Rail Ports as Nodal Gateways in the Sea – Land Connections and the Challenges of Sustainable Globalized Markets: The Case of Adriafer and the Port of Trieste

In recent years rail ports gained a particular attention due to the environmental benefits connected to the freight movement by train of cargo embarked and disembarked from the sea leg. A modal shift from road to rail in fact is more and more considered important in reducing the logistic and transport carbon footprint, complying with the carbon reduction as well as a with many countries’ regulations that limit their crossing by road freight transport to reduce the transport-related negative externalities. Countries as Austria and Switzerland in the European continent, in fact, have been introducing road limitations to lorries for years, incentivizing the modal shift and the quest for more sustainable transport. Shunting and rail operators are key elements in such scenario, easing the sea-land connections and helping a port to enhance and extend its internal connections. The commitment towards the development of cleaner means and ways of fostering rail transport and reducing carbon footprint appears also relevant. On the other side, the reinforcement of rail connections can help also reducing both the road connections, but also allowing relying more on well-connected rail ports instead of choosing different port destinations. Until recent years, in fact, with reference to the European ranges, Northern range ports, although farther to Central Europe markets in terms of maritime distances, won a competition with Mediterranean (i.e., Tyrrenian and Adriatic) ports in attracting freight traffics, due to a higher level of efficiency and efficacy in freight movement and directing to inland destinations. The increase in efficiency of Mediterranean, and Adriatic ports in particular, due to their closer proximity to South-Eastern Asia – Mediterranean routes, the is however making the Mediterranean Ranges gain higher shares of freight movements and importance. Little knowledge, however, is still available in terms of the rail routes that can help in reinforcing the inland connections with the destination markets. Indeed, the dynamics of railway freight flows, the major service operators and the aspect related to the final destinations of goods are still poorly explained. Scopes of the present research is therefore that of trying to concretely observe and define the railway connections of the in such a way exploring the existing and potential routes that can be put into the system to increase a – sustainable - market potential and range.