Lineas Another 15,000 trucks taken off the road

Lineas launched a second direct rail connection between North Sea Port and Italy in June, opening a new gateway for intermodal traffc through the strategically located Pesanti terminal in Piadena. The high frequency train allows customers to shift another 15,000 containers from road to rail and to opt for a more sustainable solution for their shipments. The new service got off to a very strong start.

In June 2021, Lineas opened a frst direct freight service between Ghent and Milan to serve the North Italian market. Since then, trains with around 22 wagons shuttle back and forth fve times a week between the Interface Terminal Ghent (ITG) of Stukwerkers and Masterbulk at the Kluizendok and the Segrate terminal in Milan, the multimodal linchpins of this line at both ends. Belgium’s largest rail freight operator thus opened up even wider the door to Italy’s economically most important region, potentially avoiding up to 11,000 return trips by truck on an annual basis.

The Ghent-Segrate line, which also provides transit possibilities to other destinations in Italy, proved very successful. “So far, we transported 15,000 containers on this route and we witnessed a fast-increasing customer demand”, says Frank Berweger, Chief Commercial Offcer at Lineas. “So customers were asking

All photos courtesy of Lineas.

us to add extra capacity to this North-South corridor.” But Segrate is struggling to cope with the demand for more intermodal capacity between Belgium and Italy and is close to saturation. So, after thorough research done with customers on what is needed on this corridor, Lineas decided to open a new route to North Italy, with Piadena as a second gateway. This new destination comes with specifc advantages. Piadena, which is located 150km southeast from Segrate, is strategically located in the Milano-Verona-Bologna triangle, home to the Italian tiles and steel industry. “A fast, reliable and low-carbon rail solution right into one of Italy’s key industrial zones, with departures from Monday to Friday both from Ghent and Piadena, so fve weekly return trips”, that is how Mr Berweger describes the new line.

Capacity is only one factor in the equation. Road congestion is giving rail an extra push and the drive to sustainability is gaining in importance by the day, Lineas made clear at the launch of the new service. “Customers are really looking to decarbonise their supply chain with smart and low-carbon rail transport, and this is exactly what we want to help them with. On top of the 70 trains we already run between Belgium and Italy, we are now creating capacity for another 15,000 containers to be shifted to rail in both directions. This is a real climate win with nine times less carbon emissions equaling almost 9,000t of CO2 we keep out of the atmosphere every year.” The new service also makes a difference for Piadena. Lineas is the frst operator to open the Pesanti terminal there for intermodal volumes, putting Piadena on the map for the carriage by rail of containers of all sizes (from 20’ to 45’) and swap bodies. Trailers, which require different wagons, could follow if demand for this type of cargo materialises. The basic set-up is similar to the one on the Segrate route. Each train to Piadena is 550m long, is composed of 23 wagons and has a capacity equivalent to 80TEU. Trains are running on a day A/day C schedule, following a route that takes them to Italy through France and Switzerland. For the traction, Lineas cooperates with local companies on each leg of the trip.

The Ghent-Piadena connection got off to a strong start. Customers are happy with the new service, numbers show. ”We started out with a fll rate of 80% and we now stand at

85 to 90%, with customers relying on us to transport a wide mix of cargo going from beverages, aluminium, steel coils, clothes, paper and oil to chemical products, plastic, sugar, tiles, household goods, ceramics… and from liquid bulk and powders to general cargo in containers or swap bodies”, Mr Berweger indicates. “The one major difference we see with the Segrate service is the larger number of empty units going from Piadena to Ghent, which is linked to the food business.” “With the opening of the new line, some fows that used to be on the Segrate route were rerouted to Piadena, but we are mostly talking about new volumes for which we did not have the capacity in Milan, where we still have full trains running, since freed up capacity was quickly taken up by our customers. So we won on both counts”, the Chief Commercial Offcer adds. “Furthermore, some 20% of the volumes are destined for or coming from regions like Rome and Naples. With its more central position in Northern Italy Piadena is ideally placed to develop connections to the South of Italy.”

“The Ghent-Piadena connection is another strong addition to the already high-quality rail portfolio that North Sea Port and Lineas have developed over the past years. With connections to Italy and Sweden, the partnership is currently keeping more than 30,000 return trips by truck off the road around the port and far into the European hinterland every year”, Lineas underlines. “And the relationship with ITG and North Sea Port is excellent.” North Sea Port is keen to further expand this partnership. “With this partnership we will continue to add great value to North Sea Port as an economic hub of high strategic importance in Europe”, according to CEO Daan Schalck. Services like the Ghent-Piadena line also ft perfectly with North Sea Port’s strategy to make freight transport greener and more sustainable. Trains now have a 10% share in the modal split of hinterland traffc to and from the cross-border port, representing 7t to 8t million of cargo each year. North Sea Port’s ambition is to lift that number to 15% in the future. Fostering intermodal solutions by rail as a smart and environmentally friendly alternative to road transport is one of the ways to achieve that goal. Lineas strives to contribute to the bigger role for rail North Sea Port is pursuing and is not excluding new rail connections to the hinterland. “We are in discussions with partners and customers for an open intermodal connection between Ghent and Lyon”, Mr Berweger concludes.