LATVIA JOINS THE EUROPEAN AGREEMENT
ON COMBINED TRANSPORT
Geneva, 16 March 2007 -- On 1 March 2007 Latvia acceded to the
European Agreement on Important International Combined Transport Lines
and Related Installations (AGTC), bringing the total number of Contracting
Parties to that agreement to 30. The Agreement will enter into force for
Latvia on 30 May 2007.
The AGTC Agreement provides a legal framework for the coordinated development
of international combined road/rail transport infrastructure and services
at the Pan-European level, with a view to facilitating international transport
in the region.
With growing international trade, international transport of goods, and
in particular road transport, is increasing rapidly, increasing congestion
along main international road corridors and impacting on the environment.
By combining different modes of transport, using rail for the main haul
and road for collection and distribution only, such impacts can be reduced
and the burden on the European road network alleviated.
The agreement, which was concluded in 1991, has undergone several amendments
that have updated and consolidated it over the years. At present, work
is under way to extend the AGTC network to the Baltic region, Central Asia
and the Caucasus (see map). The UNECE Working Party on Intermodal Transport
and Logistics (WP.24), which administers the AGTC, recently launched a
web tool providing online access to information on the implementation of
the AGTC Agreement in its 30 Contracting States: http://unece.unog.ch/wp24/agtc.aspx
For further information please contact:
José Capel Ferrer, Director, or
Martin Magold, Chief, Border Crossing Facilitation Section
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2400
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0039
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/trans/wp24/welcome.html
Ref: ECE/TRANS/07/N05