SWOMM 2011 – Railways, Mountains and Environment
Railways companies discussing further improvements of the Alpine transport
Rome, 13 December 2011 – The issue of traffic flows in mountain areas and, in particular, in the Alps, goes beyond national borders and needs to be thought again with a view to sustainable development and international cooperation. The Kyoto Protocol and the recent developments occurred in Durban, the policies of the European Union (EU) and the existing agreements between EU and Switzerland in the field of transport give a boost to States looking for new solutions, including a renewed attention to the railway sector and to the integration of different transport modes.
These themes have been analyzed during the Seventh Scientific Workshop on Mountain Mobility and Transport (SWOMM), which was held on 13 December 2011 at the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructures of Italy in Rome, to mark the celebrations for the International Mountain Day. The workshop SWOMM 2011 was promoted by the Italian Ministries for the Environment and for Transports, organized in cooperation with the Mountain Partnership Secretariat and the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) with the support of Transalpine Transport Architects (TRANSITECTS), the project on freight rail traffic in the Alps, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the “Alpine Space” Programme.
The panellist included a number of experts and the discussion was held under the auspices of the new Minister for the Environment of Italy Corrado Clini, who has sustained the SWOMM related initiatives since the very beginning in 2005. The speakers illustrated viable solutions aimed at addressing common problems such as the poor economic return on several rail lines and the lack of connections with other localities and regions: more effective planning of transport systems in national policies (Frey, Vescovi), increase in the use of innovative technologies (Senesi), improvements of the logistics in particular for freight transport (Ciochetta, Di Patrizi, Piccoli). In the afternoon important representatives of the secondary railways of the Alpine arch, gathered together in Rome for the first time, presented to the public a series of initiatives adopted by their companies to attract tourists and commuters, from all inclusive packages coupled with sport activities (ski pass, jumping, biking, canyoning, ect.) to trips made at the rhythm of blues and swing or inside carriages recognized as part of the world’s heritage by UNESCO.
The publication SWOMM 2010 – Transport and Environment in Mountain Areas was also launched during the workshop. Find it at this link: SWOMM 2010 or please send a request for hard copies to: info@swomm.info.
To find out more please see at this link the SUMMARY:
and please find the PRESENTATIONS of the speakers here below.
| Welcome: Fabio CROCCOLO, General Director, Italian Rail Regulation Office – Ministry for Infrastructures and Transport of Italy | |
| Moderator: Paolo ANGELINI, Italian Focal Point for the Alpine Convention – Ministry for the Environment of Italy and TRANSITECTS Project Partner | |
| Discussant: Marco PONTI, Politecnico di Milano | |
| Railways transports across the Alps: state-of-the- art and perspectives | |
| Infrastructures | |
| Stefano VESCOVI, Swiss Embassy in Rome | New railways across the Swiss Alps |
| Fabio SENESI, Rete Ferroviaria Italiana S.p.A.- Responsible Automatic Train Control – Department of Standard Regulations Development and Homologation | More trains on old rails: technological improvements |
| Harald FREY, Research Center of Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering – Institute of Transportation Vienna University of Technology | Traffic predictions and environmental benefits |
| Paolo CIOCHETTA, Head of the Technical Direction of NordCargo | The development of transalpine freight transports |
| The railway in service of Alps: opportunity for development | |
| Enrico BERNASCONI, Italian Representative for Ferrovia Retica SA | Retic Railways |
| Daniele CORTI, Director of Società Subalpina Imprese Ferroviarie – Ferrovia Vigezzina | Vigezzina Railway |
| Giancarlo CREPALDI, Director General Trentino Trasporti Esercizio | Trento-Malè Railway |
| Marco NIMIS, President of Club San Gottardo International Tourist Railway Mendrisio Valmorea Malnate Olona | Nimis |
| Freight deliver by trains | |
| Giacomo DI PATRIZI, Managing Director of Compagnia Ferroviaria Italiana | Freight transport for railways and logistics: a striking balance |
| Guido PICCOLI, Direttore ALOT S.c.a r.l. – Agenzia della Lombardia Orientale per i Trasporti e la Logistica | TRANSITECTS – Transalpine Transport Architects: intermodal Sustainable Solutions for the Alpine Rail Transport in a Changing Market |
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