The Italian Port of Trieste and Slovakia were first connected via rail in 2016, when the first freight train took off in the direction of Dunajská Streda. Since then, freight traffic between the two has only shown an upward trend, and they are now looking to reach 500 annual trains by next year.
There has been significant growth in freight train roundtrips between the Italian port and Slovakia since 2017, says the port. Seven years ago, 150 trains serviced the route, and by 2023 that number exceeded 400 (27,500 TEU). The two sides are not only pursuing growth simply because there is demand for it, but also stress that it has a strategic role to play in European logistics.
A representative of the East Adriatic port authority, Vittorio Torbianelli, says that strengthening rail services between Trieste and Slovakia is not only growth in rail freight, “but also a strategic element of the logistical and economic relations” between Italy’s north east and Slovakia. “And in the future, we cannot forget the role of Slovakia as a connection route with Ukraine.”
Threefold increase
At the moment, there are 3 weekly rotations between Trieste and Dunajská Streda, and 2 rotations to Slovakia’s capital city Bratislava. In the coming months, the port is expecting significant upgrades to achieve 500 annual trains to Slovakia, a more than threefold increase from the 150 rotations in 2017.