Rail service for freight 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the port of Ravenna

Rail operations at the Port of Ravenna will be managed for the next five years by the Temporary Business Association composed of Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal, part of Polo Logistica, and “Dinazzano Po”.

 

A concession contract for the rail service was signed in recent days.

 

This will allow the port terminal to improve its connections with the national railway network and enhance a strategic service, particularly in light of the ongoing infrastructural developments related to the Ravenna Port Hub Project and RFI's projects for improving freight terminals on both sides of the Candiano Canal.

 

With the signing of the contract, not only will the flexibility of railway operations and the service hours (available 24 hours a day, seven days a week) be expanded, but the interoperability of digital systems will also be enhanced through the implementation of the “RAIL” module within the Port Community System of Ravenna (the IT system used by the port community to share data and documents and digitalize logistics processes). This aims to develop digital services for optimizing port logistics between the operator, terminal operators, and railway companies.

 

The new concession is worth a total of 38 million euros, with a duration of 5 years (+ 3 years of optional renewal).

 

The service will employ a total of 42 workers, supported by coordination personnel and instructors, along with a fleet of 8 locomotives.

 

The port of Ravenna already handles around 10,000 trains each year. The Hub construction work is progressing according to the established schedule, and it is crucial to be ready with adequate rail connections to handle the increase in traffic volumes expected in the coming years. In this context, FS Group continues to work on the timely construction of two new freight terminals with 750-meter tracks.

 

It is worth noting that in the Ravenna port area, which today has 35 kilometers of railway tracks and ten companies connected to the railway, around four million tons of goods (equivalent to approximately 10,000 trains) were transported by rail in 2022. Rail traffic accounted for 13.5% of the total port traffic.