Austria
Hungary
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria
China
Germany
Greece
Italy
Croatia
Poland
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Turkey
A strong national and international economic area that offers many opportunities – this is how Italy presents itself. At the heart of this is the port of Trieste, which not only plays the most important hub on the Adriatic, but also plays an important role for transports to the Far East. The Adriatic port is now celebrating its 300th anniversary. In the course of this, a strong signal was given for the future cooperation between ÖBB and the port – with the signing of two declarations of intent to strengthen rail freight traffic.
Trieste – "Vienna by the Sea" as a hub for freight transport
Trieste Freeport celebrated its 300th anniversary on 18 March 2019. As the former main trading port of the monarchy, Trieste has once again become one of the main ports for Austria. Last year, Trieste was once again Italy's strongest port location. 62.7 million tonnes of goods or 10,000 trains were handled last year. And growth of 10% is expected for 2019. The port has invested massively in expansion in recent years. From infrastructure and capacities to modern equipment.
For ÖBB, Trieste has been an important hub for transport to and from Austria and the hinterland of Europe for almost 25 years. With a market share of around 45 per cent in the rail sector, the Rail Cargo Group is the clear market leader. "Trieste is a role model for the efficient interconnection of different modes of transport. Ship and rail are linked here to form an optimal transport chain. We are very proud that the Rail Cargo Group is a strong logistics partner in the Free Port of Trieste," says Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB-Holding AG.
Intensification of cooperation
The Free Port of Trieste is a central logistics hub for the economy of Italy and Austria - as well as for the entire Central and Southern European region as well as an important gateway to the Maritime Silk Road. In the coming years, the Rail Cargo Group will continue to strive for further intensive networking in the port of Trieste. In the course of the anniversary - in which the Carinthian provincial governor Peter Kaiser, the President of the Friuli Region, Massimo Fedriga and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce took part with a delegation – the mutual commitment was reaffirmed. Two Memorandi of Understanding (MoU) were signed for this purpose.
- In the area of freight transport, the President of the Port Authority of Trieste, Zeno D´Agostino, was present to develop new transport routes and to discuss the future of freight transport.
- And to strengthen cooperation on infrastructure issues together with RFI.
"As an integrated partner with a strong rail network, we want to further boost rail freight transport and thus guarantee economical and environmentally friendly transport. We are sure that together with our Italian partners we will continue to succeed in this in the future", Matthä confirms.
New connections already planned
RCG currently offers the full range of transport services with regular connections on a total of seven routes. More than 3,300 RCG trains are handled annually from and to the port alone – in Italy this figure is many times higher. From March and April, respectively, additional networking will take place: with the TransFER Wolfurt–Trieste in a round trip once a week and the TransFER Trieste–Vienna–Linz–Trieste in triangular traffic once a week.