Calabria region as competitive European terminal port for the Silk Maritime Road. Scenario Simulation

The markets globalization and the sustained world growth of trade in the last decades pushed many States toward new challenges; consistent investments are envisaged to build new great infrastructures. After an overview of some development Scenarios of world freight transport, the attention is focused on the Chinese project of Silk Roads. A comparative analysis based on Scenario simulations is proposed, in order to valuate different intermodal alternative routes between China and Central Europe. The set of alternative solutions includes a route across Calabria Region, taken as strategic multi-function terminal for the Maritime Silk Road, with a connection to the center of Europe by railway along the Adriatic-Ionian coast. A methodological approach is firstly described, based on transport supply model, some potential alternatives routes are identified and simulated, and finally the main results are illustrated and commented. The analyses are proposed from the perspective of a multimodal transport operator (MTO), but also considering the relationship between investment costs and potential benefits for a Euro-Chinese partnership.