Berlin, 20 September 2018
New locomotives and new railcars to relaunch FS Italiane Group's freight business in Italy and Europe.
These Polo Mercitalia developments were presented today in Berlin during InnoTrans 2018, the international fair dedicated to railway transport.
Attending were Marco Gosso, Chief Executive Officer Mercitalia Logistics, Gian Paolo Gotelli, Chief Executive Officer Mercitalia Rail, Albert Bastius, Chief Operating Officer TX Logistik, Livio Ravera, Managing Director Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal, and Maria Antonietta Zocco, Mercitalia Intermodal Technical Director.
"The new means that will strengthen our fleet are the result of an important investment that Polo Mercitalia has begun to relaunch the transportation of goods by rail in Italy and Europe", said Marco Gosso, CEO of Mercitalia Logistics. "Our goal is to strengthen and improve rail freight transport services in Italy, on the transalpine corridors, and in the main European countries. The new rolling stock will allow Mercitalia to better meet customer needs and take a decisive step forward in terms of competitiveness."
In Berlin, Polo Mercitalia presented new electric traction locomotives TRAXX DC3 and MS3, manufactured by Bombardier, which will strengthen Mercitalia Rail and TX Logistik's fleets. The new locomotives are technologically the most advanced among those available on the market today, and will allow Polo Mercitalia to renew, over the next three years, over one third of its fleet of locomotives. With a maximum traction power of 6.4 MW and a traction force of 320/340 kN, the TRAXX locomotives will allow Mercitalia Rail and TX Logistik to circulate freight trains with a higher load capacity than currently possible. Moreover, thanks to self-generating brake systems, it will significantly reduce energy consumption.
New trains also for Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal: the D744-1 diesel manoeuvring locomotives, produced by CZ Loco, were introduced. Equipped with the latest technology, these locomotives will allow for an improvement in manoeuvring operations and activities on the last mile of rail, strengthening the competitive positioning of Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal.
Mercitalia Intermodal and Mercitalia Rail also presented two different types of "intelligent" railcars equipped with an innovative electronic system for real-time performance monitoring: Mercitalia Intermodal exhibited the T3000e pocket railcar, designed for the transport of non-hoistable MEGA semi-trailers, containers, swap bodies, and semi-trailers using the NIKRASA solution, a platform patented by TX Logistik that allows semi-trailers to be loaded directly from road level onto the railway cars; at InnoTrans, Mercitalia Rail showcased the latest generation "Shimmns" railcar for the transport of coils that allow for the loading of materials directly from the ground.
Mercitalia is also working on the development of the smart train, an innovative project that will allow the creation of freight trains composed of railcars that can "communicate" in real time with the locomotive, ensuring significant improvements in terms of operational efficiency, customer service, and operational safety , compared to current trains.