De Belgische vervoerssector in de Europese context

De Europese vervoersinfrastructuur bestaat uit een open en zeer uitgestrekt netwerk dat van

fundamenteel belang is voor de goede werking van de interne markt, voor de mobiliteit van personen

en goederen en voor de sociale en territoriale cohesie van de Europese Unie. Dit weerspiegelt zich

tevens in de cijfers: In terms of tonne-kilometres, 33 % of Road goods transport performance was

international in the EU-27 in 2007, while this proportion was 40 % in Rail goods transport. In Inland

waterway goods transport, in 2006, this share was 75 %. Of all the flows of goods and passengers

transported by EU-27 operators in a year, one may broadly say that Road and Rail vehicles are employed

most for national and intra-EU trade, while Sea and Air vessels play a major role in extra-EU trade1.

De groei van vervoer tussen lidstaten wordt verwacht te verdubbelen tegen 2020, wat aantoont dat

deze sector onderhevig is aan continue groei en het belang ervan onderstreept.

Each mode's performance is limited by its technical specificities and requirements. With road, the

transport of bulky goods tends to take place more locally, that is more readily within national boundaries

as well as intra-EU, than extra-EU. International transport, in contrast, tends rather to concern goods

with higher added value per weight, especially when a more expensive mode (per tonne-kilometre

performed) is used, such as Air mail and freight2.

The Belgian transport network is dense. Not only are there a number of significant traffic generators in

Belgium, such as the port of Antwerp and the capital city Brussels, but the country is a very commonly

used transit area for passengers and freight travelling from northern Europe (UK, Scandinavia) to

southern and eastern Europe (France, Germany and beyond). International freight accounts for 54% of

the total haulage in Belgium3.

Meer informatie: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/facts-and-figures/all-themes/index_en.htm

1 Eurostat, 2009, Highlights of the panorama of transport, blz. 3.

2 Eurostat, 2009, Panorama of transport, blz. 64.

3 Steer Davies Gleave, 2009, Ex post evaluation of cohesion policy programmes 2000-2006, appendix A, blz. 5.

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1. Wegvervoer

Infrastructuur België omvat een net van ongeveer 155.000 km wegen, waarvan ruim 1.700 km

snelwegen. België beschikt hiermee, na Nederland en Malta, over het dichtste wegennet van de EU. Het

wegennet van de EU bevat 5.000.000 km autowegen, waarvan ruim 65.000 km snelwegen4.

Service In 2005 maakte bijna 70% van Belgen dagelijks gebruik van de auto, in de EU iets meer dan 70%.

In 2006 totaliseerde het wegtransport in België (inclusief transit) het recordvolume van 485 miljoen ton,

een stijging met 15 % sinds 1999. De groei van de vraag naar inland transport blijft zich in de eerste

plaats toespitsen op het goederenvervoer over de weg (marktaandeel ca. 75 %). Wegvervoer krijgt nog

steeds de voorkeur boven het spoor (ca. 11 %) en de binnenvaart (ca. 14 %).

Figure 1: Share of transport modes in Belgium – national and international road freight transport (2006)

An estimated 16 925 million tonnes (M t) of goods were transported by Road within the EU-27 ('intra-EU-

27') in 2006 (Eurostat, 2009). National (i.e. not border-crossing) transport activities by domestic hauliers

4 FOD Mobiliteit en Vervoer (2011), Lengte van het Belgische wegennet.

European Union, European Commission (March, 2011) , Transport infrastructure, retrieved from

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/index_en.htm.

3

account for about two thirds of all road freight transport activities in the EU. With a share of around

three quarter (in fact, close to 78%) of all transport activities, the relative importance of national road

freight transport is much bigger for hauliers from the "old" Member States than for hauliers from the

"new" ones where national transport activities account for merely a third of all activities (34%) when

measured in tonne-km. Bilateral international transport accounts for the lions' share (76%) in

international transport in the EU. Crosstrade accounts for about a fifth (20%) and cabotage for the

remaining 4% of all international transport activities5.

Meer informatie: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road/index_en.htm

5 Eurostat, 2009, Panorama of transport, blz. 64.

4

2. Spoorvervoer

Infrastructuur België beschikt over ruim 3.300 km aan spoorwegen. Na Tsjechië beschikt België over het

dichtste net van de EU. De EU beschikt over een netwerk van 212.000 km6.

Figure 2: Density of European rail networks (2007) – density of European highway networks (2007)

Service In 2007 maakten in België meer dan 500.000 personen dagelijks gebruik van de ruim 3.600

reizigerstreinen (207 miljoen reizigers). Bovendien werden met deze modus ongeveer 60 miljoen ton

goederen getransporteerd7.

Nearly 100 million international border crossings were made in 2007 by rail passengers across internal

EU27 borders, which represents an increase of 27 percent compared to 2001. International passenger

services are modest in comparison to domestic services. On longer distance trips, i.e. trips of over 400

kilometres, rail has a relatively small market share. For such trips, the car and plane have largely

captured the market. Approximately 90 percent of international rail passengers travel between

neighbouring countries for distances of less than 300 kilometres. An exception to this are high-speed

6 Federaal Planbureau (2008), Transportdatabanken, retrieved from

http://www.plan.be/databases/database_det.php?lang=nl&TM=30&IS=60&DB=TRANSP&ID=14.

European Union, European Commission (March, 2011) , Transport infrastructure, retrieved from

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/index_en.htm.

7 NMBS-Groep (2007), Enkele cijfers, retrieved from http://jobs.b-rail.be/main/n/who/figures.php.

5

services, which can be competitive on journeys with durations of up to four hours, for example between

Paris and Amsterdam or London and Brussels.

Rail traffic between the EU27 and neighbouring countries accounts for another 26 million passengers. Of

these, some 20 million cross borders between the EU27 and Switzerland or Norway and 6 million travel

to or from the Balkan countries and Eastern Europe. The overall increase in freight volume between 2001

and 2007 was 18 percent, up to almost 26 million tonnes8.

Meer informatie: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/rail/index_en.htm

http://www.b-rail.be/corp-r/E/

http://www.eurail.com/sites/all/files/eurail.com/downloads/eurail-map-2011.pdf

8 NEA (2008), Final Report for the “Study on Administrative and Regulatory Barriers in the field of Inland Waterway

Transport”, blz.. ii; 114.

6

3. Luchtvervoer

Infrastructuur There are a total of five airports that handle scheduled traffic in Belgium. In 2006, the

EU-27 counted close to 380 airports with a passenger volume of over 15 000, of which 274 were ‘main’

airports handling at least 150 000 passengers per year, of which again 125 were large and very large

airports handling at least 1.5 million passangers yearly9.

Service Zaventem en Charleroi zijn de belangrijkste spelers wat betreft reizigersvervoer en Zaventem en

Luik nemen het grootste aandeel in voor goederenvervoer. In 2007 waren de luchthavens

verantwoordelijk voor het vervoer van meer dan 21 miljoen passagiers. Daarnaast werd er ruim 1,3

miljoen ton goederen afgewikkeld. The total number of tonnes of air freight and mail transported to,

from and within the EU-25 grew at an annual average rate of 5.4 % from 2004, to reach 12.4 million

tonnes in 2007. While this amount may appear small compared to the inland modes' performances,

freight carried was certainly valuable10.

Belgium is located at the centre of the so-called “FLAP-quadrangle”, formed by the four largest European

airports in terms of passenger and freight traffic: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris, which are all

primary hubs to major international airline companies. Five Member States accounted for over three

quarters of the total tonnage of Air freight and mail handled in the EU-27 in 2007 (including intra-EU-27

double-counting): Germany (25 %), the United Kingdom (18 %), the Netherlands (13 %), France (12 %)

and Belgium (9 %)10.

9 ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) (2011), Case Study: Belgium, blz. 1.

Eurostat, 2009, Panorama of transport, blz. 23; 95.

Kupfer, F. & Lagneau, F., Nationale Bank van België (2009), Economic importance of air transport and air transport

activities in Belgium, blz. 2; 23; 26.

European Union, Eurostat (2011), Transport database, retrieved from

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database.

7

Figure 3: Airports in Belgium and surrounding countries

Meer informatie: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air/index_en.htm

8

4. Vervoer over de binnenwateren

Infrastructuur Europe has over 30 000 kilometres of canals and rivers that link together hundreds of key

towns and areas of industrial concentration which are already providing safe and reliable services to

freight businesses and, to a lesser extent, passengers. The core network links the Netherlands, Belgium

(1354 km), Luxembourg, France, Germany and Austria via a myriad of easily accessible rivers and

canals10.

Figure 4: Inland waterway network in Belgium.

Service. Belgium is one of the largest markets for inland waterways transport together with the

Netherlands, Germany and France. België beschikt, na Nederland, over het dichtste net van de EU.

Inland waterways transport plays a significant role in Belgium. About 80% (120 million tonnes) of the

carried volume is international transport mainly between Belgium and the Netherlands and Germany.

The remaining 20% (30 million tonnes) consists of national transport from and to the sea ports like

10

European Union (2003), European Commission, Inland waterway transport, blz. 1.

9

Antwerp and Ghent. Germany (51 %) and the Netherlands (31 %) accounted fot the largest shares of EU-

27 international inland waterway transport goods performance in 200611.

Meer informatie: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/inland/index_en.htm

http://www.binnenvaart.be/nl/

11

UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) (2008), Transportsituatie in België, blz.7.

Eurostat, 2009, Panorama of transport, blz. 86; 89.

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5. Havens & Short Sea Shipping

Infrastructuur The Flemish maritime ports (Antwerp, Ghent, Oostende, Zeebrugge), (…) play a major role

in their respective regional economies and in the Belgian economy. In the EU, more than 1 200 merchant

ports dot some 100 000 km of European coasts. They are key points of modal transfer and are of vital

interest to handle 90% of Europe's international trade and 40% of the intra-Community trade12.

Service Volumes handled in 2009 in the Flemish ports amounted to 222,8 million tonnes, with a share of

Antwerp of almost 70%. A total 3 834 million tonnes of goods were handled in EU-27 ports in 2006. This

is equivalent to roughly over one fifth of the weight of goods carried by road in the EU-27 in 2006 and

more than twice the weight carried by Rail.

Short Sea Shipping is the transport of goods between ports in the EU-27 and Norway, on one hand, and

ports situated in geographical Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, on the other13.

12

Mathys, C. Nationale Bank van België (2009), Economic importance of the Belgian ports, abstract.

European Union, European Commission (September, 2011) , Maritime Transport, retrieved from

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/ports_en.htm

European Union, Eurostat (2009), Panorama of transport, blz. 89-90.

13 European Union, Eurostat (2009), Panorama of transport, blz. 90.

11

Figure 5: Network of Short Sea Shipping

In 2008, EU-27 SSS totalled around 1.9 billion tonnes of freight, representing 60 % of of EU-27 maritime

transport of goods. United Kingdom SSS came to 348 million tonnes of cargo, accounting for 15% of total

EU-27 SSS. It was followed by Italy (14%) and the Netherlands (11%). SSS between EU-27 ports and ports

located in the Mediterranean was 592 million tonnes. This accounts for about 28% of total SSS declared

by EU-27 ports. The North Sea followed close behind, with 566 million tonnes (27% of EU-27 SSS). In

Belgium, SSS amounted in 2008 up to 130 million tonnes14.

Meer informatie: http://www.espo.be

http://www.shortsea.be/

http://www.shortsea.info/

Voor een volledig overzicht van het vervoersnetwerk in België: http://www.ngi.be/NL/NL4-1-2.shtm

14

Amerini, G., Eurostat (2010), Short Sea Shipping of goods 2008, blz. 1.

12

Bronnenlijst

Amerini, G., Eurostat (2010), Short Sea Shipping of goods 2008.

European Union (2003), European Commission, Inland waterway transport.

European Union, European Commission (March, 2011) , Transport infrastructure, retrieved from

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/index_en.htm.

European Union, European Commission (September, 2011) , Maritime Transport, retrieved from

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/ports_en.htm

European Union, European Commission (September, 2011) , EU Maritime Policy.

European Union, Eurostat (2009), Highlights of the panorama of transport.

European Union, Eurostat (2009), Panorama of transport.

European Union, Eurostat (2011), Transport database, retrieved from

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database

European Union, European Commission, DG for Mobility and Transport, Road freight transport vademecum 2011.

European Union, Eurostat (2010), Energy, transport and environment indicators.

Steer Davies Gleave (2009), Ex post evaluation of cohesion policy programmes 2000-2006. Work Package 5A:

Transport.

Federaal Planbureau (2008), Transportdatabanken, retrieved from

http://www.plan.be/databases/database_det.php?lang=nl&TM=30&IS=60&DB=TRANSP&ID=14.

FOD Economie (2010) , Analyse van het goederenverkeer per spoor in België.

FOD Mobiliteit en Vervoer (2011), Lengte van het Belgische wegennet.

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) (2011), Case Study: Belgium.

Kupfer, F. & Lagneau, F., Nationale Bank van België (2009), Economic importance of air transport and air transport

activities in Belgium.

Mathys, C. Nationale Bank van België (2009), Economic importance of the Belgian ports.

MORA (Mobiliteitsraad van Vlaanderen) (2009), Mobiliteitsrapport van Vlaanderen.

NMBS-Groep (2007), Enkele cijfers, retrieved from http://jobs.b-rail.be/main/n/who/figures.php

NEA (2008), Final Report for the “Study on Administrative and Regulatory Barriers in the field of Inland Waterway

Transport”.

NEA, e.a. (2010), Situation and Perspectives of the Rail Market.

13

UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) (2008), Transportsituatie in België.

Figure 1: FEBIAC & FEBETRA (2008), Imago van het wegvervoer.

Figure 2: Wuyts, B., NMBS-Holding (2009), Het belang van het vervoer per spoor.

Figure 3: Ruimtelijk Planbureau (2005), Atlas of airports in Northwest Europe.

Figure 4: Promotie Binnenvaart Vlaanderen (2011), Detailkaart Vlaamse waterwegen.

Figure 5: Promotie Short Sea Shipping (2004), Short Sea Shipping, retrieved from

http://www.shortsea.be/nederlands/33_data/ap_Kansenobstakels.pps