The Italian railway market regulatory authority has granted PKP CARGO permission to operate independent transport services to the Italian border station of Tarvisio. Until now, for transit transport to and from Italy, the company had to use the services of other carriers on the Italian-Austrian border section. Let us recall that PKP CARGO currently operates regular independent container transport services through Poland, the Czech Republic, and Austria to the Tarvisio station (two pairs of trains per week).
– PKP CARGO has joined the exclusive group of carriers that can independently carry out transit transport directly with carriers operating in Italy. We anticipate that thanks to this permit, we will be able to reduce PKP CARGO’s costs and shorten the transit times of our trains, which should translate into greater flexibility in customer service – says Łukasz Boroń, CEO of PKP CARGO.
Receiving the permit involved a time-consuming process carried out at ANSF and ItalCertifer (an Italian scientific body equivalent to the Railway Institute in Poland). The process began with obtaining a positive opinion from ItalCertifer regarding the compliance of PKP CARGO and the company’s locomotives with the rules and conditions applicable at Italian border stations, including electromagnetic compatibility.
A positive opinion from ItalCertifer enabled the application for a permit from ANSF, which additionally verified the compliance of PKP CARGO’s procedures with the requirements resulting from Italian law. The permit is also important for the transport of Pendolino trains to Poland for PKP Intercity, which is carried out by PKP CARGO. The first Pendolino train set was delivered by PKP CARGO to Poland in mid-August 2013. According to the plans, PKP CARGO will deliver 19 more of these trains to Poland.