This week, construction works have started in Germany on the railway section directed towards the Brenner pass. The work will last until the end of August, causing a decline in train traffic. There will be days when the number of trains will be halved, warns Mercitalia Intermodal.
Consequently, road freight traffic is expected to increase significantly on the Brenner motorway.
To mitigate the effects on the transport of goods – and therefore on Italian exports – the Italian National Association of Transport Companies Anita has asked the Italian government to put pressure on the Austrian government and the European Union to suspend the bans on trucks for this period.
“The gravity of the situation requires the adoption of extraordinary measures to avoid the collapse of the Scan-Med corridor that connects Italy with Central and Northern Europe,” said ANITA President Thomas Baumgartner. “We have asked the Government to ask Austria to suspend the restrictions on road traffic in force in Tyrol such as: the night transit ban, the Saturday driving bans, the block handling system in Kufstein and the sectoral ban on certain product types”.
Week of traffic bans at the Brenner
This week is especially crowded with HGV traffic restrictions in the Brenner area; on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday there’s block handing, while a traffic ban applies on Thursday (the ban applies in Italy, Germany and Austria).
The weekend truck ban in Austria also starts on Saturday, and HGVs are not allowed to travel from 3 pm on Saturday to 10 pm on Sunday.