Cooperation between the two companies is “evolving into an even more concrete industrial synergy”. Access to the Segrate and Verona hubs comes with intermodal connections to Central and Northern Europe. According to FS Logistix, this helps to boost the integration between ports, inland terminals and the market. It is also said to contribute to more efficient, competitive and sustainable logistics.

The newly announced services follow an earlier commercial agreement signed in May 2025. That deal provided for “the integration of complementary expertise to offer rail-road transport solutions on an increasingly extensive, high-frequency, high-quality network.” FS Logistix took responsibility for rail operations, Logtainer acts as the sole commercial interface to the market.

The agreement, which came in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by FS Logistix’s CEO Sabrina De Filippis and Guido Grimaldi, founding member of the group and president of ALIS, also has a vision for the longer term. “In the medium to long term, the connections will be extended to ports in Spain and the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, as well as to flows from the Middle East and the Far East, with particular attention to the development of the IMEC corridor”, the press release added.

Grimaldi Euromed

Grimaldi Euromed is active with short-sea connections and specialises in the transport of vehicle transport via Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax and Pure Car & Truck Carriers ships. The main services run in the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, in ports such as Ancona, Venice, Naples and Livorno in Italy, Patras in Greece and Barcelona in Spain.

Once completed, the terminal will be able to handle 44 trains every day, according to FS Logistix. “The infrastructure will consist of 15 tracks at least 740 metres long – 10 dedicated to transhipment operations and five for support – organised into two modules, each equipped with three electric gantry cranes”. The first three cranes delivered are part of Module I. while the remaining three will go to Module II.

Hupac’s investments in Italy

The renewal of the Milano Smistamento terminal mobilised 120 million euros, 67 of which came from the Swiss government. The Helvetic Federation, a key transit hub along Europe’s busiest corridor, is keen on investing in terminals closer to its borders to ensure that more goods cross the country by rail. The investment for the cranes amounted to 31 million euros, FS Logistix specified.

Other than Milan, FS and Hupac are also working on new and renovated terminals in Piacenza and Brescia, two other important industrial hubs in northern Italy. The one in Brescia, which will be called La Piccola Velocità (The Small Speed), will see a joint investment of 60 million euros. For Piacenza, Hupac is upgrading the Le Mose terminal, which has been operating since 2007.

European Cargo Experience

Terminals, terminal equipment and synergies between modalities will be the main topics of the upcoming European Cargo Experience. Organised by RailFreight.com jointly with our sister publications World Cargo News and Project Cargo Journal, the event will bring together leaders from all the sectors of the logistics industry. Find out more about the event here and secure your Early Bird tickets here.

The service will run five times a week and will allow for further connections in Italy, such as the terminal in Pomezia, near Rome. The new rail link is the first tangible result since FS Logistix acquired a 30% stake in the Antwerp Main Hub, the Italian company added. This agreement was also signed in September. Other than managing the terminal, Modalink will also operate the feeder intermodal services from and to the different quays in the port.

Covering an area of 200,000 square metres, the terminal is equipped with eight tracks of 700 metres in length and can move around 200,000 containers every year. “In addition to the launch of Modalink, Lineas and FS Logistix are cooperating to enhance services on the Antwerp-Milan line”, the Belgian company highlighted.

Lineas looking for liquidity

Up until now, Lineas was the sole manager of the Antwerp Main Hub. However, the company is in some financial troubles and has been looking for cash for quite some time after nearing bankruptcy. “This transaction is the final step of Lineas to refocus on traction services and stop the Intermodal Operator activity”, the company added. With some help from private investors and, above all, a stronger state presence in the company, Lineas seems to be on the right track.

Italy’s state rail company FS Group is pressing ahead with the installation of ERTMS onboard systems, committing 70 million euros to modernise 442 trains and locomotives. The investment, partly funded under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility, will cover 60 FS Logistix locomotives and 382 Trenitalia vehicles for passengers.

FS’s main freight rail operator Mercitalia Rail and its German-based subsidiary TX Logistik are already taking delivery of new locomotives factory-equipped with ERTMS, while Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal is also beginning to upgrade its yard locomotives. FS said the onboard rollouts are designed to complement the infrastructure programme overseen by the national rail infra manager Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI).

On the passengers side, he Trenitalia programme includes 272 regional trains, 74 Intercity and Eurocity trains, and 36 high-speed units. FS Logistix will begin fitting its fleet, with completion scheduled for 2033. The wider plan foresees 2,000 onboard systems installed across the Trenitalia fleet by 2030, requiring total investment of around 700 million euros.

FS strategic framework

FS CEO Stefano Antonio Donnarumma said that installing ETCS in trains would be “essential to ensure the dialogue between on-board and infrastructure technologies, allowing each train to benefit from a significant improvement in service quality, both in terms of safety and innovation.” He added that the project is aligned with the FS Strategic Plan 2025–2029, which sets out the goal of achieving full ERTMS integration on the Core Extended network by 2040.

Beyond modernisation, FS stressed that the programme will bring its fleet in line with European interoperability standards, allowing Italian trains to operate more seamlessly on international high-speed and conventional corridors. While ERTMS integration remains a major problem across the block, the FS interoperability drive is mirrored in Trenitalia’s new-generation Frecciarossa 1000 fleet, now progressing through approvals not only in Italy and France, but also with an eye for network expansion in Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Italy’s wider ERTMS push

The onboard announcement comes shortly after RFI confirmed it had completed ERTMS installation across 1,400 km of lines, a milestone required under Italy’s EU Recovery and Resilience Plan. The 2.5-billion-euro programme is set to extend digital signalling to 2,800 km by mid-2026, with the longer-term goal of equipping the country’s 16,800 km network by 2036.

Italy’s approach—combining infrastructure and onboard programmes with clear national targets and EU co-financing—is now regularly cited in Brussels as a model for cost-effective, centrally coordinated rollout. Recent analysis by consultancy SCI Verkehr found that Italy, Belgium and Czechia are achieving lower long-term costs and faster delivery than larger networks such as Germany and France, thanks to centralised strategies and clear national targets.

That efficiency is particularly significant in light of an EU study published in April, which found that the cost of retrofitting trains with ETCS has doubled in just four years, from an average of 450,000 euros per vehicle in 2018 to 900,000 euros in 2022. The report warned that Europe is “closer to the worst-case scenario” on onboard costs, with fragmented national requirements, lengthy authorisations and a lack of modular systems pushing prices up and threatening the viability of the digital signalling programme. Against that backdrop, Italy’s ability to keep costs down through unified planning is being closely watched in Brussels as a possible template for other member states.

]]> https://www.railfreight.com/technology/2025/08/28/italys-fs-to-invest-e70m-in-upgrading-nearly-450-trains-with-onboard-etcs/feed/ 0 https://www.railfreight.com/business/2025/08/08/mercitalia-improves-finances-but-volumes-decline/ https://www.railfreight.com/business/2025/08/08/mercitalia-improves-finances-but-volumes-decline/#respond Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:00:17 +0000 https://www.railfreight.com/?p=64954 Mercitalia Logistics, the rail freight branch of Italian state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) has improved its financial figures but volumes have decreased during the first half of the year. Investments in rail freight have also increased, but the sector keeps struggling amid lower demand and temporary capacity restrictions.
In terms of financial performance, the EBITDA more than doubled, from 19 to 40 million euros (+110%) and the EBIT significantly improved albeit remaining negative, from -40 to -29 million euros (+27.5%). Operating revenues for the Mercitalia Logistics group (now FS Logistix) also improved, from 665 to 711 million euros. The group’s international branch TX Logitstik and Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal led the growth with 15 million euros apiece.

On the other hand, the company’s performance when it comes to volumes was worse in the first half of 2025 than the same period last year. There was a 3.7% decrease in terms of tonnes/km, from 9,79 to 9,42 million. When it comes to trains/km, the decline was 4.2%, from 20,83 to 9,19 million. When it comes to international volumes, which make up about half of the total, the reduction was higher in terms of tonnes/km (-4.3%) than in trains/km (-3.6%).

136 million invested in locomotives

When it comes to the rail freight sector, 136 million euros were invested, mostly in locomotive renewal, which is 16 million more than H1 in 2024. More specifically, Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal received five units, Mercitalia Rail got six and 15 were given to TX Logistik. These 136 million euros equalled 1,6% of the total investment made by FS in the first half of 2025, which amounted to 8,5 billion euros. Most of these investments, over 65%, went to infrastructure projects.

Not a healthy market

Some interesting food for thought is that, despite losing volumes, the first half of the year saw Mercitalia increasing its modal share for the first time since its establishment in 2016. Losing volumes while gaining market share usually means that the industry is declining, as it was confirmed by the data for 2024 and by the many appeals made by industry associations. Traffic is moving back to the roads, which can provide cheaper transport options which are also more reliable given the massive number of projects to upgrade the infrastructure all across the country.

The new structure of FS Logistix includes cooperation with seven industries: general cargo, chemical, steel, automotive, waste, cereal and consumer goods. The rebrand also includes a new website which FS Logistix claims puts the customer at the centre. This move is part of the digitalisation process of FS’ industrial plan, which will see over two billion euros invested.

Rolling stock revolution

FS Logistix will also benefit from the industrial plan launched by its mother company through a huge renovation project concerning rolling stock. In total, the companies in the group will receive 110 electric locomotives, 25 for shunting and 2,000 wagons. The hope is that, with the rebranding, the logistics arm of the FS Group will improve the current situation on the wave of the positive results posted in 2024.