The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has been engaged in the work related to the development of coherent transport infrastructure networks across the pan-European region since its inception in 1947. It has been internationally recognized for its activities in this domain, including the elaboration of major international infrastructure agreements that define key pan-European inland transport routes. Commonly agreed transport methodologies, of which the present publication is an example, are important to all UNECE countries.
This publication, entitled A Methodological Basis for the Definition of Common Criteria regarding the Identification of Bottlenecks, Missing Links and Quality of Service in Infrastructure Networks, builds on the earlier work undertaken on behalf of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee that is mentioned in the following pages. It aims to provide an approach that will permit an unbiased overview of existing infrastructure bottlenecks and missing links in the pan-European region.
Following discussions about the need to update the methodology for the identification of bottlenecks and missing links adopted by the Inland Transport Committee in the early 1990s, government delegates in the UNECE Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics agreed to commission a new report on this topic.
An informal group of experts supported by the UNECE secretariat guided Professor Alan Pearman of the University of Leeds in the preparation of the report.
The UNECE Working Party on Transport Trends and Economics adopted this report at its twenty-first session (9-10 September 2008).
The revised methodology for the identification of bottlenecks, missing links and quality of service in infrastructure networks will facilitate a coherent appraisal and selection of transport infrastructure projects of international importance across the ECE region.