The infrastructure companies JBV (Norway), Trafikverket (Sweden), Banedanmark (Denmark), DB Netz AG (Germany), ÖBB Infrastruktur AG (Austria), RFI S.p.A./Gruppo FS (Italy) and the Öresundsbro Konsortiet (Sweden and Denmark) have committed themselves, through the setting-up of a joint board of management at the highest level, to bring Rail Freight Corridor 3 into service by 10 November 2015. The constitutive meeting was held on 2 October in Frankfurt.

Corridor 3 “Stockholm-Palermo” is one of the 9 Rail Freight Corridors which are described in EU Regulation 913/2010 of 22 September 2010. This important north-south route connects ports and terminals in Scandinavia with terminals in Germany, Austria and Italy. Norway is also represented on the management board as this corridor is to be extended in the future to Oslo.

This agreement represents an important milestone in the creation of an effective European rail freight network. The agreement reflects the commitment of seven signatories – infrastructure companies – to focus their efforts on meeting the challenges of international traffic and market needs. The efforts will aim in particular to improve interoperability and international cooperation in investment planning, capacity allocation and traffic management.

The chairmanship of the management board is held by Trafikverket, with RFI S.p.A as vice-chair. DB Netz AG will monitor the internal work in the framework of a coordination group.

(Source: DB Netz, Deutsche Bahn AG)