By enabling the use of 750-metre trains, the IV Rail Module should raise the maximum capacity at the facility. The upgrade is also supposed to increase the number of trains handled per day by building new tracks. Verona Interporto currently has 37 main operational tracks and six support tracks across several terminals, as well as a shunting area.

The upgrade comes in expectation of the Brenner Base Tunnel opening – a vital link on the Scandinavian-Mediterranean TEN-T corridor. This opens up new opportunities for international rail freight operations and an increase in traffic. The Verona Interporto hub is also located on the Mediterranean TEN-T corridor.

The performance improvement was a welcome development, because 2023 was a low point in the corridor’s history.

Customer satisfaction

Despite the upswing in punctuality, customer satisfaction fell significantly. In its report, the ScanMed Corridor points out that it had a fairly low number of respondents, which may not be representative of its entire customer base. However, the decline is noteworthy nonetheless. ScanMed recorded a satisfaction drop of 47 per cent (from 77 to 30 per cent). Meanwhile, the share of respondents that are “slightly satisfied” grew from 15 per cent to 40 per cent, and unsatisfied respondents now amount to 30 per cent (up from 8 per cent).

The corridor’s customers are relatively enthusiastic about the C-OSS (Corridor One-Stop Shop) service, which facilitates train path management and is the single point of contact allowing applicants to request and receive answers regarding infrastructure capacity for international freight trains. By contrast, they were not satisfied with train performance measures and the corridor’s commercial offer.

Capacity grows, demand falls

The ScanMed corridor grew its capacity for 2025 thanks to fewer temporary capacity restrictions. In 2024, it offered 10,9 million Pre-arranged Path (PaP) kilometres. For 2025, ScanMed has 13,5 million kilometres available. Despite the bigger capacity, the corridor has not seen a rise in the requested PaP capacity for the year. Rather, there is an 8 per cent drop compared to 2024.

The corridor sells capacity on so-called Pre-arranged Paths (PaPs). These are train paths that the corridor’s IMs predetermine. They follow a timetable, which is published on an online platform where capacity along the route is allocated. Capacity is allocated in the preceding year, which is why data for 2024 is already available.

In 2023, there was a large number of temporary capacity restrictions. Subsequently, ScanMed could not offer PaPs on relatively many days, leading to a drop in sold PaPs.

However, customers request a total of 3,9 million PaP kilometres for 2024, up by 25 per cent from 2023. The primary reason for this growth is the completion of works in Denmark and Germany on the Maschen-Malmö section of the corridor. This greatly increased the number of days on which ScanMed could offer PaPs.

Performance trends in 2023

The ScanMed IMs state that punctuality along the corridor has remained virtually unchanged. However, the amount of delays caused by the infrastructure managers or by rail undertakings has decreased. On the other hand, delays induced by adverse weather conditions, strikes and accidents have increased. The two cancelled each other out, leading to punctuality being approximately equal to 2022.

According to the IMs, punctuality was particularly bad in the northern part of the corridor between Maschen and Malmö. In contrast, punctuality on the corridor’s southern end improved throughout 2023, for which the ScanMed organisation credits the cooperating infrastructure managers in the region.

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The partnership recently made public a 2020 study of intermodal costs on the route. The study was designed to analyse the position of the ScanMed RFC about competing modalities on the same route. In addition to recommendations for the rail operators involved, it also contains suggestions for freight operators and governments.

Cost increase

According to the researchers, the cost increase for road transport in the coming years is lower than the other modes. The market position of rail freight transport will suffer if no appropriate measures are taken, “especially since the current lower costs of rail or combined transport already do not translate into a larger market share of these modes compared to road transport.”

Transporters base their mode choice on a combination of costs and other factors such as flexibility, reliability, transport time, distance and convenience. According to the report, a smaller cost advantage will put more pressure on the other decision factors in the future.

The market share of combined transport and rail will then not increase, but rather shrink. Therefore, cost increases for combined transport and rail freight should be kept to a minimum unless they are directly related to a significant improvement in the other factors. In that case, customers might be able to accept the additional costs.

The ball is in the governments’ court

The final recommendations in the study consist of factors that indirectly influence the choice of transport mode, such as rail access costs, energy costs and rail carrier time buffers. At the same time, the effectiveness of resource deployment and the possibility of high-quality rail freight paths also play a role. Understandably, the report’s recommendations address not only the direct influence of rail operators but, to some extent, those of other stakeholders and government agencies.

Rail access and energy costs account for 40 per cent of total expenses in the case of combined rail-road transport. When part of the transport is also by water, it is 30 per cent. Therefore, price increases for rail access and energy significantly impact operations. ScanMed calls on policymakers and authorities to find ways to subsidise rail access and energy costs, especially as long as competing modes do not get external costs fully passed on.

Smaller buffers

According to the rail operators within ScanMed RFC, carriers can save significantly on costs by making more efficient use of operational resources, particularly locomotives, wagons and personnel. These represent between 20 and 30 per cent of a rail carrier’s total costs and, in some cases, as much as 40 per cent. According to the researchers, the potential for savings lies mainly in reducing time buffers and better coordination of interfaces, for example when changing locomotives and/or drivers.

The infrastructure managers themselves could contribute to a more efficient use of resources by better coordinating train paths with deployment schedules of rail carriers (synchronisation) and thus reversing the current process, which entails the need for dynamic planning. Furthermore, national and European authorities should enable infrastructure managers to make high-quality hourly train paths available for rail freight. These train paths are characterised by a minimum of stops and stops that are as well-matched as possible to the change of locomotives or personnel.

Track access charges

Policymakers are called upon in the report to temporarily reduce rail access charges
and/or provide a higher subsidy per trip. Furthermore, the relevant rail operators could consider volume-based discounts and adjusted fares in the event of a detour due to planned construction work or ad hoc temporary track closures.

These types of disruptions often result in higher costs for carriers. The researchers suggest that rail operators should only charge the ‘normal’ price when the trip was completely according to the requested route to accommodate these companies.

This article was previously published by sister magazine SpoorPro.

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