(Finance) – The impact of interventions envisaged by the PNRRintermodal transport in the territories, rail transport of goods in European policies and the role of innovation for a digital future are the four thematic sessions that guided the XV Edition of MercInTrenothe rail freight transport forum which today at Rome Termini saw the participation of FS Group with the CEO of Mercitalia Logistics, Sabrina De Filippis and the CEO of RFI Gianpiero Strisciuglio.
PNRR and European funds – we read on FsNews, the information portal of the Ferrovie dello Stato Group – they represent a lever for the transport of goods which will be strengthened thanks to the interventions on the railway infrastructure carried out by the Italian Railway Network. “A logistics construction site” De Filippis defines it in his speech, specifying that “we must be ready for when the infrastructures are completed, to be competitive and achieve the objectives dictated by the European Union. The tender for 100 new Italian locomotives to be put into circulation starting from 2025 will be concluded by the end of the year“.
The investments for fleet renewal they represent another focal point in the development of rail freight transport. In fact, the FS Group plans a investment of 3 billion euros, 80% of which are dedicated to fleet renewal, 300 million to the upgrading of existing terminals and the creation of new ones and 200 million to digitalisation. “Commitments not only financial, but also on human capital” explains De Filippis specifying that “we are investing in training and new hires” and adding that “social sustainability passes above all through the planning of production activities which must necessarily be located in correspondence with strategic infrastructures and terminals”.
“Creating synergies with other transport operators is essential to create a multimodal goods movement network that is competitive throughout Europe” concludes the CEO of Mercitalia Logistics recalling the recent successes of the leader of the Logistics Hub precisely in Europe thanks to the acquisition of the German company Exploris by TX Logistik which has become the second freight operator in Germany.
Back to the competitiveness of freight transport the CEO of RFI Strisciuglio in his speech reiterating “the need to make the infrastructure adequate to European standards for the development of the sector” and underlining that “an important share of the interventions on the network is supported by the PNRR and the Group’s industrial plan”. It is in fact of ten billion ten-year investment capital dedicated to the goods sector which will allow 4 thousand km of network relating to the TEN-T corridors to be adapted to EU targets. Unlike the other construction sites that are part of the 24 billion provided by the PNRR, those managed by RFI take place without interruption of the railway service “these are complex processes that require important discussions with the operators” explains Strisciuglio.
In the EU context, the CEO of RFI reiterates “the importance of working at the European network level” citing the next meeting with operators scheduled in Spain to discuss the Switzerland-Germany-Austria corridor. Strisciuglio addresses the issue of railway tracks dedicated to goods by reiterating the need for increasingly punctual traffic planning and adding that “we have a future projection towards a catalog for a more correct use of the network useful for the decongestion of some railway routes and nodes”.