The fate of the Combined Transport Directive (CTD) is hanging by a thread due to disagreements on the new definition of CT, with possible dire consequences for rail freight. Six of the largest European rail associations are now asking EU institutions to at least keep an open mind and continue to work on the other aspects of the directive.
The European Commission announced its intention to abandon the new CTD at the end of 2025, leaving the rail freight and intermodal sectors in shock. The EU Parliament rejected this move at the end of January, but things have not been moving forward. Since the main bone of contention is a new definition of CT replacing the one created in 1992, the industry is now asking to ignore this point and go ahead with the rest of the proposal.
“Withdrawing the CTD proposal would send the wrong political signal and delay urgently needed improvements for many more years”, a letter signed by ERFA, UIRR, CER, UIP, AERRL, UNIFE said. They are proposing a few actions that would still contribute to the development of combined transport. “This plan represents the only realistic path to avoid a policy failure that would further weaken Europe’s modal-shift and resilience ambitions”, the letter claimed.
‘Drop the definition but keep everything else’
The first key point is, as expected, not to withdraw the proposal to amend the directive altogether, which would result in a political failure in the eyes of the signatories. In addition, the definition of CT can remain the one drafted in 1992, they claim, as long as the directive would include a “clause requiring the European Commission to present a targeted revision of the definition after 5 years”. This is the timeframe expected for the deployment of the External Costs Handbook and the full implementation of eFTI.
If the definition of combined transport is something the industry seems willing to compromise on, there are other parts of the directive for which work should continue. One example are the National Policy Frameworks, which help Member States to set realistic goals based on local peculiarities. Other areas of the directive that should continue to be developed are digitalisation and transparency to make CT services easily accessible and thus reduce entry barriers.
One last key point of the CTD concerns truck driving bans. The directive aims at introducing exemptions for trucks running as part of combined transport services. However, the signatories underlined how these exemptions should not apply where there are clear rail alternatives. “The sector stands ready to work with EU institutions”, the signatories concluded, but only time will tell if EU institutions will be ready to work with the sector.
Volumes a dropping
While associations and institutions bicker on the Directive, combined transport in Europe is declining. The first quarter of 2026 saw a 4.92% drop in the number of consignments, according to data from UIRR. This follows a trend started towards the end of 2025 and mostly connected to the vast scale of the infrastructure upgrades undertaken in Germany.