Together with Trieste and Genoa, Gioia Tauro is one of Italy’s three main ports. However, rail freight has so far played only a minor role in its logistics operations. After quadrupling the number of trains between 2024 and 2025, the port now aims to become an intermodal hub for sea-rail connections.
“Rail traffic has grown dramatically, going from fewer than 300 trains in 2024 to approximately 1,000 trains in 2025, an increase of over 400%,” the Port of Gioia Tauro said. However, the figures remain well below those of its main competitors, Trieste and Genoa, which each handle several thousand trains a year.
The port has traditionally focused its investments “almost exclusively on the sea”, Port Authority President Paolo Piacenza said. This has made Gioia Tauro primarily a transhipment hub. Piacenza now wants to shift the focus towards sea-rail intermodality, with future investments aimed at strengthening the port’s rail connections.
Strengthening rail connectivity
To move beyond its traditional transhipment role, the Port of Gioia Tauro is working to create a new intermodal terminal by 2028 and extend its rail tracks closer to the berths. It also aims to become a key rail hub for other regions in southern Italy.
For example, Piacenza recently visited the Interporto d’Abruzzo terminal to discuss a new rail link with Gioia Tauro, which is due to launch next year.
The port has also recently introduced a service to the Port of Livorno in Tuscany for the automotive sector. “Large ships transporting cars, which cannot operate in the Tuscan port due to their size and require deep waters, which exist only in Gioia Tauro, will be able to dock in Gioia Tauro, where the vehicles will be unloaded and then transferred by train to Livorno,” the port explained.