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.