Despite the proclamations and requests for a greater shift from road to rail, Italian hauliers are forced to deal with the umpteenth reduction in railway capacity at the Brenner Pass.
As communicated in a note by Mercitalia, in fact, from 22 March and until a date to be set, all trains passing through the Brenner pass will travel at reduced performance due to the closure of three tracks, considered unsafe, of the railway section. Due to reduced capacities, some trains could be diverted via Tarvisio and delays and cancellations of some journeys are possible during the scheduled closure period.
The President of ANITA- Thomas Baumgartner (in the photo), going into the merits of the matter says: “For years all hauliers have been trying to use the railway as much as possible for the passage to the Brenner Pass, but due to the saturation of the line and the railway terminals for transshipments of vehicles, a major modal shift in favor of the railway is not currently possible. While waiting for the railway infrastructure to be upgraded and for the Brenner base tunnel to be completed, it is therefore necessary that the current traffic bans for crossing the Tyrol in force in Austria be lifted, in order to guarantee the export of goods Italians in Europe”.
ANITA has for some time requested to restore the right to free circulation of goods through the Brenner Pass, asking Minister Salvini to open the procedure for infringement of EU regulations against Austria, which for years has prevented the exchange of goods in a protectionist and discriminatory way goods between Italy and northern Europe.