AFA says it recorded a 17% increase in the first two months, July and August, a period when volumes are normally reduced. Frequencies were raised from three to four trains per day to meet demand, and lorry semitrailers now account for a third of all units carried on this route.
AFA carried almost 25,700 accompanied and non-accompanied lorry trailers last year, using Lohr Industries Modalohr wagons and horizontal loading system.
The service covers a distance of 173km and links the French transhipment terminal at Aiton, 25km from Chambery, with Orbassano in Turin with a journey time of around three hours. AFA operates two trains of 11 wagons, although the terminals are designed to allow 15-wagon trains.
AFA was launched in November 2003, initially with financial support from the French and Italian governments and the European Union, although it has operated profitably since 2006.
