Weakest link or strongest node? Prospects for inland port development in transnational European corridors

Abstract

In a context of increasing global freight transportation and transnational corridor development, inland ports are becoming more important in enhancing hinterland accessibility of deep-sea ports. At the same time, however, when considering the ‘weakest link’ principle, the increasing reliance on inland hubs can also pose a threat to efficient transnational corridor development, especially in relation to adjacent urban regions. Port literature pays limited but growing attention to the conflicting port and urban functions in inland ports. The aim of this paper is therefore to reflect on the findings of a cross-national comparison of governance strategies for inland port development in four different countries along the CEF Rhine-Alpine Corridor (Rotterdam-Genoa). Our findings reflect the difficult position of inland ports within a densely populated corridor. On the one hand, sufficient capacity is needed to prevent the occurrence of bottlenecks, which could threaten flows on other parts of the corridor. On the other hand, increasing port capacity should be aligned with policy measures on the level of the urban region, to avoid the overlapping of port and urban functions, which could lead to conflicts with respect to land-use, economic development and quality of life. This poses challenges in terms of port governance. We observe that cases in which the port and urban administrations open up the policy process to other private stakeholders and the public, common governance strategies for inland port development are more likely to occur.