FERRMED – Improving Competitiveness in Europe
FERRMED is a non-profit multisectoral Association that was founded by the private sector in Brussels on the 5th of August 2004 in order to improve rail freight transportation and industrial competitiveness in Europe.
FERRMED is promoting the implementation of common technical railway standards, the so-called “FERRMED Standards”; the improvement of the connections of Ports and Airports with their respective hinterlands; the upgrade of smart intercities links through the rise of EU Core Net Cities Platform and FERRMED– EU Core Net Cities Tribunes; the Full FERRMED Corridors achievement (for freight, considering only the most important part of the EU Railway Core Network); the evaluation of the challenges and opportunities of the multimodal transportation network development, related to the “three global vectors of growth” and the conception of a Great Rail Freight Axis Scandinavia-Rhine-Rhone-Western Mediterranean, as a backbone of one of these vectors.
European Main Socio-Economic Growth Vectors
The EU and neighbouring countries are going to a new socio-economic dimension following three emerging growth vectors:
- Western North-South Vector (European Union Locomotive Economic Regions – EULER)
- Eurasian East-West Vector
- Far East – Mediterranean Vector
The increase of competitiveness is mainly oriented towards these three emerging vectors – investments have to be made accordingly)
FERRMED Great Axis
Another key FERRMED objective is the optimization of the full logistics chain considering appropriate intermodality, reducing costs, increasing quality, assuring traceability and reliability, accomplishing lead times and timetables and improving management procedures in the transportation systems.
The rail freight network of the FERRMED Great Axis interconnects the most important sea and inland harbour fronts, and the main East-West axes of the EU. FERRIED Great Axis has had a direct and close impact on over 250 million Europeans (54% of the EU-28 population and 66% of the GDP).
In addition, the axis has a close in influence on over 70 million inhabitants of North America, and links with the western end of Trans-Siberian Railway in St. Petersburg and Finland.
