Port of Trieste making inroads into the Northern European market

Trieste is fast-becoming a major rival to Koper

Trieste Foto: Borut Živulović/BoBo

The Port of Trieste has become the busiest port in Italy in terms of cargo tonnage. The nearby Port of Koper is also facing increased competition from the Port of Trieste, since Slovenia still hasn’t built a second railway track between the inland hub of Divača and the Port of Koper.

On Wednesday, a train with 16 double stack cars bound for Northern Europe left the Port of Trieste. “This train allows us to penetrate into the Northern European market,” said Zeno D’Agostino, Commissioner of the Trieste Port Authority.

The train currently runs once a week, but is soon expected to run thrice a week. “This train proves that our Northern Adriatic basin can successfully serve Central Europe,” said terminal operator Francesco Parisi.

It takes the train 26 hours to reach the northern German port of Kiel (1360 kilometres), and another 14 hours to reach the Swedish city of Gothenburg (234 nautical miles). The train will reach its destination on Friday morning. According to D’Agostino, the train is carrying Turkish products designed for the German and Scandinavian markets, including household appliances, electronics, and clothes.

There is a healthy rivalry brewing between Koper and Trieste. “The competition between us is a good thing because it can spur growth,” said Parisi.

Mirjam Muženič; translated by D. V.