The rail terminal in Surbo, near the southern Italian city of Lecce, has been closed since 2009. However, thanks to rising interests in rail freight services from the area has led to the start of reopening procedures. The facility will be put up for sale in July and should be put back in service in 2027.
The development comes after the University of Salento and the General Confederation of Italian Industry ran a survey to assess the current demand for rail freight. After talking to 61 companies in the area, the results showed that there is enough demand for up to 70 trains every month. “This makes the reopening of the Surbo terminal absolutely justifiable”, the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.
The terminal is being sold by FS Sistemi Urbani, the company of the railway holding Ferrovie dello Stato which takes care of unused real estate. The sale process should take up to six months once it is launched in July. Once a buyer is selected, they will have another six months to get the terminal back into operation.
The end of the Scan-Med corridor
The terminal in Surbo would sit at one of the ends of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T Corridor and it is part of its Comprehensive Network. In the south of Italy, the corridor splits into two branches, one going westward all the way to Sicily and one going towards the east to the Apulia region, where the terminal sits. Once operational, the new facility will provide another hub to handle rail freight in the region.
Currently, most volumes are handled at the Bari Ferruccio terminal, 150 kilometres north of Surbo. This facility covers 50,000 square metres and handle 24 pairs of trains per week, while the one planned for reopening will be significantly bigger, for a total of 80,000 square metres. Thus, there should be room for even higher volumes that the 70 monthly trains envisioned at this stage.
European Cargo Experience
The role of terminals will be the main focus of the upcoming European Cargo Experience, a new event organised by RailFreight.com together with World Cargo News and Project Cargo Journal. Held in Gdansk on 6 and 7 May, the event will bring together representatives from different industry segments to discuss how automation, digitalisation and equipment are being implemented and upgraded to meet the necessary requirements. Find out more about the programme here and get your ticket here.
This should be considered in Australia we are terrible at rail freight. We will go broke buying food because we do not have a competitive and efficient supply chain system.