Brussels – The Commission authorised an Austrian scheme which intends to encourage the development of combined transport in order to achieve a traffic shift of freight from road to other modes of transport. The planned measures will help to achieve the national and EU Kyoto targets.

The present aid is the extension for the period 2003-2008 of a previous scheme approved by the Commission covering the period 1999-2002. It will have a budget of 18 million € for its duration.

The scheme will be accessible to all EU transport undertakings operating in Austria. Subsidies will be granted for the acquisition or leasing of equipment for combined/intermodal transport, innovative technologies and systems, the realisation of feasibility studies for specific implementing measures as well as for external training costs in computer systems or technologies.

The Commission has found the scheme compatible with the Treaty rules