Supporting intermodal transport solutions in the Adriatic area

The project objective is the improvement of the integration of the short sea shipping transport in the logistics chains crossing the Adriatic sea, and more specifically the provision of the best environment for the activation on intermodal rail-sea transport services between the ports and their own hinterlands. Currently, the Adriatic ports have different level of accessibility to the inland transport infrastructures: even if the ports and the national governments have undertaken significant investments to increase the railways accessibility and the connection to the national railways network, not all the ports will be served in the present and medium term by railways services and infrastructures. Therefore, a clear picture on the available infrastructures and policy framework for intermodality must be provided to avoid the risk that the lack of modal alternative in one of the shores involves the choice of the road transport also on the other one where modal alternatives have been developed. The project therefore supports the implemented or ongoing infrastructural investments to promote intermodal transport by the joint definition of a set of outputs to improve the market, policy and regulatory conditions for intermodality. The project activities are articulated in the following main areas of action: Situation of the market, aimed at identifying, in a way not distorting the market competition between operators, the current and forecasted origin and destination of the freight flows passing through the ports involved in the partnership, with one focus on the container traffic and the second on the ferry freight traffic. The findings of the analysis will allow the identification of the transport infrastructures that link the ports with the origin and destination of the freight flows (port hinterlands). Infrastructural analysis. The infrastructures connecting ports with the hinterlands will be analysed in terms of current situation and through the definition of the maximum level of traffic that they can support. The results of the analysis of WP3 and WP4 will be merged in a final report that will represent the status of the art concerning the situation of intermodal transport in the medium and lower Adriatic area, and its level of integration with the TEN-T and the SEETO core networks. Finally, in WP5 the partnership will focus on local and crossborder outputs as, solutions to avoid last mile bottlenecks for railways access in port, improvement of the monitoring capacity of the Albanian freight traffic flows for the Transport Ministry needs and a common proposal of policy initiative to subsidize the modal shift of freight transport. Moreover, the partnership will promote the spread in the programme area of transnational training tools specifically developed for the safety at work in ports and will organize “port career days” to present the professional profiles operating in ports to young people and job seekers. The project activities will provide a contribution “from the bottom” addressed to the national and European Institutions on actions on the priority areas of intervention as defined by the White paper of transport of the EU Commission, as: - Incentives for the modal shift form road to rail for maritime freight to/from the hinterland areas; - Enhanced integration of short sea shipping in the logistics chain; - Support to the promotion of quality jobs in ports, to increase the attractiveness of port professional profiles, avoiding the risk of lack of skilled and qualified workforce. The project partnership is made by relevant public authorities and PEB with competence on port and freight villages infrastructures, intermodal transport policy and training. The partnership includes ports of all the countries that have the shore on the medium and southern Adriatic sea, i.e. 5 countries of the programme area.