Less energy consumption and less CO2 with goods by train, but the last mile is missing from the 'green' turning point

These are some of the main aspects of the "Last Railway Mile Charter", a strategic plan promoted by the FerMerci Association

PADUA – There is no green world without green transport, particularly in the last mile towards the destinations of goods.Rubber is still prevalent, so "there is a vast margin for increase" in rail goods. In fact, for the same amount of material transported, it is estimated that the 'shift' from rubber to train, with the transition from fossil fuel to electric vector, allows for an 80% reduction in energy consumption and similarly, perhaps even more, those of carbon dioxide.In fact, if 38 million tonnes of goods travel in Italy today, with transport by train instead of road (Euro 6) a saving of 773,000 tonnes of Co2 is estimated.These are some of the main aspects of “Map of the last railway mile“, a strategic plan to improve and make rail freight transport more efficient promoted byFermerci Association, today at the Green Logistics Expo at PadovaFiere.This is a (not only) technical document, drawn up in agreement with Pwc, Rse and RFi, which aligns the needs of the last mile railway sector, precisely the last 'bottleneck' passage from the national network to the territory, resulting from the ad hoc format "Fermerci in Terminal" staged so far in four locations nationwide (Padua, Novara, Pescara and Livorno).

He explains it at the beginning of the work Clemente Carta, president of Femerci:“If there are problems at the last mile, the volume of goods that ends up on the railway is limited.Every criticality in this phase must therefore be overcome.In the Charter that we have developed, with the collaboration of Pwc, Rse and RFi, we develop proposals for solutions through regulatory and technical interventions".There is a lack of access points to the network, Carta essentially points out, and therefore there is no integration between the national railway network and the sites close to the railway.
In all this, urges the president of Fermerci, “it is necessary to refinance the 2017 law, in article 47, which gives the infrastructure manager the possibility to work on this last mile“.Of the 200 sites involved in Italy, Carta points out, “only 10% comply with European standards, with trains 750 meters long.55% is 500 meters more, but the positive side is that there are many facilities that can be adapted without too much expense."

Meanwhile, raise along the entire route Giuseppe Rizzi, general director of the Association:“Fermerci was born two years ago, right here at PadovaFiere.The 'green' theme is in the association's manifesto, after an evaluation by Fermerci with all its stakeholders in the territories, visiting port facilities and terminals.The last railway mile has always been one of the critical issues in logistics.There have been support interventions in the past, but some critical issues remain.This is why we are launching this Charter today, as a starting analytical document, from which we can then develop other contributions."The risk in more or less three years, Rizzi warns, is "having a general European standard network, but with the problem of the last mile.From a motorway, you would end up on a country road", is the metaphor.Rizzi therefore insists on green, the real lever of the sector:“Europe is asking us for decarbonisation and the train has as its fundamental element the saving of Co2 as well as energy, at 80%, compared to transporting the same quantity of goods by truck.Precisely for this reason we continue to ask for incentives, given the positive externality that distinguishes us.The money that is given to the development of the sector, in fact, is nothing more than an investment for the future of the country.And of this planet."

Share Livio Ravera, CEO of Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal, a company of the Fs Group Logistics hub and president of the Fermerci Maneuvering section:“With the Last Mile Map we made a map of the system, which was missing.The critical points are the issue of innovation, which must also be ensured at the last mile, and that of investments.In fact, it is necessary to complete the huge railway infrastructure work that our country is promoting and that of the connection between the last mile and the national infrastructure is one of the main themes, between national and local entities that enter the field, starting from Port Authorities and large interports".
All the interventions that are carried out, Fermerci therefore confides, must be aimed at increasing efficiency by reducing costs for operators.Launching a general appeal to the institutions, Ravera uses the key word "continuity:our sector needs institutional stakeholders to continue to believe in the choice of modal shift, from road to rail.Even interruptions of a few months in the process, in fact, can cause serious problems with respect to the final objective that our country, within the EU, has set itself:develop environmentally compatible logistics".

Speaking of the EU, remember the priorities Bernhard Kunz, board member of the Swiss Hupac group and president of the Terminal section of Fermerci:“The European Union - puts Kunz into context - has set very clear objectives for 2030, with 30% of goods moved by rail and then rising to 50% by 2050.We need terminals, therefore, and we need terminals in the right place.A terminal lives only on market support:the more starts he has, the more strategic he becomes.We need to put small terminals more online, as part of a national strategy that places them alongside larger ones.We need a hub and spoke system”, as happens in the airline sector.