Fermerci Association has sent a letter to the president of the Council, Giorgia Meloni, and ministers Matteo Salvini, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Adolfo Urso, Tommaso Foti and Gilberto Pichetto Fratin for to draw the attention of the Government to the serious situation that is currently being crossing Italian rail freight transport. The association has announced that in the communication to the government it has specified that, while looking carefully at the recent measures approved by the Council of Ministers in support of road transport and deeming them worthy to support the logistics sector national road, Fermerci highlighted how the rail freight sector continues to fail to receive adequate support measures, despite a a crisis that has been going on since 2022.

In the letter, the association asked for urgent measures to support for the sector, including: compensatory measures for companies penalized by infrastructural interruptions; the strengthening of the Ferrobonus; the rapid restoration and refinancing of the "Loco and Wagons" measures; The restoration of the regime facilitated excise duties for fuel used in activities railway shunting operations; the activation of a permanent table of comparison on rail freight transport.

The association recalled the latest data presented in the Annual Report Fermi 2026 which underline how in 2025 the rail freight traffic in Italy has fallen to around 49.4 million of train-km, with a reduction of about -8% compared to the three-year period a contraction determined by multiple factors: European industrial slowdown, geopolitical tensions increase in energy costs, disruptions of Alpine passes and above all the impacts of construction sites related to the implementation of the PNRR.

"The rail freight sector - specified the president of Fermerci, Clemente Carta, announcing the sending of the letter to the - fully understands the strategic importance of infrastructure investments are underway, but it is clear that the operating cost of this transformation is almost falling entirely on freight railway undertakings. Capacity reductions, Cancellations of train paths, route deviations and extra costs are putting a strain on the economic resilience of operators. The rail freight transport - continued Carta - is continuing to ensure the logistical continuity of the country even in extremely penalizing conditions. Freight trains are getting stopping not in protest, but to allow the realization of the strategic works envisaged by the PNRR".

In addition, Fermerci underlined that any further transfer of traffic from rail to road would produce inevitable negative consequences also from an environmental point of view, congestion of the road network, on the increase in the use of fossil fuels, in contrast with the European objectives of modal rebalancing and decarbonization.

"The real risk - concluded Carta - is that at the end of the completion of the infrastructure works, the country has a network more modern railway but a rail freight sector drastically downsized and no longer able to support Italy's industrial, logistical and environmental objectives, and of Europe'.