The Trans-European Inland Waterway network is one of a number of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. According to Article 11 of the Decision No 1692/96/ECDecision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network
/ref> of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the

Trans-European Transport Network The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommunic ...

, the Trans-European Inland waterway network is made up of rivers and canals, and the various branches and links which connect them. In particular, it should render possible the interconnection between industrial regions and major conurbations and link them to ports. The minimum technical characteristics for waterways forming part of the network should be those laid down for a class IV waterway in the

classification of European Inland Waterways The Classification of European Inland Waterways is a set of standards for interoperability of large navigable waterways forming part of the Trans-European Inland Waterway network within Continental Europe and Russia. It was created by the Europea ...

(CEMT), which allows the passage of a vessel or a pushed train and . Where a waterway forming part of the network is modernized or constructed, the technical specifications should correspond at least to class IV, should enable class Va/Vb to be achieved at a later date, and should make satisfactory provision for the passage of vessels used for combined transport. Class Va allows the passage of a vessel or a pushed train of craft 110 m long and 11.40 m wide, and class Vb allows the passage of a pushed train of craft 172 to 185 m long and 11.40 m wide.

Inland ports

Inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

s are part of the network, as points of interconnection between the inland waterways. Inland ports must be: * open to commercial traffic; * located on the network of inland waterways as shown in the
outline (13 MB), p. 79
* interconnected with other trans-European transport routes as shown in the document above; and * equipped with trans-shipment facilities for inter-modal transport or with an annual freight traffic volume of at least 500 000 tonnes.

References

External links

Inland Navigation Europe
- inlandnavigation.eu {{Trans-European Transport Networks Transport and the European Union Water transport in Europe