Italy this week launched a new high-speed freight service that the country’s government said brings cargo transportation into the next millennium. Billed by the state operator, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS Italiane Group), as the world’s first high-speed rail transport service for goods, Mercitalia Fast now connects Caserta in southern Italy with Bologna Interport in the north – completing the approximately 550-kilometre journey in 3 hours and 30 minutes thanks to an average speed of around 180 kilometres per hour.
Along with the improved journey times, the new service’s environmental credentials were also highlighted. Goods being transported will have a load capacity equivalent to 18 lorry loads that will reduce traffic on the road to the tune of around 9,000 loads a year – cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere by 80% compared to road transport, according to the FS Italiane Group.