After a two-year period from 2020 to 2021, when operations stagnated significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Captrain Italia, a subsidiary of the French state-owned railway company SNCF, is returning to growth in 2022 in several aspects. Last year, Captrain significantly outperformed its 2019 results and confirmed its position as the second-largest rail freight operator in Italy after Mercitalia.
This growth was achieved despite several negative factors affecting Captrain and rail transport in Italy in general. The year 2022 was marked by an exponential increase in energy costs, which led to a significant increase in RFI tolls. These difficulties were exacerbated by the Italian government's decision to abolish the substantial subsidies previously granted to rail transport. The first few months of last year were marked by Ansfisa's decision to reduce the speed of its synthetic-soled wagons, which required almost twice as many resources and personnel as planned.
In 2022, Captrain Italia launched new services to Northern and Eastern Europe. In terms of goods transported, the Franco-Italian railway company maintained its leading position in the dangerous goods sector and increased its market share in steel and intermodal transport.
"The challenge for 2023 is to continue and improve our growth in line with the industrial plan, which includes major investments: 8 new 494LM Traxx class locomotives manufactured by Alstom (formerly Bombardier) have been ordered and will arrive in 2024, in addition to the 5 locomotives that will be delivered this year, allowing us to offer increasingly efficient services to our customers. At the same time, we must be able to increase internal efficiency through cost-cutting measures without affecting the workforce," said Maura Pessana, CEO of Captrain Italia.
