National freight multimodal transport system: The Italian project for the ITS integration

The analysis of the transport sector in Italy highlights serious deficiencies in infrastructure, management and organization and, in general, inadequate quality and competitiveness of the service offered. In order to support the solving of these critical issues, under the European ITS framework, as executor of the Italian Ministry of Transport, UIRNet SpA is creating in Italy the first multi-sided National Logistic ITS Platform (PLN) to make the national freight multimodal transport system efficient, reliable, safe, and eco-conscious using pervasive technology and collaboration among actors. This paper provides an overview of the integrated PLN, with emphasis on the IT services supplied.