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Brian Simpson is blunt about the two transport challenges facing the European Union. “One is the easing of congestion. Two, cutting greenhouse gas emissions,” he says. And if his title as Chairman of the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee holds any influence, Simpson will be in strong position to address both these challenges with one answer: railways.
“People are already using trains more and more as they don’t want to sit in a traffic jams,” he says. “You can sit in a motorway traffic jam for two hours or on a train for 20 minutes. And therein lies a challenge. In order to sustain it, we need to get the product right, and need the infrastructure. We have to do more to make rail attractive.”
Simpson is clear that he does not expect rail to replace other transport modes, but he does want to promote it as the most efficient and environmentally friendly method. Over the next ten years, he expects railway passenger traffic to continue to grow.
His big question mark, however, is over freight traffic. EU rules say international trains can pick up passengers and freight and carry them within one country but allow regulators to restrict services where they damage existing subsidized services.
Simpson says these rules impede rail growth, and he vigorously backs rail liberalization as a way to inject competition efficiency into Europe’s railways. “We need rail to cross borders without grinding to a halt,” he says. “We should be able to run a freight train from Manchester to Milan in less than 24 hours without having to worry about different charging regimes, different signaling, power supply and driving regulations. We need an inter-operable system that allows national borders to disappear and allows rail to compete with road trucks.”
Traditional rail is not the only mode Simpson wants to promote. Within cities, he is a big admirer of tram and light rail systems, and points to the Supertram that was built almost two decades ago in his native Manchester. “When it was being built, no-one liked it and no-one thought would work. But they love it now,” he says. “I would like them in all cities. They will never take over from buses, but they offer an alternative. And we want to give the public an alternative, because the big problem for urban transport is the car.”
Even if the car is a problem, Simpson says there will be a move to more fuel efficient and economically friendly vehicles. “Why? Because fuel costs will continue to rise and people recognize they have to do something on the environment.”
At least the automotive sector is moving in the direction, Simpson says. “The euro has dropped!” he says. “Manufacturers are working hard to make more environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles. Would I like them to work harder? Yes, but I recognize that there has been a complete change of attitude over past five years.”
When it comes to transport safety, Simpson says hauliers and holiday-makers have been getting a free ride for too long thanks to the lack of EU cross-border enforcement on traffic and road fines. He has already enthusiastically backed European Commission plans to establish a system to enforce penalties against drivers who commit an offence in another EU Member State.
The law will allow enforcement agencies, for the first time, to chase up drivers who have committed offences abroad, with a vehicle registered in another EU member state. "It is nonsense that EU citizens cannot be punished for reckless driving simply because they happen to do it in another member state,” he says. "As it stands, if you get a parking or speeding ticket when abroad, you can avoid paying it when you return home, and frankly I think that is wrong"
Simpson only took on the chairmanship of the Transport and Tourism Committee last July – the first Briton to hold the post - but he has ample experience. First elected to the European Parliament in 1989, he is a long serving member of the Committee, and he has had two spells as Socialist Group transport spokesman. He was once the vice-chair of Liverpool Airport, is currently the vice-president of the Heritage Rail Association and is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
Simpson says his biggest achievements include keeping Liverpool airport when people wanted to close it in 1981, and - as director of the North West rail campaign - steering through Trans-European Network (TEN) priority line, in particularly the UK west coast main line. “Transport affects people's everyday lives,” he says. “It also has a crucial role to play in helping reduce global warming and to act as a catalyst in stimulating the economy and in creating new jobs as part of Europe's economic recovery plan." |
