On 19 March, the Commission published the EU Transport Scoreboard, an interactive tool that shows the scores and ranking of European countries.
The indicators are grouped thematically , from the domestic market to investment and infrastructure, energy and impact on the population.
Particularly disappointing is the ranking in our country in the efficiency of rail services (3.90 out of 7 points, with 21 European countries doing better) and in the efficiency of port services (4.54 out of 7, with 14 countries with a better score).
The European Directorate-General for Transport (DG MOVE) also points to a certain delay in completing the TEN-T network for Italy, with roads at a standstill of 81% of the planned network, 70% for conventional rail and only 41% for high-speed rail.
The results look better in the area of transport research and sustainability, sectors in which Italian transport companies invest a lot of resources. In fifth place (1.64% of investment as a percentage of GDP). Moreover, our country can boast one of the most extensive electrified railway networks in Europe.
Unfortunately, we are at the bottom of the list when it comes to consumer satisfaction with transport services, including urban transport.
The picture painted by these indicators, which certainly also suffer from the difficulty of measuring the quality and especially the competitiveness of the transport system, highlights the distance of our country from the main competitors of Western Europe and a degree of congestion of the road network that should lead to privilege the maritime and rail transport modes which, however, emerge as still inadequate in relation to demand.
The current energy transition, with the desirable recovery also in terms of electric and sustainable mobility, could alleviate the pollution problems of many Italian cities and make the transport chain more efficient and sustainable.
The completion of the Central TEN-T network, i.e. the major trans-European transport axes, could contribute, in this sense, by 2030, to connect nodes and respective markets. Further action will be needed, however, to make freight and passenger transport services more competitive and to make the modal shift a reality.