La Spezia Shunting Railways

What La Spezia Shunting Railways does

La Spezia Shunting Railways S.p.A. (LSSR) is the designated Unique Operator (Gestore Unico) of the Nodo La Spezia railway district, providing integrated railway shunting services for the Port of La Spezia under a regulatory concession granted by the Port Authority (now Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea) since 2013. LSSR operates three interconnected railway hubs — La Spezia Marittima, La Spezia Migliarina, and Santo Stefano di Magra — coordinating all train arrival and departure movements in real time through a centralized operations room active approximately 20 hours per day. The company is structured as an A.T.I. (Temporary Association of Enterprises, formalized October 2020) with Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal S.r.l., a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, combining port-specific shunting expertise with the state railway group's freight capabilities.

The service portfolio is built around a primary shunting product priced at €452.21 per train (uniform across all three hubs and inclusive of mandatory weighing), a secondary shunting product at €14.00 per wagon within connected terminal stations, wagon storage at €60 per wagon per day for stays exceeding 48 hours, and a basket of accessory activities (locomotive coupling/uncoupling, tail-signal handling, single-wagon shunting, train piloting, and inter-yard movements). Underlying operational technology consists of diesel shunting locomotives, a centralized operations room coordinating with RFI's Movement Manager at Marittima and Migliarina, and standardized track-cluster architecture across each station. LSSR publishes quarterly service punctuality monitoring reports as downloadable Excel files, demonstrating ongoing operational discipline.

Revenue mechanics are entirely transactional: LSSR earns per-train, per-wagon, per-day, or per-operation fees from railway companies, terminal operators, and Multimodal Transport Operators (MTOs) operating within the Port of La Spezia. The business serves enterprise B2B customers exclusively, with no consumer-facing component, and is geographically confined to the Eastern Ligurian Sea port system. Following the consolidation of three previously fragmented shunting operations, LSSR reports cumulative railway traffic growth of 35% and approximately five agents of daily labor savings relative to prior fragmented management.

Name

La Spezia Shunting Railways

Legal name

A.T.I. MERCITALIA SHUNTING & TERMINAL S.r.l. – LA SPEZIA SHUNTING RAILWAYS S.p.A.

Website

https://shuntinglaspezia.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

La Spezia Shunting Railways (LSSR) is the designated Unique Operator of the Nodo La Spezia railway district, providing integrated railway shunting, wagon storage, and accessory rail-handling services to railway companies, terminal operators, and MTOs across three port-area hubs in La Spezia, Italy, under a regulatory concession since 2013.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Shunting Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Rail Transportation (488210)

SIC

Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail Terminal Switching, Shunting & Yard Locomotive Services (TLAJAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial & Terminal Railroads (Plant/Port Switching) (TLADACAJ)

Keywords

• Railway shunting services
• Port railway operations
• Terminal shunting
• Intermodal wagon handling
• Rail freight logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Isola Del Cantone

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Primary Shunting Services: Primary shunting services at La Spezia Marittima, Migliarina, and Santo Stefano di Magra stations. Revenue per train regardless of station, including mandatory weighing service.
2. Secondary Shunting Services: Secondary shunting services at connected terminal stations. Revenue per single wagon (IN or OUT), attributed to terminal operators.
3. Storage Services: Wagon storage services at S. Stefano and La Spezia Marittima tracks for periods exceeding 48 hours.
4. Accessory Activities: Additional services including locomotive uncoupling/coupling, tail signal removal/application, single wagon shunting, wagon coupling, train locomotive piloting, train locomotive towing, and other movements between clusters and yards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

La Spezia Shunting Railways operates as the Unique Railway Shunting Operator (Gestore Unico) for the Nodo La Spezia railway district within the Port of La Spezia, providing primary train shunting, secondary wagon-level shunting, wagon storage, and accessory activities (locomotive coupling, tail signal management, piloting, towing) across three integrated stations. Services are coordinated through a centralized operations room active approximately 20 hours per day.

Product overview

La Spezia Shunting Railways operates as a unified railway shunting entity managing three interconnected railway hubs within the La Spezia port system: La Spezia Marittima, La Spezia Migliarina, and Santo Stefano di Magra. The company provides a portfolio of shunting services comprising primary shunting (€452.21 per train), secondary shunting within terminal stations (€14.00 per wagon), wagon storage exceeding 48 hours (€60 per wagon per day), and various accessory activities including locomotive coupling/uncoupling, signal management, and train piloting. All operations are coordinated through an operations room active approximately 20 hours per day, planning train arrivals and departures in real-time. The company publishes regular service punctuality monitoring reports as downloadable documents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary Shunting Service Main shunting service at La Spezia Marittima, Migliarina, and Santo Stefano di Magra stations, priced at €452.21 per train (IN or OUT) regardless of station, including mandatory weighing service with additional costs for overweight car handling.
• Secondary Shunting Service Secondary shunting service within connected terminal stations, priced at €14.00 per single wagon (IN or OUT), attributed to the terminal operator.
• Wagon Storage (Sosta) Wagon storage service at Santo Stefano and La Spezia Marittima tracks, charged at €60 per wagon per day for stays exceeding 48 hours.
• Accessory Shunting Activities Additional shunting services including locomotive train uncoupling/coupling (€16.15), tail signal removal/application (€10.77), single wagon or group shunting (€75.37/operation), wagon coupling (€32.30/operation), train locomotive piloting (€26.92), locomotive towing (€86.14/train), and other movements between clusters/yards (€21.53).
• Migliarina Station Operations Railway shunting operations at La Spezia Migliarina station, partially centralized and managed by RFI Movement Manager, with track clusters for train arrivals/departures and Valdellora Scalo supporting the backbone railway service to/from the port area.
• Marittima Station Operations Railway shunting operations at La Spezia Marittima station, including Marittima Nuova (connected to LSCT Ravano Terminal and Terminal del Golfo) and Marittima Vecchia with Riordino and Italia clusters serving LSCT/Fornelli and port facilities/Calata Paita.
• Santo Stefano Station Operations Railway shunting operations at Santo Stefano di Magra station, functioning as the hinterland terminal of the system with Passenger Track Cluster for passenger traffic and Freight Track Cluster serving Ex Intermodal and SVAR connections.
• Service Punctuality Monitoring Reports Regular monitoring and reporting of shunting service punctuality, published as downloadable Excel files covering quarterly and annual periods (Q1 2022 through Q1 2026), documenting delays and service performance metrics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Railway traffic growth of 35% achieved through integrated shunting operations
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal S.r.l.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Parent company and ATI partner. MERCITALIA S&T is a company within the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane group, with registered office in Genoa. Part of the MERCITALIA POLO which brings together all FSI Group companies operating in freight transport and logistics. The ATI (Associazione Temporanea di Impresa) partnership combines MIST's railway expertise with LSSR's port shunting operations.
• Port Authority of La Spezia (now Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Initiating partner that promoted the establishment of the Single Railway Shunting Entity (Soggetto Unico di manovra ferroviaria) in 2013. Led the formation of LSSR as a Virtuous example in shunting services.
• Terminal OperatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTerminal operators joined the LSSR initiative from establishment, along with the Port Authority. Part of the integrated system serving the La Spezia railway landscape.
• Multimodal Transport Operators (MTOs)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMTOs joined LSSR from inception as key stakeholders in the La Spezia railway system, contributing to integrated multimodal transport operations.
• Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI)majorTechnology or IntegrationRFI manages movement operations at La Spezia Marittima and Migliarina stations. LSSR coordinates with RFI's Movement Manager for train arrivals and departures, with connections branching from RFI-managed facilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Captrain Italia: Italian rail freight subsidiary of the Captrain (SNCF) group, operating freight and supporting shunting/terminal operations in Italy. Comparable as a competing rail freight carrier that consumes shunting services and operates in overlapping port/terminal flows.
• Mercitalia Shunting & Terminal S.r.l. The A.T.I. partner of LSSR and majority operator in the unified Nodo La Spezia shunting service. It is also part of the Mercitalia Polo, providing shunting and terminal services across other Italian ports/yards — making it the closest functional peer in port-rail switching.

Others

• Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI): Italy's rail infrastructure manager under FS Group; LSSR formally coordinates with RFI's Movement Manager at Marittima and Migliarina stations. While not a commercial competitor, RFI is the gatekeeper for all train movements and sets the operational frame LSSR works within.
• Contship Italia S.p.A. Container terminal operator group that operates LSCT La Spezia Container Terminal, one of LSSR's core customers. It is comparable as a port-rail interface operator within the same Nodo La Spezia district and an MTO ecosystem participant.
• Hupac Intermodal SA: Leading European intermodal operator that runs trains through La Spezia-area terminals. It is a key MTO customer of LSSR, making it adjacent to the shunting value chain even though it does not provide shunting itself.

Broad incumbents

• Mercitalia Rail S.r.l. Italy's leading freight rail operator and LSSR's sister entity under the Mercitalia Polo. It sets the demand for LSSR's shunting services through its line-haul trains, and offers comparable rail-port logistical capabilities across the broader Italian network.
• DB Cargo Italia: Italian arm of Deutsche Bahn's freight division, one of the largest European rail freight operators. It is comparable to LSSR's parent group as a major rail freight incumbent and prospective customer/competitor at La Spezia-area facilities.
• TX Logistik: European cross-border rail freight operator owned within the FS Group (MERCITALIA POLO). Comparable for its intermodal rail offerings through Italian ports and gateways that LSSR supports via shunting and storage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mercitaliashuntingandterminal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-spezia-shunting-railways-s.p.a

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Spezia Shunting Railways