Sectoral drawbacks in transport: Towards a new analytical framework on European transport corridors

The present understanding of bottlenecks in the European transport network
fails to grasp the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks, for the
scope of the research is in most cases limited to a one-sided (logistics)
perspective. A theoretical framework has been created, which argues that
bottlenecks should be interpreted as integrative, complex problems, operating
on the cutting edge between transportation, spatial planning, environmental
issues, economic development and transnational governance. This chapter will
provide empirical evidence to support this framework, in a context of European
transport corridor development. The theoretical framework has been tested in
an empirical setting by zooming in on the European transport Corridor 24. In a
first step, both general (macro-level) and specific (micro-level) bottlenecks have
been identified by interviewing logistics experts. In a next step, these first
results will be further used to perform an in-depth, qualitative analysis of
bottlenecks in case-study areas along Corridor 24. One of the key findings is
that bottlenecks emerge from different, sectoral perspectives. Moreover, these
perspectives appear to be highly interrelated. In other words, more attention should be paid to the cumulating and culminating effects of bottlenecks,
operating as comprehensive problem areas. The most important implication is
that, when using a limited, sectoral perspective on bottlenecks, one loses track
of the possible added value of sector-transcendent analyses. This will ultimately
lead to inefficient use of transport networks. This chapter provides a new
conceptualisation for the possibilities of inter-sectoral coordination in dealing
with bottlenecks in the European transport network.