External costs as competitive factor for affirmation of the Rijeka – Pivka railway route in the Baltic – Adriatic Corridor

In accordance with the European Union transport policy, external costs have become a new and important factor in cargo flows formation. Shifting the freight from road to railway in order to decrease the external costs is one of the consequences of implementing such a policy. By incorporating the Port of Rijeka into the Adriatic Baltic Transport Corridor, the railway section of the Rijeka-Pivka corridor has gained first-rate significance. Considering external costs, shifting a part of cargo from the corridor section Koper-Divača onto the Rijeka- Pivka section, and modernization the railway of the latter one, has become the common interest of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia. The increase of cargo flows intensity on this railway route, based on the principles of green logistics, would inevitably lead to the same effects at the Koper-Pivka railway route. Such development would not jeopardize the competitiveness of the Port of Koper, on the contrary, the cargo flows through Slovenia would increase in a short-term period. This approach means a practical realization of the interests for the EU members countries on the Baltic-Adriatic corridor and efforts of the European transport policy, which takes into account the external costs as an innovative approach to the creation of the “green corridors”.