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2.THEROLEOFRAILTRANSPORTINTHEECONOMY
OFINTEGRATINGEUROPE
Eventhoughtransportactivity,whichresultsinthetransportservice(convey-
anceofpassengers/goodsfrompointAtopointBinaspecifiedtimeinterval),
doesnotdirectlyresultincreationofamaterialproduct(eventhoughitallows
foritsoccurrence,anincreaseinvalueandexchange),itenablesfunctioningand
developmentofsocieties,withtheinventionofthewheel,railway,carandplane
asthekeyfactorsindeterminingthecurrentlevelofeconomydevelopment.Due
tothisfact,transportisveryoftencalled“thebloodcirculationoftheeconomy”.
The19thcenturywasthe“goldenage”oftherailway,whichdevelopedrapidly,
duetotheconstructionanduse,firstforminingtransportpurposes,ofvehicles
withmetalwheelsmovingonmetalrails.Historicaldataalsopointtoearlierat-
temptswithsimilarvehicles.Thebeginningofthetwentiethcenturywitnessed
mainroleoftherailway,withsteamlocomotivesreachingspeedsabove200km/h
(213km/hinGermanyin1903).Furtherdevelopmentoftherailwaybecamepos-
sibleduetotherapidgrowthofelectrictraction.However,uponimprovement
ofthefuelengine,inthetwentiethcentury,therailwayfacedstrongcompetition
fromroadtransport(cars)andairtransport.Forthisreason,inthesecondhalfof
thetwentiethcentury,inthecities,railgroundtransportwasreplaced(disposalof
tramlines)withbusesandindividualtransportmeans,whiletheconsequenceof
increasingroadandairportnetworksisthereductionofimportanceoftherailway
inlong-distancepassengertransport.InEurope,theshareofrailtransportinpas-
sengertransportationdeclinedfrom10%(1970)to6%(2000),whiletheshareof
freighttransportdeclinedfrom21%to8%overthesameperiodoftime.Road
congestionandenvironmentalpollution,alongwiththedifficultyofaccesstooil
anditsrisingprices,increasedinterestinelectrictraction(observedpreviouslyin
the1970s).
Inthe1990s,legalregulationsaimingatstoppingthedeclineofrailtransport
startedtobeintroduced.InEurope,itwasconnectedwiththedesiretodeepen
EuropeanintegrationbycreatingaTrans-Europeanrailnetwork.Establishing
anetworkofrailconnectionsbetweenEuropeancountries,largecitiesinparticu-
lar,becameapriority.Forthisverypurpose,thetransportcorridorsnetworkwas
developed(theso-calledCreteandHelsinkitransportcorridors)(Fig.2.1).Their
namescomefromplaceswheremeetingswereheldandwheredecisionswere
made.
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