(Finance) – “With our railway network we can bring new generation optical fiber also to rural areas, improving the work of farmers”.
From the stage of Coldiretti Village in Rome, Luigi Ferraris, CEO of FS Italiane, underlined how the capillarity of the railway network of approximately 17 thousand kilometers can be fundamental for reaching areas that often do not have adequate connectivity and which therefore cannot be competitive for the agricultural sector. An objective which, according to the CEO of the FS Group, can give further impetus to the development of activities such as scheduled irrigation, therefore with less waste of water, and in general to better management of all production phases of Italian farmers.
As reported by the Fs News newspaper, Luigi Ferraris also announced the use of railway stations to improve the attractiveness of medium and small-sized tourist places and the liveability of territories that are increasingly depopulating. In fact, more are added to the 2,200 active stations for rail transport 500 no longer used, whose spaces could become telemedicine facilities with certainly more advanced use. The use of the stations will also be fundamental for tourism with the possibility of organizing food and wine itineraries in collaboration with Coldiretti.
Among the topics covered are road congestion and the greater competitiveness that agricultural businesses will be able to have with an infrastructure and integrated logistics system suited to current challenges. “In freight transport we have been stuck for years at a share of 10% of total mobility. Over the next decade the objective is to double the share to reach 20%”. According to Ferraris, this will lead to a significant shortening of distances for the Coldiretti network with the possibility of bringing fresh products grown in Italy to the main European cities.
Furthermore, looking to the future, the CEO also underlined the shortage of drivers with “one and a half million licensed drivers retiring in the next five years who will inevitably not be replaced given that today there are only 125 thousand new licensed drivers every year”.