Trieste, 4 May 2021
Seven tracks of the “Arsenale” and “PMC” stretches have been reactivated in the station bordering Villa Opicina.
The operation, which lasted seven months, was financed with 1.5 million euro allocated as part of the “Last Mile” project.
The restored tracks will be utilised as a pit-stop for locomotives. The tracks can be accessed independently, reducing manoeuvres thanks to the new overhead line for electric traction installed on four of them. This will free up some of the tracks in the station and consequently, the holding capacity of the rail yard shall be increased.
Throughout this year, further works will get underway to upgrade the station. A new Computerised Interlocking structure will be created to manage more tracks. With the appropriate modifications to the general regulatory plan, the 750-metre module will be implemented, as the European standard of reference for the length of freight trains, and thus for the TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor of which Villa Opicina is a strategic cross-border set-up between Italy and Slovenia.
The station also falls under the “TriHub” project that foresees the infrastructural development and the systemic connection with Cervignano Smistamento and the Port of Trieste, acting as a rail yard of reference for goods heading towards Central and Eastern Europe.
This series of operations aims to improve the services needed for cross-border transit. Minimising costs means increasing the competitiveness of rail transport and contributing to the ecological transition.
The desire to combine the environment and development of transport is one of the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (FS Italiane Group) missions. All the works taking place in the Friuli Venezia Giulia area are a demonstration of this strategy. Respect for the scheduled times and the quality of the achievements confirm the objective of placing the Venezia Giulia territory amongst the main references for European logistics.