Europe’s largest private rail freight operator Lineas is seeing rapidly growing demand for more intermodal capacity between Belgium and Italy. Following the earlier launch of the Ghent-Segrate train in 2021, the company is adding another intermodal connection between North Sea Port and Italy with 5 round trips per week. The new line connects with the Pesanti terminal in Piadena, in the middle of the Milan – Verona – Bologna triangle, one of Italy’s most important industrial regions. The train will carry cargo including chemicals, steel, tiles, household goods, bulk goods and powders in various types of containers.

Lars Redeligx, Chief Commercial Officer at Lineas: “Customers today are really looking to decarbonise their supply chains with smart and green rail transportation, and that is exactly what we want to help them do. On top of the 70 trains we already operate between Belgium and Italy, we are now creating additional capacity to enable a further 15,000 containers to be switched to rail. This will be great for the climate, with 9 times fewer CO2 emissions compared to road transport and therefore 9,000 fewer tons of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere every year”.

Lineas is the first operator to use the Pesanti terminal for intermodal rail freight. Since the Segrate terminal is in great demand and is at capacity, Piadena (150km from Milan) offers a second access point to Italy. Lineas has already moved nearly 10,000 containers since the launch of the Ghent-Segrate link a year ago.

Enhanced cooperation with North Sea Port

The Ghent-Piadena link represents a strong addition to the quality rail offer that North Sea Port and Lineas have developed over recent years. With connections to Italy and Sweden, the partnership currently eliminates more than 30,000 truck journeys (round trips) around the port and well into the European hinterland.

Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port: “We continue to build a strong multimodal dimension for North Sea Port with an increasingly important role for low-emissions rail freight. The local Lineas team is an effective service partner for local and international customers with an impressive track record. Through this partnership, we continue to add value to North Sea Port as a key strategic economic hub in Europe.”