A Strategic Asset Management Framework for Improving Transport Infrastructure: Analysis for Belgian Land Transport Modes

In today’s society, infrastructure asset management is a priority for multiple policymakers as it is key to guarantee high-quality transport infrastructure. While the relative quality of transport infrastructure in a number of Western European countries is deteriorating, the volumes of freight and passengers, as well as the expected service levels of all modes of transport for citizens and businesses, are increasing sharply. In response, infrastructure asset managers have developed and integrated technical and management system innovations. While short-term cost and damage control is taken better care of, a long-term asset vision and strategic principles supporting a strong future transport infrastructure network are still largely missing in many EU countries. In this paper, we analyze the strategic infrastructure asset management (SIAM) for Belgian road transport, rail and inland waterways through a cross-case analysis. Our literature study identifies strategic asset management principles, potential barriers and solutions for transport infrastructure assets in general, as well as for the different transport modes in particular. Through in-depth interviews with Belgian top administrators, the principles and SIAM frameworks for different types of mainland infrastructure are analyzed. We find, based on the studied Belgian cases, that ‘one SIAM-model does not fit all’, and that a variety of models, adapted to transport modes and the regional context, could better suit the strategic goals of different policies.