Denmark will continue to subsidise freight rail transport

The European Commission has decided not to raise any objections to the continuation of a Danish subsidy scheme to boost transport of goods by rail. The aid is in line with the White Paper on European transport policy which recognises the need to shift transport from road to rail, says the Commission.


The Danish scheme, set to continue for another four years, compensates for railway charges introduced in 1998 that make rail freight more costly than lorry transport across Denmark. Subsidies range from 0.40 to 0.54 EU cents per tonne/kilometre. Transit transport is excluded from the scheme except where operators can prove a shift in the transport of goods from road to rail.

The Commission has concluded that the aid is in the European interest, and does not give rise to a distortion of competition contrary to the common interest.

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