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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE • IS RAIL ON ? •

25–26 October 2001, ESKILSTUNA, SWEDEN Co-organised by the OECD Environment Directorate and the International Union of Railways (UIC), and hosted by the Swedish National Railway Administration (Banverket THE CONTEXT THE CONFERENCE

Developing sustainable transport systems is one of This conference is one of a series of OECD events the major challenges for OECD countries at the out- addressing implementation issues arising from appli- set of the 21st century, especially as some important cation of the EST guidelines, when applied in natio- transport trends continue to move away from, rather nal and regional contexts. The two-day conference than towards, environmental, social and economic will address present and future demands for rail sustainability. Innovative solutions that go beyond transport. It will highlight innovative solutions, pro- "business-as-usual" must be sought and implemen- mising options and approaches in the fields of tech- ted. Strategies should focus on integrated rather than nology, mobility services, and freight logistics. The ad-hoc solutions, system approaches rather than unit conference will provide new insights and highlight solutions, and trans-port chains rather than single opportunities for business and industry in the deve- modes. Rail-based systems for the movement of peo- lopment and deployment of sustainable transport ple and goods will have important roles to play in systems. Organisational and structural changes efforts towards making transport more sustainable. necessary for EST will be discussed, as well as finan- cial and other eco-nomic aspects. Emphasis will be The OECD project on Environmentally Sustainable given to the views of transport users, and to the roles Transport (EST) has articulated clear, compre-hensi- of govern-ments and the private sector in contribu- ve, and positive visions of sustainable transport in ting to the realisation of EST. the year 2030. It has proposed policy pathways for implementing the necessary changes based on detai- , practical examples and in led case studies involving ten OECD countries and passenger and freight movement from different the Central European region. The important roles of OECD countries will be presented to demonstrate railways for achieving EST have been highlighted their contribution towards EST. While attention will throughout the project. Most important is the be given to the international dimensions of the pro- requirement that movements of passenger and blems, practical solutions at local, regional, and freight increase by more than a factor of three by national levels will be emphasised. 2030 compared to today’s levels. EST will induce changes and provide new opportunities for transport A resolution with specific recommendations for the industries and operators, new mobility services, and railway industry, operators, and public authori-ties better and more balanced access for people to places, will be developed and adopted at the conference goods, and services. The lessons learned from the with a view to assisting governments and the private EST project and the resulting EST Guidelines will sector in the realisation of EST. serve as a background for this international confe- rence focusing on rail-based transport and its critical contribution to the attainment of EST. ORGANISATION AND PARTICIPANTS The conference comprises plenary sessions only, with several presentations and much opportunity for dis- cussion. Participants will include representatives of transport industries, operators, and services, and of governments at all levels, as well as NGOs and inter- national financial institutions, including both trans- port policy-makers and researchers. The media will also be invited. CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

October 25th, morning

Session 1. Is Rail on Track towards Environmentally Sustainable Transport? Barriers and Challenges to EST and How to Overcome them Opening addresses by representatives of OECD Environment Directorate, Paris, the International Union of Railways (UIC), Paris, and the host organisation, the Swedish National Railway Admini-stration. Introductory speech by the Director-General of the Swedish National Railway Administration on “The Railways Vision of Sustainable Development”, followed by an overview of issues by the OECD Environment Directorate entitled “OECD's Environmental Strategy and the EST Guidelines”. This session will highlight prominent technological, societal, economic and institutional challenges and barriers to moving towards sustai- nable transport. Means of addressing the challenges and overcoming the barriers will be suggested, with a view to deepening the discussion of these mat-ters during the conference.

Session 2. Panel on Stakeholder Requirements for Railways: Demands and Expectations The most pressing issues will be raised by representatives of railway industries, railway users, governments, NGOs, and consumer organisations. They will discuss requirements for railways regarding technologies, infra- structure development, financing, and economic, social, and environ-mental issues, as well as users’ demands regarding level and quality of service, reliability, flexibility, and overall performance. Consideration of sustai- nable development and OECD's EST Guidelines will provide the context for the efforts undertaken by rail- ways to achieve EST in terms of technological, organisational, financial, economic, social, and environmental factors.

October 25th, afternoon

Session 3. Environmentally Sustainable Transport Systems: How can Railways Contribute? Keynote address by the Swedish Minister of Environment on “EST for Sweden and the Role of Railways”. This session will discuss the specific contributions of railways to meeting sustainability require-ments and how railways respond to these challenges. It will also provide an overview of visions, actions, and strategies in rela- tion to the critical issues concerning sustainable development of the railway sector, including economic, soci- al, and environmental aspects. Visions of railways in 2030 will be considered, as well as their implementation. Attention will be given to the implementation into practice of Agenda 21 for the sector considering costs and benefits, innovative environmental and sustainable energy technologies and railway systems (e.g., low-noise ; fuel cell-based traction, and clean diesel/electric engines), as well as the costs of implementing them.

Session 4. Sustainable Passenger Transport: Integrated Rail-based Mobility In meeting the challenges, numerous initiatives have been undertaken by railways. This session will discuss spe- cific examples of innovative railway services and inter-modal linkages and their economic, environmental, and social impacts. Examples will comprise fast feeder-trains (e.g., Svea-Link, and rail-air links like Thalys/AirFrance), new forms of organisational arrangements for integrated mobility services (e.g., Swiss Railways’ SBB/CFF-Mobility-Carsharing agreement), and innovative regional passenger invol- ving public-private sector co-operation, Examples of integrated mobility packages and transport information systems, such as mobility centres for multi-modal travelling, will also be presented. Session 5. Sustainable Freight Transport: New Concepts and Business Opportunities Substantially increasing movement of freight in a sustainable way is another formidable challenge for railways to meet; some national projections speak to a doubling of rail freight by 2010, and much more by 2030. This will require innovative railway freight concepts and combined transport developments regarding technologies, and logistics developments for multi-modal freight transport chains, and urban goods distribu- tion by rail, as well as regional, cross-border combined transport arrangements. Organisational and logistics solutions for short- and long-haul freight transport include the Swedish logistic concepts (e.g., BTL-Schenker, Stora, and Green ) for transport chain management. Also to be discussed are multi-modal freight trans- port centres, “just-in-time” delivery arrangements using rail-based transport, and highly efficient inter-modal carriage systems, all as part of their contribution to sustainable development of the transport system.

October 26th, morning

Session 6. Financing Rail in an EST System: Impacts on Employment and Environment The EU’s Transport Council Resolution and Railway Package will provide the basis for discussing answers by railways regarding economic and financial aspects of moving towards EST. The spe-cific needs for investment in technology and infrastructure, their impacts on employment and envi-ronment, as well as the broader eco- nomic benefits of modern and highly performing rail-based systems will all be discussed. The role of interna- tional financial institutions and governments in providing funds for infrastructure will be examined as well as ways of increasing competition among rail operators and the implementation of efficient charge systems for infrastructure use.

Session 7. Panel on The Role of Media, NGOs, and Government in Promoting EST A panel comprising local, regional, and national politicians, media, and representatives of NGOs will discuss the promotion and implementation of EST. The conclusions and lessons learned will form the basis for a reso- lution on railways and their role in achieving EST that will be introduced for comments with a view to endor- sement at the end of the conference.

Session 8. Conference Conclusions

GENERAL INFORMATION AND PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

HOSTS AND CONFERENCE LANGUAGE The conference is co-organised by the OECD and the International Union of Railways, hosted by the Swedish National Railway Administration (BV). The conference language is English.

CONFERENCE VENUE AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS The conference will be held at the Hotel Stadshotellet, Eskilstuna, Sweden. Participants are invited to gather at 9:00 on October 25th at the Central Railway Station Stockholm, to travel to the conference site in the new high-speed “REGINA”, provided by Canada’s Bombardier Transportation.