Rail is playing an increasingly important role in commercial traffic. Its relationship with ports, and with Trieste in particular, is becoming increasingly decisive for the development of logistics and intermodality. However, there are still infrastructure-related problems and fundamental issues yet to be addressed, as explained by Massimiliano de Lindegg, CEO of Train Expert.
What is the situation of rail freight traffic in Friuli Venezia Giulia?
«It is holding up, especially in Trieste. But the Tarvisio node risks becoming a bottleneck. The planned closures — one between August and September this year, in addition to closures lasting a month and a half in 2027 and two months in 2028 — are difficult to sustain. The Region’s activism is positive, with the initiatives of councillor Amirante (Infrastructure and Territory, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region), but now RFI (Rete Ferroviaria Italiana) needs to step up.
The risk is real: isolating the port and the industries of north-eastern Italy for weeks, as they depend on rail for raw materials and exports. At the same time, high energy costs are making road transport increasingly less competitive, with direct effects on the resilience of the industrial system».
And on the Eastern Europe front?
«Here the situation is worse. Worksites in Slovenia and Croatia have cut transit capacity by more than 50%. The result is slower imports, longer train cycles and rising costs. A combination that is putting entire supply chains under pressure».
What is the outlook for rail freight traffic in Italy?
«There are few rail-connected industries and interports are becoming essential nodes for transhipping goods.
In this context, we have developed train-truck transhipment solutions for cereals, with direct delivery to mills and feed producers. It is a model that is working and demonstrates how rail can regain competitiveness if it is efficiently integrated with road transport».
What should be expected on the investment front?
«The real challenge is infrastructure: lines, ports, interports. Without this leap, the system remains fragile. We continue to invest in operational activities such as machinery and in what I consider mobile infrastructure, namely railway wagons. But economic uncertainty is holding back more ambitious decisions. At the same time, even in a period of turbulence, opportunities can open up and should be seized.
In this regard, is Ukraine more of an opportunity or a gamble?
«I would say both. Over the past four years we have built a stable rail corridor between Ukraine and Italy, starting with cereals and expanding to edible oil and ferrous scrap, also in containers. Containers are precisely what make it possible to activate return flows for exports.
With the UMC project (Ukrainian Mediterranean Corridor), we connect Italian and Ukrainian terminals. The northern Adriatic has major development potential and can become a strategic platform. When reconstruction begins, the Black Sea ports will be saturated and traffic will be redistributed. Those who are ready will benefit».
