• In Italy, freight transport develops almost entirely along the river Po and its adjacent canals. Between 2019 and 2021, the sector recorded an increase in the volume of goods transported, passing from 287,517 tonnes to 980,000 tonnes. This increase took place despite rather difficult hydrological conditions on the river Po.
• Passenger transport plays a major role in local public transport and tourism, and is highly developed on lakes in Northern Italy and in the Lagoon of Venice. The sector was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Nevertheless, figures for 2021 suggest a recovery to pre-pandemic levels.

 

INLAND WATERWAY FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN ITALY


     

  • Italian inland navigation develops almost entirely along the natural course of the river Po in northern Italy. The territory is characterised by a river system combining the river Po and artificial waterways or canals (Padano-Veneto waterway system), used for the transport of freight and passengers. An important artificial waterway is the Fissero–Tartaro–Canalbianco canal, which connects Mantua and the Adriatic Sea as an alternative to the river Po. Another strategic part of the system is the stretch that links the city of Milan, which is a productive economic centre for the country, with Cremona.
  • The waterway system of northern Italy and the northern Adriatic represents an interesting opportunity to connect the numerous industrial activities of the Po Valley and the Adriatic Sea, through an east-west connection.
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    FREIGHT TRANSPORT IN ITALY

    • Over the last years, freight transport volumes on the Padano-Veneto waterway system followed a decreasing trend until 2019. For instance, in 2019 the volume of goods transported diminished by 19.06%, passing from 355,222 tonnes registered in 2018 to 287,517.
    • The decreasing trend came to a halt in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cross-border road transport was strongly reduced due to lockdowns. This caused a sudden need to increase inland waterway transport. The following strong demand lifted volumes up to 858,884 tonnes in 2020. The gain was confirmed in 2021, when 980,000 tonnes were transported.
    • Other stimulating factors are coming from public initiatives. In 2019, the Italian government launched a decree to support inland waterway freight transport, with the aim of improving the modal split share in the future.6
    • Within the Padano-Veneto waterway system, the Port of Mantua and its adjacent industry berths represent two vital spots for inland waterway freight transport in Italy. The city has a strategic position that connects its port to the Adriatic Sea through the Fissero-Tartaro-Canalbianco canal and the river Po. Moreover, the settlement of the chemical plants nearby the port favours the economic activity of the inland navigation sector in this area. Another relevant segment concerns metals.
    • Project cargo has always represented a solid reality for the Padano-Veneto waterways transport sector. An increasing number of platforms and equipment for the transshipment of this cargo segment is available in inland and maritime ports of the Padano-Veneto waterway system.
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    THE HYDRAULICITY CONDITIONS ON THE RIVER PO

    • Figure 1 illustrates hydraulicity levels from 2013 to 2021 for five stretches that entirely cover the navigable parts of the river Po from west to east. Hereby, the stretch from Piacenza to Isola Serafini is the most western river stretch (see also the map). The most eastern stretch extends from Pontelagoscuro to the lock of Volta Grimana near the Adriatic Sea.
    • The two stretches that connect Cremona with Mantua (Cremona – Estuary Mincio) showed the most favourable navigation conditions, with two metres draught guaranteed for an average of 270.0 days in 2020 and 137.5 in 2021. Conversely, the stretches between Mantua and Ferrara (Estuary Mincio – Pontelagoscuro) and between Piacenza and Isola Serafini presented critical water level conditions compared to the average of the whole river.
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      FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF DAYS WITH AVAILABLE DRAUGHT LEVELS HIGHER OR EQUAL TO 2 METRES ON THE DIFFERENT STRETCHES OF THE RIVER PO – FROM 2013 TO 2021


      Source: Agenzia Interregionale per il fiume Po – AIPo
       

    PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN ITALY

    • Passenger transport in Italy plays an important role for local public transport and tourism, especially for the main lakes of the country and the Venetian Lagoon. Italy, together with Germany, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland, counts the highest turnover in the passenger transport sector and the highest number of day trip vessels in Europe. In 2020, the sector was severely affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • As illustrated in Figure 2, the total number of passengers transported on Italian inland waterways (including lakes) shows an increasing trend rising from 99.4 million passengers in 2002 to 158.5 million in 2019. In 2020, the containment measures of the virus caused a drop of 44% in total passenger transport, down to 88.8 million persons. In 2021, the figures recovered and reached an estimated number of 173.4 million passengers (+9.4% compared to 2019).
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      FIGURE 2: NUMBER OF PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED ON MAIN INLAND WATERWAYS IN ITALY – VENETIAN LAGOON, ITALIAN LAKES (SCHEDULED SERVICES), RIVER PO AND CANALS (MILLION PASSENGERS)


      Source: Italian Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility (Conto Nazionale delle Infrastrutture e del Trasporto)
      * Data on passenger transport on the river Po and its canals are available from 2010 onwards. The total number of passengers in the year 2021 is an estimation. Detailed data for the three categories were not available.

       

    • The Venetian Lagoon represents about 92% of Italian passenger transport, accounting for 146 million passengers in 2019 and 84 million in 2020. Except for 2020, passenger numbers followed an increasing trend with a growth of 64% between 2002 and 2019. There are two main reasons behind this growing trend. Firstly, the public transport of citizens in Venice occurs to a large extent via navigation because of the geographical configuration of the city. Secondly, tourism represents the largest share of Venice’s economic activity.
    • Scheduled passenger transport services on the main Italian lakes represent around 7% of total passenger transport on Italian inland waterways and is developing in a positive direction.
    • The transport of passengers on the Padano-Veneto waterways system (river Po and canals) amounted to 10,473 in 2019, representing only a tiny fraction (<0.1%) of total passenger transport on Italian inland waterways.
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      FIGURE 3: NUMBER OF PASSENGERS ON LAKE VESSELS FOLLOWING A SCHEDULED SERVICE IN ITALY (IN MILLION PASSENGERS)*


      Source: Italian Ministry of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility (Conto Nazionale delle Infrastrutture e del Trasporto)
      * Other Italian lakes: Lago d’Orta, Lago di Ceresio/Lugano, Lago di Bolsena, Lago di Idro, Lago di Viverone, Lago Trasimeno

       
       

FACT SHEET IWT IN SWITZERLAND – ANNUAL FIGURES

ABSOLUTE VALUE7 FOR ITALY VS SHARE IN EU TOTAL


 

Sources: CCNR analysis based on Eurostat data [sbs_na_1a_se_r2]
 
Notes on the factsheet:
#) In contrast with transport performance, for transport volume, a country-specific share cannot be calculated.
The modal split share is defined as the percentage of inland waterway freight transport performance (in TKM) within total land-based transport performance. Land-based freight transport modes include road, rail and inland waterways. The road freight activity is reported according to the territoriality principle, where international road freight transport data are redistributed according to the national territories of where the transport actually takes place. These principles are implemented in the Eurostat series [tran_hv_frmod].