Hupac and FS Italiane signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop intermodal transport from Italy towards Europe covering land and sea services.
The protocol was signed in Rome by FS Italiane Managing Director, Luigi Ferraris, and his counterpart of Mercitalia Logistics, Gianpiero Strisciuglio, the CEO of Hupac, Michail Stahlhut, President Hupac, Hans Jörg Bertschi, and Bernhard Kunz, member of the Administration Council of Hupac.
Both sides agreed to develop and manage the terminals to increase the quality of intermodal and expand the rail transport network to achieve the European goals in Italy and reach 30% of transported goods shifted to rail by 2030.
Under the agreement, the companies will identify the possibility and the mutual interest in realising a project of commercial and operative partnership through the development of logistics solutions based on railway transport and intermodal services in particular on the routes between Italy and Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe towards the Balkans.
The activities will concern in particular land intermodal services and the expansion of freight traffic to and from national and international ports, making use of rail and land intermodal connections.
The two companies will use the existing infrastructure and the future terminals implemented by TerAlp (Terminal AlpTransit) owned by Hupac and Mercitalia which is involved in the construction of three new terminals in Italy. TerAlp will complete Piacenza terminal in 2024 and the new intermodal terminals in Milan and Brescia are expected to be put into commercial operation in 2026.
“With this agreement we are expanding and strengthening our collaboration with Hupac in line with an overall strategy that aims at the development of intermodality and the objective of doubling the share of transport of goods by train over distances of more than 300 km. The FS Italiane, through the Logistics Hub, aims to become a system operator and, thanks to the important national and trans-European railway infrastructure, including the connections to be built, will offer expanded services,”Luigi Ferraris said.
The management of logistics and freight transport through Switzerland is one of the great examples to shift road transport to railways. In 2021, 75% of the goods were transported by railways complemented by intermodal services and the potential exists to increase the freight movement on railways.
“Together with FS Italiane we have managed to continuously increase the transfer of goods from road to rail on the North-South axis. The PNRR, and in particular the work on the Terzo Valico dei Giovi [high-speed rail line], will make the freight rail system even more competitive. We wish to make an important contribution to further growth and to achieve the environmental objectives that Europe, Italy and Switzerland have set,” Jörg Bertschi said.
Terzo Valico dei Giovi – Genova Junction project covers a 53 km rail connection, 37 of which in a tunnel providing high-speed rail services between the Ligurian port system and main rail system in Northern Italy towards Europe. In December 2021, the project reached a milestone with the completion of 75% of the 27 km Valico tunnel excavation. The new line is part of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor providing increased connection on the Genoa – Basel – Rotterdam / Antwerp railway axis.
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