Transport Links Between Europe & Asia

Land links between Europe and Asia can offer a viable alternative to sea transport. They substantially improve the accessibility of the countries they pass through and can absorb a substantial portion of the growth in intercontinental traffi c, particularly container traffi c, that has been forecast.

However, the provision of effi cient land links between Europe and Asia requires appropriate policy decisions on issues such as the development of adequate infrastructure and the removal of regulatory or institutional barriers that prevent the development of effi cient transport services.

The ECMT’s Council of Ministers thus recommended a series of actions aimed at developing a comprehensive approach to the provision of effi cient inland transport links between Europe and Asia at its 2005 session in Moscow.

This publication features the recommendations approved by the Ministers and the “Report on Trends in Europe-Asia trade and Consequences for Transport”, which served to inform their discussions in Moscow. It also includes the plan of action approved by Ministers to facilitate intermodal transport between Europe and Asia and the conclusions of a previous seminar in Kiev on “Intermodal Transport between Europe and Asia: Opportunities and Challenges”.