The Freight Village Community

According to the definition provided in the Italian Law 240/1990 – also known as the Freight Village Law – a freight village is “a complex combination of integrated structures and services aimed at the exchange of goods among different transport modalities, always including a railroad shipment yard capable of forming or receiving full train consists and connected to ports, airports and large communication routes”. 
The idea leading to the construction of freight villages derived from the need for modernising the overall distribution system in Italy. In this sense it was included at institutional level also into the General Transport Plan to face the competition caused by the European integration and globalisation by streamlining processes.

Freight villages are complex structures created to promote and implement intermodal transport, i.e. the integration of at least two different freight transport modalities. Today, almost 20 years after the outline law dealing with this sector, they are increasingly contributing to the completion of the distribution system, thus playing a pivotal role in the development of an integrated logistic network.
Legislation dealing with freight villages
PROGETTO 80
It was developed by the Italian Ministry for Budget and Economic Planning in 1970 and envisaged general topics and guidelines on the development of infrastructures considered as a priority to solve freight transport problems. The solution proposed envisaged the implementation of “distribution centres” near transport terminals located in strategic areas. Railways played a vital role to connect those areas and link them to the rest of the Italian and foreign territory.
PIANO GENERALE DEI TRASPORTI (1986)
The first real comprehensive programming document providing an overall view of the transport sector at national levels included the forecasts and guidelines of Progetto 80 and identified freight villages as strategic solutions to group specialised logistic structures in dedicated structures connected to important road, railway, port and airport hubs. To this aim, the General Transport Plan envisaged a network organised in the territory according to two distinct levels, articulated in five major hubs controlling at least 10.15 secondary hubs.
ITALIAN LAW DATED 4TH AUGUST 1990, N. 240
It was entitled “State initiatives to develop freight villages aimed at freight transport and fostering intermodality” and still is the outline law on freight villages. It provided their legal definition and assigned tasks and responsibilities in terms of planning, organisation and management. One of its most important provisions envisages that the State – through the Ministries of Transport and Public Works – is responsible for promoting, planning and checking the construction and subsequent management of infrastructures with a view to the protection of public interests and the achievement of social objectives already identified in the General Transport Plan.
The Law envisages the implementation of a Five-year transport plan also aimed at developing a two-tier network of freight villages, whose fundamental hubs include nine first-tier freight villages complemented by a series of second-tier freight villages to be identified  in each Italian region. The basic criteria to define the network include the location of infrastructures near important freight transport areas and important multimodal corridors (identified in the General Transport Plan) and the possibility to streamline and integrate a series of transport-related services. 
The overview of the first-tier freight villages envisaged therein includes:  Rivalta Scrivia and Orbassano (Piedmont), Segrate-Lacchiarella (Lombardy), Verona e Padua (Veneto), Bologna and Parma (Emilia Romagna), Livorno-Guasticce (Tuscany) and Marcianise-Nola (Campania).
CIPET: DELIBERA DEL 7/4/1993
When the new five-year Freight village plan is passed, the distinction between first-tier and second-tier freight villages is cancelled and the prerequisites are set according to which freight villages  may be considered of national importance. They include organisational, economic and strategic prerequisites.
ITALIAN LAW DATED 30TH MAY 1995, N. 204
It was entitled “Urgent actions in the transport sector”, substantially modified the previous Law n. 240/90 and envisaged further provisions with which freight villages should comply. The basic service conditions are established along with the prerequisites that all structures need to comply with to receive subsidies from the State, e.g. being included in Regional transport plans and operate in areas complying with the territorial planning provisions in force.
ITALIAN LAW DATED 23rd DECEMBER 1997, N. 454
It was entitled “Actions to restructure road transports and develop intermodality”. Article 9 envisaged the possibility to obtain subsidies to create freight villages aimed at strengthening the Italian freight village network and stresses that actions are urgently needed in the most heavily trafficked intermodal hubs in the light of nearby railway lines of primary importance at national level and “Outline-Plans” or other regional planning instruments.For completeness’ sake, mention must be made of Law 166/2002, entitled “Provisions for infrastructures and transports”.