The construction of highways facilitated the adaptation of an economy to the road network, so that only a small proportion of industrial facilities were located near railway lines or canal networks. In addition, the competitiveness of rail transport is reduced due to a lack of flexibility on timetabled routes. This is in stark contrast to the freedom and flexibility of road transport, which is able to synchronize the freight movements and manufacturing and warehousing operations much better. In the Studies for the TRAN Committee Modal change in European transport: the way forward , multimodality is identified as a potential solution to the question of sustainable freight transport.