Through this initiative, Italy seeks to develop intermodal services which facilitate trade across Europe through TEN-T Corridors.
“The development of an integrated railway system, one of the pillars of the 2017-2026 Business Plan announced by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, represents a priority for promoting trade between Europe and the rest of the world. For this reason, the EUR 30 billion available through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in 2021-2027 are very important. These funds will increase the interoperability of the networks at continental level. Another decisive factor is ERTMS deployment across all TEN-T Corridors, so that they could be seamlessly transited by all operators”, declared Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
Worldwide, 70% of freight are carried by sea as maritime transport has become the backbone of worldwide economy. Italy, through its ports, has access to 20% of worldwide transited freight. Freight mostly from the Far East reaches Italian ports heading to European countries. For this reason, the development of TEN-T corridors (Rhine-Alpine, Mediterranean, Scandinavian-Mediterranean and Baltic-Adriatic), next to the improvement of national railway systems and infrastructures in ports, is fundamental for Italy to become a major logistics centre with a vital contribution in Europe.
Of the 15 strategic Italian ports, currently, those in Ancona, Genoa, Gioia Tauro, La Spezia, Livorno, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste and Venice are connected to the national railway network. The Port of Naples will also be connected by 2026. Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Italian railway infrastructure manager) planned investments of EUR 1 billion to improve connections between ports and the railway network, but also to decongest the road network to upgrade the first and last mile railways.
Another EUR 4 billion will be invested by 2026, to upgrade freight-dedicated railways. The railways on TEN-T Corridors will be adapted according to European standards to allow trains of up to 750-m long to operate and to support an axle load of up to 22.5 tonnes. Moreover, High Cube container transport will be possible, as well as semi-trailers, but also RO-LA transport with lorries of up to 4-m high (with tractor unit and trailer, mounted on special freight cars).
Mercitalia Rail, a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato, established in 2017 to revive railway freight transport, will also contribute to freight and logistics development. It is estimated that Mercitalia Rail will increase the productivity of its freight trains by 20%. Moreover, an investment of EUR 350 million is planned for rolling stock procurement (60 traction and shunting locomotives, as well as 3,000 freight cars).
The declarations were made during the 6th edition of the Global Rail Freight Conference held in Genoa, by the International Union of Railways (UIC) in partnership with Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
Photo: http://greenlogisticsexpo.it
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