European Commission commits €54 million for sustainable transport infrastructure

The European Commission has announced €54 million in funding for sustainable and safe transport infrastructure in Europe. Five projects have been selected to receive funds under the Connecting Europe Facility's (CEF) Transport Blending Facility rolling call, an instrument that is used to mix EU and private financing.

Dirk Becker, Director of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) said: ‘The Blending Facility rolling call is mobilising resources from both the EU and the private sector. It shows how mixing public and private investment in transport infrastructure can help deliver the seamless infrastructure our continent needs and support the recovery towards a resilient and sustainable future.’

Four of the projects focus on building infrastructure for alternative fuels for road transport and buying alternatively-fuelled buses. They will directly contribute to delivering the aims of the EU's Green Deal by supporting:

• The purchase of 108 new natural gas, electric and hydrogen buses in Barcelona (Spain), along with the deployment of the necessary recharging infrastructure in the bus depots.
• The purchase of 303 electric buses, together with the deployment of the charging infrastructure in Paris (France).
• The deployment of 255 electric charging stations for road vehicles on the TEN-T Core and Comprehensive network in Italy.

The other project that was funded focuses on installing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on 238 rail vehicles (118 existing vehicles, as well as on 120 new train sets) to allow for seamless travel across EU borders.

Original article first published 29 September 2020 by European Commission