Launch of the Alliance to Advance Integrated Freight Transport in Europe

The main European organizations working to improve integrated road–rail transport have joined forces to promote +FIRRST. The initiative is led by ESC, FERRMED, IRU, and UIRR, together with MCrit. The alliance brings together around fifty European stakeholders, including shippers, rail operators, road haulers, infrastructure managers, intermodal terminals, and logistics companies. FERRMED presented the alliance last week during its annual conference at the Residence Palace in Brussels, attended by representatives from the member organizations.

+FIRRST: a “Fast, Flexible and Integrated Transport System”

The +FIRRST system is presented as the only solution capable of ensuring that integrated road–rail transport optimizes sustainability, energy efficiency, and transit times. Moreover, +FIRRST is the only approach that enables integrated transport to meet daily demand between European nodes in real time, ensuring sustainable territorial cohesion. During the presentation of the alliance, FERRMED President Joan Amorós highlighted that the organization’s study on traffic optimization and modal shift in the EU presents a comprehensive set of findings that could significantly support the objectives of the European Military Mobility Package 2025–2030. This contribution is particularly relevant in light of the recent challenges faced by the EU in military logistics, stemming from infrastructure limitations that restrict rapid deployment, interoperability, and operational sustainability.

EU combined Transport Directive still awaiting approval

Raluca Marian, General Delegate of the IRU Permanent Delegation to the EU, emphasized the importance of promoting collaboration among all transport modes and expressed regret over the EU’s decision to withdraw the Combined Transport Directive. According to Marian, +FIRRST provides a key contribution to building a modern combined transport system that would support more effective mobilization of military equipment and help overcome the current limitations of the existing transport framework.

+FIRRST as a solution for the Military Mobility Package 2025–2030

Kristian Schmidt, Territorial Director at DG MOVE, stated during the conference that +FIRRST is a highly ambitious project and represents a new way of organizing multimodal transport. He underlined that the system correctly places strong emphasis on terminals and intermodal hubs and praised its genuinely European perspective. Schmidt also noted that project funding should come from a mix of private investment, national sources, and EU funds. According to the Commission, +FIRRST can make a substantial contribution to the goals of the European Military Mobility Package 2025–2030. For more information about the FERRMED Association and the +FIRRST solutions, you can contact us here.