The political changes in Eastern Europe have brought about profound changes in the movement of people and goods in the `new' Europe. A major structural change has been the switch in transport exchanges of the newly independent East European countries. Links with the former Soviet Union are being progressively replaced by exchanges with the West. This change in emphasis has placed great strains on parts of the transport infrastructure. At the same time the nature of the economies of Eastern Europe has changed, with a dramatic shift in freight modal split. Rail freight tonnages have collapsed. Given the new economic links with Western Europe, notably Germany, the priorities for investment will tend to be in those corridors crossing the East-West borders. In particular, investment towards the improvement of road links is likely to be of most immediate benefit to the East European economies. (A)
Samenvatting