On June 30, 2024, the commencement of the P400 semi-trailer rail connection managed by Tramesa between the port of Valencia and Madrid allowed Trans Italia (which has collaborated on this rail project from the beginning, including the experimental phase) to implement trimodal road-sea-rail transport from Italy to Spain. The Italian carrier has been using the sea highways between the two countries since 1997, initially using the Grimaldi route between Salerno and Barcelona, later moving the Iberian port of call to Valencia.
Today, Trans Italia utilizes a wider range of Italian ports, loading semi-trailers onto Grimaldi's ro-ro vessels departing from the ports of Salerno, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Savona, Palermo, and Catania towards Valencia. Most of the journey is thus carried out by sea and then by train from the Spanish port to Madrid, minimizing road transport to the initial and final stretches. Trans Italia estimates that this solution will shift over ten thousand industrial vehicles per year from road-only transport, anticipating an 85% reduction in GHG emissions per single trip between Valencia and Madrid.
In the days leading up to the official launch of the Spanish rail connection, Trans Italia and Tramesa conducted various feasibility tests, including loading and unloading semi-trailers at the port of Valencia. The Spanish rail infrastructure manager Adif also collaborated on the project by adopting the line profile to make it suitable for P400 semi-trailer traffic. Trans Italia's CEO, Luigi D'Auria, hints that the company's multimodal strategy does not stop here: "The company has ambitious plans to further expand its network, aiming to reach Portugal as well."
