Trieste burns, freight traffic stops
A massive fire started on 19 July in the Carso region, around the area of Trieste-Lisert, 27 km from the port of Trieste. The fire caused the blockage of highways, passenger trains, and freight trains.
Freight trains transiting to and from the port of Trieste were blocked in Italy for hours yesterday after the rail route between Monfalcone, and Bivio d’Aursina (roughly 30 km long) was closed because of the fire.
Freight traffic was rerouted toward the Slovenian capital Ljubljana through the Caravanche tunnel. In the afternoon, freight traffic from the port of Trieste was partially reinstated. According to the first reconstructions, the fire started on the railway connecting Trieste with Monfalcone, with at least four fire outbreaks.
An already complicated situation
The fire could not have happened at a more delicate moment. The port of Trieste was already at limited capacity because of the maintenance of the Pontebbana railway, which caused train and line saturation.
Moreover, as RailFreight.com reported, Slovenia placed a temporary ban on loading cargo throughout the country because of overload issues. The ban was lifted on July 19. In addition, German ports have been facing infrastructure problems as well as continuous strikes.
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