
Transport Working Group
Chair: France
The first objective of the Transport Protocol of the Alpine Convention is "to pursue a sustainable transport policy which will reduce the negative effects of and risks posed by intra-Alpine and transalpine transport to a level which is not harmful to people, flora and fauna and their environments and habitats” (art. 1 (a)). "Promoting sustainable transport" is also one of the six priorities set in the Multiannual Work Programme 2017-2022 of the Alpine Convention, with the aim of decoupling economic growth from an ever-increasing transport demand.
The Transport Working Group was initially established elaborate and negotiate the Transport Protocol of the Alpine Convention, which was adopted in 2000. Since then, the Working Group continued its activities for more than 20 years, covering many different aspects and addressing the challenges to promote sustainable transportation of persons and goods in the Alps.
In recent years, major areas of focus for the WG have been the assessment and internalisation of the real cost of road and rail transport, sustainable passenger mobility, innovative logistics solutions, modal shift and combined transport as well as the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and the reduction of transport demand. In addition to this, the Transport Working Group also regularly exchanges information with different bodies working on transport in the Alps, such as EUSALP AG4 and the Zurich Process.
The XVI Alpine Conference held in December 2020 mandated the Transport working group with a set of new tasks, which mirror the most current and relevant fields of actions for sustainable transportation in the Alps. In particular, the Group will:
- Continue the work on the external costs of transport in the Alpine area;
- Contribute to the topic of policies and instruments for sustainable mobility in the Alpine area;
- Finish assessing the potential of technologies for the promotion of sustainable passenger transport;
- Provide advice for improving the accessibility of remote mountain destinations with integrated transport systems or multimodal mobility;
- Analyse the effects of the evolution of commuters’ behaviours in the Alpine area, with particular respect to the developments triggered by the recent sanitary crisis.
Contact:
Michel Rostagnat, French Ministry for the Ecological Transition
michel.rostagnat@polytechnique.org
Overview of activities, documents, and results
- Mandate until the XVII Alpine Conference
- Activity report 2019-2020
- Towards a modal shift of transalpine freight transit (2020)
- Reduction of mobility demand and shift to environmentally sustainable modes: strategies and measures in the Alps (2020)
- Air quality – measures on sustainable mobility in the Alpine towns & cities (2020)
- Report 2016-2019
- Innovation in Rail Freight: an important contribution to more competitiveness of rail transport (2019)
- Assessment of external costs induced by noise in mountainous areas (2018)
- Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure - Implementing the EU Directive 2014/94/EU on the Alpine territory (2018)
- Synthesis of questionnaire on application of Directive Eurovignette (2016)
- Bibliographical review on traffic-related external environmental costs (2016)
- Analysis of innovative logistics solutions such as rolling highways or solutions for other sustainable modes of long-distance Alpine crossing transport (2016)
- Public workshop: "Road transport security in the Alps and risk management related to natural hazards: challenges, best practices and possible long-term solutions", Saint Vincent, 15 October 2013
- Ecological quality of passenger and goods transport in the Alpine area (2011) - available in German, French, Italian and Slovenian
- First Report on the state of the Alps: Transport and Mobility in the Alps (2007)
- The real costs of transport in transalpine corridors (2007) - available in German, French, Italian and Slovenian
- Cooperation on Alpine Railway Corridors (2006)
Sub-group "Sustainable Mobility" (2008-2014)
"Mobility solutions in the Alps" Database (2015)
Alp Info Net Handbook "Better informed, better travel" (2015)
Sustainable mobility solutions in remote Alpine territories (2014)
Sustainable Solutions for logistics and urban freight delivery in the Alpine Region (2014)
Report Alpine Urban Mobility (2011)
Tourist Sustainable Mobility in the Alps - available in German, French, Italian and Slovenian
Sustainable Mobility in the Alps. Examples of Good Practices and Analysis of the Mobility System. (2008) - available in German, French, Italian and Slovenian; Annex