vehicles and a worldwide test cycle for the measurement of gaseous pollutants and CO2 emissions from motor vehicles.

With regard to border crossing facilitation, on 20 May 2008 a new Annex 8 to the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods, 1982 came into force. This is the first time that an annex to the Convention deals with a particular mode of transport, i.e. road transport, in recognition of the fact that the road transport operators should be considered as the main beneficiaries of the facilitation measures set out in the Convention. The accession of Lao People’s Democratic Republic on 29 December 2008 will raise the number of Contracting Parties to the Convention to 51.

The TIR Convention has been strengthened by amendments (adopted in February 2008 and coming into force on 1 January 2009) which will provide more financial transparency on the functioning of the TIR system. Another extensive package of amendment proposals has been finalized and submitted for approval to the TIR Administrative Committee with a view to clearly defining the responsibilities of major players in the TIR system (Customs, operators and guarantors). To harmonize the application of the TIR procedure at national level and support the training of Customs personnel, a set of examples of best practices has been prepared, including step-by-step instructions how to fill in and use the TIR Carnet.

The European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) now has 49 Contracting Parties. The Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), of 19 May 1956, now has 54 Contracting Parties. The Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), of 5 July 1978, has 39 Contracting Parties. The Additional Protocol to the CMR concerning the electronic consignment note (e-CMR) has been signed by eight countries and will remain open for signature at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 30 June 2009. This new protocol is a significant step towards increased e-governance in the transportation sector.

Road safety remains an area of huge concern both globally and regionally and all five United Nations regional commissions have agreed to consider road safety as a priority area for cooperation. The 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals now has 58 Contracting Parties. The secretariat has published the Vienna Conventions on Road Traffic and on Road Signs and Signals in all the official United Nations languages, thus allowing an accelerated scaling up of their use beyond the UNECE region.

UNECE in cooperation with the other regional commissions is the implementing lead agency for the UNDA funded project on “Improving Global Road Safety: setting regional and national road traffic casualty reduction targets”, to be carried out in 2008 and 2009.

UNECE will shortly publish a report on bottlenecks, missing links and quality of service in infrastructure networks.

A conference on the Role of Seaports as a Link between Inland and Maritime Transport was held in Piraeus, Greece, in September 2008.

To address issues of inadequate transport infrastructure, internationally unharmonized transport rules and cumbersome, costly and time-consuming border crossing procedures, UNECE and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) continued to work closely with Governments of the Euro-Asian region to develop Euro-Asian Transport Links (EATL). Project results included the identification of main Euro-Asian inland transport routes, prioritization of infrastructure projects, development of a geographical information system database, analysis of non-physical obstacles, six national capacity-building workshops and publication of the final study.

The first phase of the EATL project culminated in 2008 with the Ministerial Meeting in Geneva where high-level representatives of 19 countries signed a joint statement on future development of Euro-Asian transport links. The Ministers endorsed the identified Euro-Asian routes and their priority development as well as the creation of a mechanism ensuring efficient coordination and monitoring of project-related activities. The Government of the Russian Federation has provided extrabudgetary funding to support – among others – further EATL activities.

An international workshop was organized on rail security in November 2008, addressing key issues in the pan-European region.

UNECE adopted amendments to the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways (AGN) and made further progress, in close cooperation with the European Commission and the River Commissions, in the harmonization of traffic regulations on European waterways, technical requirements for inland navigation vessels and the recognition of ships’ certificates and boat masters’ licences.

A large package of amendments to the European Agreement on International Combined Transport Lines (AGTC) was adopted which extends the AGTC network and its minimum service standards to the Baltic States and Central Asia. Work has begun on analysing the underlying causes and requirements of supply chain management and logistics on intermodal transport demand, quality and land use planning for terminals and distribution centres.

In 2008, the Inland Transport Committee continued to review its work in the area of transport security. The Expert Group established for this purpose took stock of the different regulatory initiatives and submitted a progress report and recommendations.

UNECE published the results of the 2005 E-road and E-rail censuses covering all major international roads and railway lines in the UNECE region.

The UNECE Transport Division and Environment, Housing and Land Management Division, in cooperation with WHO/Europe, have prepared the substantive input for the Third High-Level Meeting on Transport, Health and Environment (Amsterdam, 22-23 January 2009). The Meeting is expected to provide guidance for future activities undertaken in the framework of the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP).

The first Joint Meeting of the Expert Groups of the Trans-European Motorway Project and Trans-European Railway Project on Revision of the Master Plan took place in September 2008 in Austria, and national coordinators from participating member countries agreed on the terms of reference, schedule of tasks associated with the Revision and further actions needed to complete this process during 2009.

Major challenges for 2009

The World Forum on harmonization of vehicle regulations will continue to adapt its regulations to technical progress and, when necessary, adopt new regulations to further improve the safety and environmental performance of vehicles. A road map for the establishment of a worldwide common test cycle for measurement of emissions of light vehicles, including CO2 emissions, will be one of its priorities and a round table on vehicles and CO2 emissions will be organized. It will make further efforts to increase participation of new non-UNECE countries. The secretariat will participate in the 2009 Geneva Motor Show to increase visibility and promote UNECE work on vehicle regulations.

The objectives for 2009 concerning border crossing facilitation will be to ensure the full implementation of the new Annex 8 to the Harmonization Convention at the national level, to finalize and adopt a new Annex 9 on rail crossing facilitation as well as to monitor the situation at borders in the UNECE region through developing a set of border crossing indicators.

Major challenges for the TIR procedure will be to reach a decision on the possible increase in the TIR guarantee level for non-EU countries to 60,000 euros and to make further progress in the computerization of the TIR procedure (eTIR) by finalizing Chapter 3 of the TIR Reference Model designing a set of electronic messages for the future eTIR system. UNECE will also conduct a strategic review of the role and competitiveness of the TIR procedure in the light of recent changes in the areas of trade, transport and Customs, in order to keep it up to date.

The secretariat will publish the sixteenth revised edition of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, the fifth revised edition of the related “Manual of Tests and Criteria”, and a third revised edition of the “Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals”. Draft amendments will be prepared to ADR, RID and ADN to reflect the provisions contained in these new United Nations recommendations.

In the area of the transport of perishable foodstuffs, challenges will include reaching agreement on extending the scope of the ATP Agreement to also cover fruit and vegetables as well as carriage by inland waterway.

UNECE will contribute in the preparatory process of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be held in the Russian Federation in November 2009; the conference is a major opportunity for improving the visibility of UNECE and raising awareness of its work on road safety.

It is also expected that the UNDA funded project on improving global road safety will lead to setting targets at sub-regional and regional levels; the results of the project will be presented at the Road Safety Conference and will also be included in a report to the General Assembly in 2010. The secretariat will work with relevant partners towards raising the political profile of road traffic crashes and possibly convert road safety improvement into a goal similar to the MDGs.

In September 2009, the Expert Group on Hinterland Connections of Seaports will present a set of policy recommendations on ways to improve the hinterland connection of seaports to the Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics.

Upon an invitation from the Chinese of Government, the UNECE Transport Division is planning to organize a meeting on Euro-Asian Transport Links in Shanghai, in early 2009.

In line with the decisions of the 2006 Pan-European Conference on Inland Water Transport, UNECE in close cooperation with River Commissions will prepare a White Paper on Efficient and Sustainable Inland Water Transport in Europe as a contribution to overcoming the fragmentation of inland water transport at the pan-European level, and taking stock of developments in the whole UNECE region, including North America.

UNECE will identify its role and possible value-added activities addressing the challenges of global supply chains and logistics affecting transport demand and transport quality requirements to ensure non-discriminatory, sustainable, safe and secure transport systems in line with national and regional priorities. The harmonization and possible reconciliation of transport laws and liability regimes, particularly in rail and intermodal transport, remains a major challenge at the pan-European level and UNECE will endeavour to contribute to long-term solutions in this field.

The Trade Committee and Inland Transport Committee will jointly organize a conference on trade and transport challenges and solutions during their annual sessions in February 2009 which will be part of a UNECE contribution to the International Transport Forum High Level Conference on Globalization, Trade and Transport, May 2009, in Leipzig.

UNECE will organize an international workshop on the accessibility of heavy rail transport for people with mobility handicaps, in cooperation with international organizations, the UNECE Population Unit and NGOs.

In collaboration with member Governments, the secretariat will prepare the methodological and procedural basis for the 2010 E-Road and E-Rail Census programmes covering all UNECE member countries.

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