Privileged transit traffic

Privileged transit traffic or corridor traffic is traffic of one country across the territory of another country without usual customs and passport checks. The corresponding line of communication (usually a railway) is called the (privileged) traffic corridor and a train used in this kind of transit is called a corridor train (German: Korridorzug, Italian: Treno-corridoio). The reason for such arrangements is usually border changes or border creation which cut through an existing transport corridor.

Destination sign on a Transalpin EuroCity train

Examples

Estonia

• The road from Värska to Ulitina in Estonia, traditionally the only road to the Ulitina area, goes through Russian territory for one kilometre (0.6 mi) of its length, an area called Saatse Boot. This road has no border control, but there is no connection to any other road in Russia. It is not permitted to stop or walk along the road. This area is a part of Russia but is also a de facto part of the Schengen area. This arrangement started in 1991 and remains to the present.

Finland

• Finland leases the 19.6 km (12.2 mi)-long Russian part of the Saimaa Canal from Russia and is granted extraterritoriality rights. Russian visas are not required for just passing through the canal, but a passport is needed and it is checked at the border.

Poland

• A 1931 agreement between Poland and Romania for railway traffic between parts of Poland across Romania, between Zaleszczyki and Jasienów Polny (now Yaseniv-Pil'nyi). Since 1945, both places have been in Ukraine.[1]
• During the years between the world wars German trains could travel to and from East Prussia across the Polish Corridor with legally sealed doors, thereby relieving the passengers of obtaining Polish visas.

Russia

• Railway connection between mainland Russia and its Kaliningrad Oblast exclave across Belarus and Lithuania. This is not privileged anymore since normal passport and visa rules apply (since Lithuania entered the Schengen area in 2007).[2]

Slovenia

• The road to the Brda region of Slovenia, between Solkan and Podsabotin settlements, crosses Italian territory. That stretch is 1,600 m (5,200 ft) long and surrounded by fence (45°58′58″N 13°37′43″E). Cars aren't allowed to stop there and taking photos is not allowed either. The road was built in 1975, as part of the Treaty of Osimo agreements between Italy and Yugoslavia. The road remains surrounded by fence, even though both countries are now part of the Schengen Area.

Germany

• A historical case of privileged transit was the arrival of Vladimir Lenin in a "sealed train car" through Germany from Switzerland to Russia (through Sweden as a normal passenger) in April 1917, amid World War I and Russian revolutionary activity.[3]
• Communication between East Prussia and mainland Germany across the Polish Corridor during the interwar period.
• Zittau–Görlitz (by train) from 1948, through Poland. This is still in operation as of 2014, but since 2007 the Schengen area removed all passport checks at the German–Polish border.
• In the cold war era, 1961-1990, Berlin U-Bahn and Berlin S-Bahn trains passed along sealed tunnels through East Berlin, without any check or any stop. The sealed stations were called ghost stations.
• Büsingen am Hochrhein is politically part of Germany but is surrounded by Switzerland and as such economically it forms part of the Swiss customs area, as do the independent principality of Liechtenstein and though unofficially, the Italian village of Campione d'Italia. As such there have been no border controls between Switzerland and Büsingen am Hochrhein since 4 October 1967.[4]

Austria

• Trains between Salzburg and Kufstein operated (via Germany) as privileged transit until 1997 when the Schengen area removed passport checks at this border. Border checks were reintroduced for them in 2015-2016 because of the European migrant crisis.[5]
• After World War II a 'corridor-train' service was established between Lienz and Innsbruck using the Puster Valley railway (via Italy); this services lost importance after the Schengen Agreement, and was discontinued after 2013.
• During the Cold War trains with locked doors were allowed to go from northern to southern Burgenland by traversing a small part of western Hungary. Nowadays, trains from Vienna call at Sopron (Hungary) before going on to Deutschkreutz. Austrian fares apply for the whole line. During the Cold War, passport and customs checks were made in Sopron before allowing passengers to board the train to Austria or leave the station.

Czech Republic

• After World War II, in 1945, a 2.7 km (1.7 mi) part of the railway line Varnsdorf (CS) – Zittau (DE) – Liberec (CS) through Porajów became part of Poland and international traffic was stopped. In 1951, the Czechoslovak Railways restored Varnsdorf – Liberec connection based on an agreement with GDR and Poland; ČSD trains had no stop in Polish and German territory. In 1964, a new treatment was signed. Since 1972, GDR and Czechoslovakia restored standard international transport at this line. After broadening of the Schengen area, Varnsdorf – Liberec trains stop also in Germany, but traffic through the Polish section is still based on the transit agreement. The Polish side gets a charge from the Czech side but neglects the Polish section and refuses proposals of Czech or German participation on the maintenance.[6]

Switzerland

• Basel tram Line 10 (BLT) operates from Switzerland to Switzerland, passing via Leymen in France. Transit passengers are not subject to customs rules and checks, but those boarding or alighting in Leymen are subject to customs regulations.
• The Basel Badischer station is located in Switzerland, but operated by German Railways, and with border control done in the building. It was possible to travel from e.g. Freiburg on Rhine Valley Railway to e.g. Rheinfelden on the High Rhine Railway or to Lörrach on the Wiese Valley Railway with train change at Basel Badischer without border and customs control. After Swiss introduction in the Schengen Area border controls are abolished but customs rules still apply.

France

• A 2.5km customs road links Basel with the Swiss section of EuroAirport, which is located entirely within French territory.

The Netherlands

• Provincial road 274 (also known as N274) is a Dutch main road that runs from Roermond to Brunssum, crossing in and out of Germany for about 7 km through the German municipality Selfkant. The road was built in a time when some German municipalities (including Selfkant) were under Dutch control after World War 2. Until 2002 the German section was maintained by the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat, the road had no level intersections, and it was not possible to leave or join the road from German territory. On February 25th, 2002 the corridor was handed over to Germany, giving it the name Landesstraße 410 (L410). The road was further integrated into the German network, making it possible to leave and join from German territory. In contrast to other German roads, freight trucks are allowed to drive here on Sundays and national holidays, while in the rest of Germany this is prohibited.

Air traffic

Air traffic has in general a number of privileged transit traffic rights, making it suitable to reach enclaves or isolated countries.

• First freedom of the air: The right to fly over another country.
• Second freedom of the air: The right to make technical stops (such as refuelling) in another country without customs and passport check.
• Airside transit: The right for passengers to change aircraft at airports, without going through passport control.

References

1. Poland and Romania: Convention of the Freedom of Transit by Rail from One Part of Polish Territory to Another (retrieved July 4, 2014)
2. "Kaliningrad, petite Russie en terre européenne" (in French). 2 November 2009. Negotiations between the two parties resulted in the implementation of measures to take into account the specificity of the enclave from 2002 onwards. These include ... Rail Transit Facilitation Document (FRTD) issued upon the purchase of a train ticket ... Since the entry of Poland and Lithuania into the Schengen area in December 2007, the issuance of free multiple visas has ceased.
3. "Lenin returns to Russia from exile", History Channel
4. "Staatsvertrag - Gemeinde Büsingen". www.buesingen.de.
5. ÖBB Fernverkehrszüge können wieder über Salzburg nach München und Innsbruck fahren
6. Hrozí zastavení vlaků do Německa. Poláci se nemají k opravě trati, iDnes.cz, 15. 5. 2015