Research Brief
Toward greener freight: Overview of inland waterway transport for freight in the European Union
Inland waterway transport (IWT) performs as a very cost-effective and low-carbon way among all freight modes. In the European Union (EU), the IWT keeps a 2% share of all freight activities for years. As the EU continues to pursue its climate objectives, including its aim to shift more than 50% of road freight over 300km to IWT or rail in 2050, and increase IWT and short-sea shipping by 50% in 2050 compared with 2015, IWT in EU has the potential to enjoy great development and provide valuable experiences to the world.
The brief provides an overview of the IWT system in the EU, reviewing its basic information, historic development and status quo of the freight activity patterns based on solid EU database, especially the intermodal freight activity in IWT. It also provides an overview of key elements of the IWT policy and regulatory framework in the EU and major stakeholders involved in the sector.