It is never a bad time to discuss European rail freight!

Yesterday, the “European Transport Corridors and Rail Transport” seminar took place in Milan. The event centred on the numerous developments occurring at European level which will greatly impact the railway sector – most notably, the imminent entry into force of the revised TEN-T regulation and the creation of European Transport Corridors.

Our former and current Managing Directors, Furio Bombardi and Stefano Marcoccio, figured among the day’s guests of honour, as did the Managing Directors of the Mediterranean Rail Freight Corridor and Baltic-Adriatic Rail Freight Corridor, Raffaele Zurlo and Alessandro Turconi, and Andrea Galluzzi, Head of European Rail Freight Corridors at Rete Ferroviaria Italiana and member of ScanMed’s Management Board.

First, the speakers presented the evolving European framework for rail transport and its consequences for the Corridors crossing Italian territory. Our Managing Director used this opportunity to elaborate on three key infrastructural projects along the ScanMed Corridor, namely the Brenner Basis Tunnel, the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, and ERTMS implementation.

Afterwards, a panel composed of FerCargo’s President Mauro Pessano, FERMERCI’s Vice-President and Rail Traction Company’s CEO Martin Ausserdorfer, and AILOG’s President Paolo Bisogni debated the pros and cons of such extensive changes and what is required of the rail sector to meet the EU’s targets.

Overall, the seminar programme resulted in a positive exchange of ideas for which we would like to thank not just all speakers but also FOIM (Fondazione dell’Ordine degli Ingegneri della Provincia di Milano) and Salvatore Crapanzano, who hosted and moderated the event.