The Port of Venice represents one of the most important port and logistics systems in the Adriatic Sea. Due to its strategic position, it represents an increasing strong link in the logistics chain between Central and Eastern Europe on one side as well as the East Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Far East on the other side.
New railway bridge
Realization of a railway bridge that directly connects the south-west backbone of the port with the Venezia Marghera Scalo station, optimising rail operation within the port and implementing the Railway District.
The investment is part of NASPA’s strategy aiming at improving the port infrastructures and enhancing the railway accessibility services as indicated in the National Strategic Plan for Ports and Logistic and stated in the Port Operational Programme 2018-2020. The Railway Distric of Venezia Marghera Scalo, as defined by Decree 3/2017 of North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, has a total length of about 65 km and consists essentially of the:
– national freight station of Venezia Marghera Scalo (with its exchange track and reception and departure siding);
– fan of sidings of Parco Breda (serving the north-east port area);
– fan of sidings of Parco Nuovo (serving the south-west port area);
– Raccordo Base, branching from the station of Venezia-Mestre up to single gate of linked terminals;
– railway sidings, with tracks and sidings, within each area of the port.
During 2017 the railway traffic generated by the Port of Venice was about of 5.368 train equal to 2.3 million tons of freight moved (100 trains/week).
In the first six month of 2018 train traffic has shown a growth of 14%. The main freight categories handled are: steel products (54% of total freight), energy products (17%), agrifood products (15%), chemical products (7%) and containers (6%). The recent rail traffic growth lead to suppose that trend is structural. At 2030, thank to full operability of new container terminal of Montesyndial, is reasonable foreseen that freight moved by train will be about of 3.2 million tons. equal to 9.700 train/year.
In order to catch these new market opportunities, the Port of Venice is planned a series a new investments aiming at optimising rail operation within the port. The activity proposed regards the development of final design for the realization a new railway bridge that directly connects the south-west backbone of the port with the Venezia Marghera Scalo station. This new infrastructure will allow to: eliminate interferences with the Mestre railway station in shunting phase; improve both the capacity and the safety of port railway system; drastically reduce the number of interferences between road and rail network within the port area; drastically reduce the shunting time in the southwest area of the port where it is generated about the 40% of the total rail traffic of the port.
