(Finance) – Pessano, President Fercargoparticipating in Mercintreno 2024 highlighted the serious difficulties in the Italian freight railway sector which also closed 2023 with significant economic losses at the level of the overall Italian system.
“It’s the sixth consecutive year of losses – declared Pessano – and the survival of many businesses is in danger. In 2024 there are difficulties further exacerbated dramatically due to the decline in the market and the infrastructural difficulties it causes works that induce customers to use the road, implementing a worrying reverse modal shift”.
In this context, which increasingly distances us from European objectives and strategies, FerCargo asks to act immediately in two directions with urgent short-term interventions to guarantee the survival of companies, through the use of a part (a few percentage points) of the PNRR funds intended for the railways, to compensate for the inconveniences caused by the works, as done in Spain and, above all, anticipate the new toll rules as early as January 2025.
“Immediately a medium-long term plan to guarantee, through the Single European Spaceconditions of competitiveness and sustainability for freight railway companies. For the development of the sector it is therefore necessary – continues Pessano – strengthen cooperation at European level focusing on completing the ongoing infrastructure upgrades; prioritize the development of ERTMS by making the technology stable, financed and implemented according to realistic plans; definition of state aid regulations that are stable in the long term, transparent, between operators and between modes with priority to the toll discount which has proven effective for developing traffic; implementation of European rules for traveling personnel”.
FerCargo, active for 15 years, grouping approximately 75% of Italian freight companies which account for over 50% of the sector’s turnoveris ready to collaborate with institutions, the government and sector associations to achieve this objective.