CIPROC – Study on extending activities of Short Sea Promotion Centers

Since the start of the first Short Sea Shipping Promotion Centre in the Netherlands in 1997, the aim of promoting the modal shift from road to sea has been successfully accompanied by the establishment and work of the national Short Sea Promotion Centres in all EU Member States with coastal areas. Against the background of such a positive development in the short sea shipping sector, the European Commission envisages as a logical step the extension of the successful work of the SPC’S towards intermodal transport as a whole. This approach will include now also the hinterland modes rail and inland navigation. The Commission launched a “Study on the feasibility of extending the activities of existing mode-specific promotion centres in Europe to encompass the wider concept of intermodal transport” that is presently carried out in the frame of the project “Co-operative Intermodal Promotion Centres” (CIPROC). Partners in the project are: Partner Responsible for PTV Planung Transport Verkehr AG The technical project and demonstration co-ordination NEA For the collection and processing of best practice cases (extended SPCs and “new” promotion entities) and for the technical workshop co-ordination in phase II VTT The link to the ESN and the policy transfer. The development of an intermodal promotion vision ISL Phase I leader and responsible for all conceptual issues and the production of the reports in phase I SPC Holland Providing general assistance and support. Development of the intermodal promotion vision and for the roadmap for implementation. Fundación Valenciaport Supporting the gathering of information in the Southern Europe, supporting the feasibility study. Focus of the study is to act as co-ordination action aiming to support co-operation and co-ordination of activities leading to the vision to establish a strong network of co-operating national intermodal promotion centres being a focal point for promoting intermodality. The study to be carried out is divided in two phases following the two main objectives: Phase I: Giving guidelines on how to proceed to extend the activities of existing mode specific promotion centres in Europe to encompass the wider concept of intermodal transport Phase II: Demonstrate it in a number of targeted countries The project structure is following the two phase approach of the project. Main result of phase I will be to give guidelines on how to proceed to extend the activities of existing mode specific promotion centers in Europe to encompass the wider concept of intermodal transport. The results of phase II will be the demonstration of the concept of co-operative promotion and a benchmarking of the demonstration accomplished. An overview on the project structure is given below.

Presently, the project team submitted the interim report, including: • A completed European map on intermodal promotion entities • An intermodal promotion vision and an assessment of existing promotion entities • First results from the feasibility analysis • First details on the second phase implementation The work on phase I will be finalized by June 2007 with the submission of the final report phase I. In addition to the interim results the final report includes: • Results on the feasibility of approaches for concentrated intermodal promotion in different environments • Details on the implementation • Details on the demonstration cases and demonstrator design Given a successful approval on the final report on phase I by the Commission phase II will start. Phase II focuses on the demonstration of extended promotion approaches by SPCs and their evaluation. CIPROC will end in April 2008.