Italy and Austria at odds about shift to rail along Brenner axis
Austria wants Italy to increase the share of goods moved on the railways when being transported across their shared border, which is currently 26 per cent of the total. The Austrian government is doing so...Read more
‘Trans-Alpine rail needs more support to get through closures’
The impairment of two major Alpine passages, the Frejus and Gotthard Base Tunnels, has already caused enough trouble to operators, especially from Italy. With the estimated losses from the closure being extremely high, it is...Read more
FS and MSC to form joint company to create new terminals in Italy
The Italian national railway holding Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) and logistics hegemon MSC agreed on forming a NewCo to boost sea-rail intermodality by building more terminals. FS will own 51 per cent of the...Read more
How much will the disruptions in the Alps cost for rail freight operators?
Crossing the Alps by rail is currently as difficult as it must have been for Hannibal over 2,000 years ago. The closures, partial or total, of the Gotthard and Frejus axes are causing major disruptions...Read more
The ERTMS dilemma: ‘some locomotives might not run up to 2026’
One of the hottest debates in the European rail freight sector is the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and its signalling and control component, the European Train Control System (ETCS). Alberto...Read more
Intermodal facility in Verona to undergo major upgrades
The Quadrante Europa intermodal centre in Verona, in northern Italy, will undergo a major upgrade including two new tracks, a fourth gantry crane, and a brand new intermodal terminal. The terminal plays a key role...Read more
The Gotthard Base Tunnel won’t be fully operational until next summer
Accident updateThe west tube of the Gotthard Base Tunnel is currently unavailable due to a disastrous freight train derailment last August. Despite the still-usable east shaft being reserved for rail freight, the Federal Swiss Railway said...Read more
Doubling rail freight’s market share is about meeting basic requirements
ANALYSISOne of Europe’s fundamental objectives regarding transport decarbonisation is to double rail freight’s market share by 2050. The target has been questioned by many, like the European Court of Auditors, but the industry still believes...Read more
Liberalised market in Italy: more players, stagnating volumes
The Italian private rail freight sector has kept growing since the early 2000s, despite the state-owned entity, Mercitalia Rail, still keeping the largest slice of the pie. All in all, the situation in Italy concerning...Read more
Italy unlocks rail freight subsidies but lacks clarity
The Italian Ministry of Transport unlocked a new package of subsidies for the rail freight industry, the FerroBonus. The money will cover the period between 2023 and 2027 with 22 million euros available every year....Read more
Italy to miss RRF deadlines: more funds cut from rail freight projects
The Italian government cut 1,5 billion euros that were to be destined for the doubling of the Rome-Pescara railway, which connects the Italian west and east coasts. This was confirmed by the country’s Minister of...Read more
Port of Barcelona has new rail links with three French destinations
Toulouse, Bordeaux and Lyon in France will all be connected with the port of Barcelona in Spain via rail starting in early November. The new service initiated by Maersk will be an alternative to sea...Read more
Italy divests 300 million euros from key project on Scan-Med Corridor
The Italian government cut 300 million euros that were destined for a key project along one of the Italian branches of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T Corridor. The initiative in question is the development of a solid...Read more
Multiple project cargoes head from Italy to Germany on rail
Moving project cargo on rail has its limitations, such as the width and the height of units transported. But recently, DB Cargo had to move a number of heavy units from Italy to Germany, and...Read more
GTS Rail enters Polish market with new partnership with Codognotto
GTS, one of the leading Italian intermodal players, has joined forces with logistics company Codognotto Group. The partnership will now allow GTS to carry out rail freight services to and from Poland. Moreover, intermodal services...Read more
The hurdles of re-routing trains amid major corridor disruptions
The closure of the Frejus Railway and the only partial operations at the Gotthard Base Tunnel are leaving Italy with just a few viable options to transport goods on trains. Companies have mobilised to find...Read more
These two projects sum up the Italian approach to rail freight
There are two projects in Italy that seem to be quite descriptive of how the country approaches its priorities, especially when it comes to rail freight. They are the Messina Strait Bridge, which would connect...Read more
Frejus Railway to remain closed until summer 2024 after landslide
The railway line between Chambéry and Turin, the main railway crossing between France and Italy, has been closed since 27 August due to a massive landslide. Unfortunately, it seems that repair work along the Frejus...Read more
Northern Italy prepares to handle more 750-metre trains
The rail infrastructure in Lombardy, in northern Italy, is getting ready to accommodate 750-metre freight trains. Two tracks were adapted to handle longer trains at the Gallarate stations, near the Hupac’s terminal in Busto Arsizio,...Read more