Problem to be addressed.

The Alpine Space is heavily affected by freight traffic. Although the global economic crisis caused a decrease of transport flows the negative effects of freight traffic remain present. The modal split is in favor of the road (e.g. 71% 2007 on the Brenner) which means that the majority of the existing traffic is still running on the road. Reasons for that are: the rail isn't attractive enough, existing rail products aren't suitable (wrong relation, wrong system) nor sufficient (no capacities), the intermodal system isn't easily accessible and there aren't enough intermodal nodes with sufficient capacities (e.g. less terminals in Southern Germany than in Northern Italy).

Above all the logistic market and the environmental sensitive Alpine Space will face following new challenges in the long term: The global growth of containers will spill over to the ports of the Adriatic (e.g. Koper) and Ligurian (e.g. Genova) sea and the Alpine Space. If there won't be offered attractive rail products the already existing growth of freight traffic on the road will be sharpened strongly. This awareness is a result of AlpFRail in which an approach for the shift from road to rail could be developed and a basis for solution and cooperation could be created. But as the traffic volume is enormous and many different political and economic interests are represented the need for further development of  transnational measures as well as attractive and suitable intermodal services is clearly visible. In times of economic crisis like this many companies find time to restructure their organizations and their logistics and will be open to innovative ideas and products. The market is waiting for suitable intermodal solutions. Freight traffic doesn't end at the borders of the Alpine Space, but is a long-running transport. Necessary are transnational intermodal solutions that can be extended and joint to spaces and actions beyond the Alpine Space.

Objective of the project TRANSITECTS.

Focus of the project lies on making rail more attractive and accessible for the logistic market by offering competitive and sustainable alternatives to the road and thereby to mitigate the negative effects of traffic.
The main objectives of the projects:
development of innovative, sustainable and transnational solutions for both forms of combined transport (accompanied and unaccompanied) (WP 4 and WP 5), assessment of all developed intermodal solutions from the environmental point of view (WP 6)  fostering the accessibility to the railway network by performing following joint transnational coordination activities in the European network (WP 7)
improving the accessibility to intermodal nodes,
optimizing of infrastructure (e.g. Brenner corridor)
development of synergies and leverage effects with other projects beyond the Alpine Space.

The project meets strategic territorial (e.g. Veneto and Baviera fostering intermodal nodes), regional (e.g. Tyrol: shift from road to rail, Baden-Wurttemberg trade relations to Northern Italy), European aims (Gothenburg and Lisbon objectives) and aims of the Alpine Space program (promoting and improving access and use of existing infrastructure, mitigating the negative consequences of traffic flows).

The project aims to be a best practice example how transnational attractive long-lasting intermodal freight services can be prepared and created by public bodies coming from a different national context. As the growth of freight traffic correlates with the economic growth it is impossible to quantify the project's objectives with e.g. a change of the modal split. But the number of intermodal services and improved intermodal nodes will rise, see section 3.5 for more details.