The 13th Florence Intermodal Forum, organised by the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation in collaboration with the European Commission – DG MOVE, gathered on 13 June 2024 European and national regulators, public transport operators, industry representatives and academics for a discussion on the challenges and enablers when discussing urban nodes.
MOVE21 was represented by the Project Coordinator Tiina Ruohonen (City of Oslo), who provided more insights the approach of MOVE21 towards multimodal hubs and unban nodes, and the vision of the Scan-Med Observatory. MOVE21 partners POLIS and Eurocities were represented by Ivo Cré, Director of Policy & Projects at POLIS and Peter Staelens, Head of Mobility at Eurocities, who delivered respectively a presentation on what is an urban node and who are the main stakeholders that should be involved in the process.
The Forum discussed the question of the coordination of urban nodes: What would be appropriate, basic and commonly agreed mechanisms? Who could/should be in charge of coordinating and representing the stakeholders of an urban node? Is there a one-size-fits-all structure or at least some common principles? What options could be envisaged?
During the Florence Intermodal Forum on 13 June 2024, stakeholders discussed the newly approved EU regulation for developing the TEN-T trans-European transport network. Urban nodes are central to Europe’s transport strategy, serving as the key connection points where various modes of transport—rail, road, air, and maritime—converge. These nodes are essential not only for the efficiency of the TEN-T but also for the economic and social vitality of Europe’s urban centres. The recent revision of the TEN-T Regulation reflects this importance by expanding the list of urban nodes from 88 to 432, a significant increase that underscores the strategic role these nodes are expected to play.
In order to completely integrate urban nodes into the TEN-T, a number of urgent issues need to be resolved. The absence of a common definition and understanding of what defines an urban node is one of the main problems. The numerous parties involved, including national governments, regional authorities, transportation companies, and urban planners, have found it difficult to coordinate as a result of this ambiguity. In order to ensure that urban nodes effectively coordinate and are managed to further the objectives of the TEN-T, the brief advocates for the creation of transparent governance frameworks.
To achieve this, a policy brief outlines a four-step roadmap: (i) defining the nodes, (ii) identifying relevant stakeholders, (iii) coordinating their roles, (iv) and establishing robust governance structures.
The authors stress the importance of a bottom-up approach in designating local coordinators, who will play a crucial role in aligning urban nodes with the TEN-T’s objectives. This approach is essential for accommodating the diverse starting points and varying levels of infrastructure maturity among Europe’s urban nodes.
All presentations are available here and the policy brief here.