Mercitalia Rail (Group FS), in collaboration with Lugo Terminal, is increasing its weekly roundtrip between Verona and Giovinazzo, roughly 30 kilometres from Bari, on the southeast Italian coast. The rotations will be increased from 12 to 18 per week, as Mercitalia stated in a press release. The service connects the Quandrante Europa Interport in Verona with the Lugo Terminal in Giovinazzo.

This service was made available thanks to Mercitalia’s efforts to develop a new traction service using next-generation locomotives and wagons. The convoys involved in the service can, in fact, transport up to 1600 tonnes and reach 550 metres in length. In addition, the service is suitable for the P400 profile.

Transit time revolves around eight hours and Lugo Terminals makes available the container it owns. With this service, it is possible to transport 45-foot containers, 30-foot bulk containers, and tank containers, as a Lugo Terminal spokesperson told RailFreight.com. The new rotations will be implemented on Fridays and Wednesdays.

Mercitalia pointed out how this is another, significant step towards reaching the goals set by the European Green Deal. The new version of the service is expected to remove around 27,500 intermodal units from the road and consequently save over 1,200 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted.

The Lugo Terminal in Giovinazzo

Lugo Terminal is an Italian company that owns various rail terminals in Italy. The Lugo Terminal in Giovinazzo is spread over an area of 34,500 square metres. It is equipped with four rail tracks, three operative ones, and one used for stocking operations. The length of the tracks goes from 350 to 750 metres.

The terminal takes care of cargo handling as well as shunting operations. From the terminal, Lugo Terminal offers additional connections to Lugo and Parma, in the heart of Italy. From Verona, the company has connections to many hubs in Germany.

The spokesperson from Lugo Terminal added that the partnership with Lugo Terminal started four years ago. Mercitalia has been handling the service between Verona and Giovinazzo since January 2021.