The Italian port of La Spezia is introducing yet another Fast Corridor rail connection to the intermodal terminal in Padua. Despite remaining an Italian affair, similar initiatives might open up a new market segment for the industry – providing rail freight services to speed up customs operations and decongest ports.
First things first, what exactly is a Fast Corridor? It is a way to relocate customs operations from the port of entry to an inland terminal. Containerised goods arriving from non-EU countries need to go through customs, which often causes congestion and loss of time at ports. Within the Fast Corridor framework, goods can be transshipped directly from ships to trains (and in rarer cases trucks) and brought to an inland terminal for customs clearance.
Such services could present new opportunities for rail freight, especially if implemented in more EU countries. Stagnating and losing volumes to the road sector, the industry could embrace Fast Corridors to reinvent itself and find new ways to thrive. Different from the traditional hauling services, could helping to speed up customs procedures become rail freight’s new forte?
La Spezia leads the way
With the new La Spezia-Padua link (the third between these two destinations) there currently are 21 Fast Corridor domestic rail connections in Italy plus an international one to Vienna. The ones carried out by trucks are only seven, highlighting how rail is a more suitable modality for such services.
La Spezia is by far the leading port for Fast Corridor links with 10. Other ports in the same region – Liguria – are also quite active, including Genoa Voltri (3), Genoa Prà (2), Savona (1) and Vado Ligure (1). The remaining domestic connections involve the port of Gioia Tauro (3) in the south and the port of Ravenna (1) on the east coast.
The inland terminals used as destinations for the Fast Corridor connections are eight: Rivalta Scrivia (6), Padua (5), Milan Melzo (2), Bologna (2), Marzaglia (2), Rubiera (2), Bari (1) and Segrate (1). The only international service of this kind was launched in cooperation with Rail Cargo Group in 2023 and connects the port of Trieste, on the Adriatic, to the LCA Sud terminal in Villach, Austria.
Avoiding fraud risks
One of the main concerns in these situations is the risk of fraud, as containers leave the ports ‘unchecked’. However, this is mitigated by the real-time tracking of the containers involved in Fast Corridor operations. Moreover, the transfer of goods needs to be handled by an entity possessing an AEOC license (Authorised Economic Operator Customs Simplification). For Fast Corridor rail connections, further requirements include a direct link between the port and the selected inland terminal and the presence in the latter of an office for customs clearance.
List of Fast Corridor domestic connections in Italy
| Departure port | Destination inland terminal |
|---|---|
| La Spezia | Rivalta Scrivia (x2) |
| La Spezia | Melzo-Milan |
| La Spezia | Padua (x3) |
| La Spezia | Rubiera |
| La Spezia | Marzaglia |
| La Spezia | Bologna |
| La Spezia | Segrate |
| Genoa Voltri | Rivalta Scrivia (x2) |
| Genoa Voltri | Melzo-Milan |
| Genoa Prà | Padua |
| Genoa Prà | Rubiera |
| Gioia Tauro | Bologna |
| Gioia Tauro | Padua |
| Gioia Tauro | Bari |
| Savona | Rivalta Scrivia |
| Vado Ligure | Rivalta Scrivia |
| Ravenna | Marzaglia |