The Italian Open Access Success Story on 1 January 2001 the Railfreight Market in Italy Was Opened up to Private Operators
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The Italian Open Access Success Story On 1 January 2001 the railfreight market in Italy was opened up to private operators. Between the start of the very first open access international freight service in 2006 and 2015 these opera- tors captured close on 39 % of the market share in Italy. However during this same period the overall amount of railfreight traffic shrank by 40 %. 2016 was a significant year: the on these routes considerably. On the open access operators increased their Diagram: FerCargo international lines heading west out of overall market share by 25 %, capturing Italy rail’s share is just 3.7 %, while 45 % of the domestic market and no those to Switzerland have a 25 % share less than 62 % of all international freight of all freight traffic. We described in de - workings. Growth of the open access tail aspects of loading gauge and train market share prompted the founding in length limits in Italy, together with plans 2009 of an association for these opera- for future developments, in R 3/14, tors, FerCargo, with nine members. pp. 60 - 61. National railfreight operator Trenitalia Eurostat 2014 data indicate that the Cargo (TIC, now renamed Mercitalia italian rail network is performing badly Rail) was profoundly affected by the in - with respect to the ratio of tonne km of te rnational economic crisis of 2007/08, freight transported per km of railway. which resulted in the Italian GDP falling On a 16,861 km network 20.2 billion by 23 % to 1,745 billion EUR by 2016. tonne kms were moved in 2013. This TIC operated 62.8 million train kms in works out at around 1.2 million tonne 2007, but just 27.8 million train kms in kms per route km. Compare this with 2014. To cut its losses, TIC decided to 3.2 million tonne kms per km in Germany, give up its wagonload traffic business. and the pan-EU average of around In 2015 Italian railfreight enjoys 2 million tonne kms per km. a modal share of just 8 %, which is one of the lowest in Europe. Italy’s rail - Realising Railfreight freight exports in 2015 were valued at Development of Italian railfreight traffic. Potential In Italy 323 billion EUR, 53 % of this traffic be - ing moved via the lines serving northern for the P/C 80/410 loading gauge by Modane line the limit is 550 m. On the In 2015 Italian railfreight activities Europe, including Britain, 35 % by the end of 2017. However the lines be - Gotthard via Luino line freights loading generated 950 million EUR. It is esti - those heading towards western Europe tween Italy and France still have a P/C to just 1,400-tonnes are allowed, on mated that this sales turnover could (France, Spain and Portugal), and 12 % 45/364 loading gauge, and almost the account of limitations on the Italian part increase to 3 billion EUR over the next via those serving eastern Europe. entire French rail network has this rather of this route. On all other international few years, if the correct strategies are The lines to the north and east are limited loading gauge, while on some lines trailing loads are limited to be - pursued. At present the network lacks well suited for intermodal and semi - lines it is even more restricted. tween 800 and 950 t, and the Modane the necessary conditions. It is plagued trailer consignments and RoLa opera - On the Brennero route 600 m long lin e has a 600-tonne limit. These charac - by a range of different limitations on tions. All these routes will be adapted freights are permitted, while on the teristics affect the modal share for freight trailing load, train length and type. How - ever RFI states in its 2017 to 2026 ten- All administrative functions involving year business plan that it intends to in vest technical, health and veterinary issues, around 73 billion EUR in infrastructure customs procedures and charging for upgrades. VAT are now handled at one contact Work is already in progress. By the point. Consignments can now be cleared end of 2017 the main trans-Alpine for import up to two days before they line from Torino via Novara, Milano, arrive at a port. Customs clearance pro - Brescia, Verona and Tarvisio to Villach, cedures are handled by inland termi - part of the RFC 6 („Mediterranean“) nals, rather than on the quayside follow - corridor, together with other principal ing disembarkation, to avoid conges- international routes leaving Italy to the tion and delays within ports. north, such as Domodossola to Brig, The result is that by using an Italian the line via Luino, the Chiasso to Got - port rather than the likes of Rotterdam, thard and Basel route and the Brennero Hamburg or Antwerpen, the costs of Captrain Italia hires 12 TRAXX DC locomotives from Akiem. This photo line from Verona to Innsbruck and sending a consignment to a destination shows E483 303 near Pisa on 14 April 2016. München will all have had their infra - in Switzerland, Austria or southern Ger - structure enhanced to accommodate many work out at about 10 % lower, if a standard loading deck height above Its sales turnover in 2009 was 11.2 mil - 750 m long trains complying with the the ship-to-door section of the journey rail top. Transport of semi-trailers will lion EUR. P/C 80/410 loading gauge. alone is taken into account. not be possible on these lines, but in In December 2011 Assologisticia, The Milano and Verona to Bologna At present a new container ter - any case Trieste has become the estab - the most prominent Logistics sector lines, and those thence to Livorno, La minal for use by large container ships lished Italian port for ro-ro ferry/rail trade organisation in Italy teamed up Spezia, Ancona and Bari will also by is being developed at Vado Ligure, some reloadings for semi-trailers. with the magazine Euromerci to nominate then be able to accept freights with 55 km west of Genova. The developers Captrain Italia for the „2011 Logistics a P/C 80/410 loading gauge, but only are the Mærsk Group and APM Termi - International Railfreight Provider of the Year“ award. Over the of between 650 and 750 m in length. nals, Mærsk’s terminal operating sub - Open Access Operators 3-year period up to 2012 the company Moreover, in 2018 freights are to be sidiary. The port will have an annual almost doubled its Italian sales figures. granted nocturnal access to the Italian throughput capacity of 800,000 TEUs, Of these there have been five, using In 2015 Captrain Italia won a major high speed network , which is equip - of which 40 % will be moved by rail. the international lines which serve north - contract with the oil company ENI , il - ped with ETCS Level 2. This is of key Completion is scheduled for 2018. ern Italy: Captrain Italia, Crossrail Italia, lustrating its ability to meet the specific importance for freight movements be - La Spezia is planning expansion, this DB Cargo Italia, Rail Cargo Carrier - Italy needs of the Italian market. This con - tween Milano, Roma and Napoli, be - involving provision of facilities for the and SBB Cargo Italia. In 2015 they tract involves two separate activities. cause most of the conventional lines accommodation of a further annual generated around 17 % of all sales One is the transport of petrol within Italy between these cities are still limited to throughput of 500,000 TEUs, while revenue within the Italian railfreight mar - for ENI’s Refining & Marketing Division. the P/C 45/364 loading gauge. The di - Genova is planning an extension to ket. But with the exceptions of Rail The other is the transport of styrene for rectness of the high speed network is enable a throughput of up to 800,000 Cargo Carrier and SBB Cargo Italia, the ENI’s Versalis Division, involving four another important factor, high speeds TEUs. La Spezia will enable rail to cap - other operators were either loss-mak - trains per week from Mantova in Lom - not being so important. ture up to 50 % of all containerised ing, or only just managed to break even. bardia to Dunai in Hungary. Italy has also realised an administra - freight passing through the port. All Crossrail Italia is non longer involved in Under the direction of CEO Mauro tive restructuring of its ports to make these port developments will provide this activity (see later). Pessano sales turnover increased from them more competitive with those on more opportunities for Italian open ac - Since the beginning of this year, 16.2 million EUR in 2011 to 54.8 mil - the North Sea coast, especially for con - cess railfreight operators to increase BLS Cargo returns to Italian market with lion EUR in 2015, and was expected to tainer traffic. The 24 port authorities their market share. running oil trains on behalf of Socar rise again, to around 80 million EUR, in have been reduced to 15, and the num - Loading gauge on the approach from Trecate (Italy) to various fuel stor - 2016. In mid-February 2017 SNCF Lo - ber of members on port authority com - lines from the north to the port of Ge- age depots in Switzerland via Chiasso gistics acquired 45 % of BLS Cargo’s mittees has been reduced from 330 nova through difficult mountainous ter - or Domodossola. shares, thus enabling Captrain to pro - to just 70. The 23 offices which formerly rain, will, presumably, at least until 2021, vide through haulage and operation dealt with 113 administration procedures remain at P/C 45/364, however this Captrain Italia in Switzerland for its Germany to Italy have been reduced to just two - thanks still enables high cube containers to be freight services and strengthen its po- to the digitalisation of these procedures.