32 new Marco Polo projects

Following a thorough selection and negotiation process, 32 new Marco Polo projects are set to receive a share of the € 57 million funds earmarked under the 2010 Call for proposals. Within their project lifespan, these 32 projects are expected to either shift off Europe's roads or remove at source more than 15 billion t/km in total, which is the equivalent of 450,000 trucks travelling between Hamburg and Vienna.
The 32 projects include:
- 26 modal shift actions, which take freight off the roads and transfer it to alternative modes of transport such as railways, short-sea shipping and inland waterways;
- 4 common learning actions, which aim at sharing knowledge and know-how in the transport and logistics sector;
- 1 motorways of the sea action, which combines short-sea shipping with other modes of transport; and
- 1 traffic avoidance action, which reduces the amount of freight to be transported on road while making the entire supply chain more efficient.

Among the 32 projects, 19 target railway transport, 4 focus on inland waterways and 4 address maritime transport (with 3 short-sea shipping projects and 1 motorways of the sea project). 1 project is tri-modal, i.e. combines railways, inland waterways and short-sea shipping, whereas 4 common learning projects envisage various combinations of transport modes.

A description of the 32 project proposals is available on: ec.europa.eu/transport/marcopolo/about/in-law/2010-projects/index_en.htm