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1/18/06

MSN Money - EU Pushes Canal Transport As Alternative

MSN Money

EU Pushes Canal Transport As Alternative

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Shifting some of Europe's growing freight transport from road to water could cut down traffic delays and lessen environmental damage, the European Commission said Tuesday as it launched an action plan to develop Europe's canals.

The canal networks that cross most of Europe were essential for transporting heavy goods until the mid-nineteenth century when they gave way to cheaper and faster road and rail. But with freight transport volumes in Europe projected to increase by one third until 2015 as Europe expands and world trade grows, exploiting underused canal transport is a safer, greener option to putting more trucks on the road, the Commission said.

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