Sectoral drawbacks in transport: Towards a new analytical framework on European transport corridors

Abstract

The present understanding of bottlenecks in the European transport network fails to grasp the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks, for the scope of the research is in most cases limited to a one-sided (logistics) perspective. A theoretical framework has been created, which argues that bottlenecks should be interpreted as integrative, complex problems, operating on the cutting edge between transportation, spatial planning, environmental issues, economic development and transnational governance. This chapter will provide empirical evidence to support this framework, in a context of European transport corridor development. The theoretical framework has been tested in an empirical setting by zooming in on the European transport Corridor 24. In a first step, both general (macro-level) and specific (micro-level) bottlenecks have been identified by interviewing logistics experts. In a next step, these first results will be further used to perform an in-depth, qualitative analysis of bottlenecks in case-study areas along Corridor 24. One of the key findings is that bottlenecks emerge from different, sectoral perspectives. Moreover, these perspectives appear to be highly interrelated. In other words, more attention should be paid to the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks, operating as comprehensive problem areas. The most important implication is that, when using a limited, sectoral perspective on bottlenecks, one loses track of the possible added value of sector-transcendent analyses. This will ultimately lead to inefficient use of transport networks. This chapter provides a new conceptualisation for the possibilities of inter-sectoral coordination in dealing with bottlenecks in the European transport network.