The Scandinavian-Mediterranean Rail Freight Corridor (ScanMed RFC) crosses Europe from North to South like a spine. Together with the TEN-T Core Network Corridors the RFCs represent the main axes for the development of intramodality and multimodality across the EU and therefore the BSR. It is important that the whole EU territory is given the same opportunity to be connected by rail, following the principle of cohesion and accessibility policy. Cooperation and knowledge exchange involving all the stakeholders along the ScanMed RFC is crucial which is why Port of Hamburg Marketing as a partner in BSR Access and lead partner in Combine teamed up with the ScanMed RFC for their Digital Customer Workshop this year.
The workshop on 12 November was divided into different sections – Railway Advisory Group-, Port of Hamburg-/BSR Access-, Terminal Advisory Group- and ScanMed RFC-Section – to give participants from various sectors along the corridor the chance to present recent developments.
Andrea M. Penso, Senior Referent and DB Cargo RAG-Speaker of the ScanMed RFC, explained The Xborder methodology and the measures that can be derived from it for the Munich-Verona corridor section. He also described a 2-way strategy for the ScanMed RFC North by mentioning the Øresund Bridge as an example. The RAG section was continued by Johan Carlgren, Accessibility Manager of the ScanMed RFC, who took up the topic of harmonizing investment plans by bringing the market’s view. Also, a stakeholder from the southern part of the ScanMed RFC, Aldo Maietta, Head of Marketing of Mercitalia Rail, took the floor and outlined the Verona-Bologna Axes as the Gateway between Northern and Southern Europe. Lastly, Conor Feighan, Secretary General of ERFA European Rail Freight Association, joined the discussion and spoke about support for rail transport by waiving and reducing track access charges
This was followed by the Port of Hamburg/BSR Access section, in which Inga Gurries, Project Manager at Port of Hamburg Marketing, presented the BSR Access Position Paper on best practices of multimodality and interoperability in the Baltic Sea Region. The position paper summarizes the advantages and untapped potentials of less dominant modes of transport (rail, inland navigation and short sea shipping). It includes success stories from past EU projects that answer the Issue Papers’ and Green Deal’s desire to create durable, streamlined and capitalized actions. Afterwards, Daniel Mansholt, Head of Railway Development of the Hamburg Port Authority, explained the importance of the Hamburg Port Railway through its direct connection to DB Netz and the hinterland.
In the following TAG section, Andreas Pietsch, Operations Manager of Kombiverkehr, provided a wide range of innovative opportunities of the MegaHub Lehrte, the new terminal in the Hannover region. Subsequently, Fulvio Lino di Blasio, Secretary General, Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea - Port of Taranto, introduced the Port of Taranto as a competitive intermodal hub in the med. State of the art and presented future perspectives.
The meeting was concluded by representatives of the ScanMed RFC representing their recent work in different task forces (e.g. on the Brenner Axis).
If you did not have the opportunity to participate you can still watch the meeting and download the presentations here.
You can also visit the project website of BSR Access here.
For more information please contact:
Ms. Inga Gurries, Project Manager at Port of Hamburg Marketing