QCO (Quality Circle Operation) Villa Opicina-Sežana
In 2024 and 2025, the Villa Opicina–Sežana Task Force continued the activities undertaken in previous years to improve railway traffic between Italy and Slovenia. The priority objective is to achieve a significant reduction in the dwell time of freight trains in the Villa Opicina station, to prevent congestion that sometimes disrupt traffic on the entire eastern section of the Mediterranean Corridor. From mid-2024, a systematic day-by-day and train-by-train monitoring of dwell times was introduced, with data shared between the infrastructure managers and the railway undertakings concerned. This approach has led to greater operational transparency and the targeted identification of the main critical issues, laying the foundations for structured corrective measures. In 2025 and 2026, the Corridor is continuing to fulfil its coordinating role, with the primary aim of preventing traffic congestion and ensuring greater flow reliability along the eastern section of the Mediterranean Corridor.
QCO (Quality Circle Operation) Modane
With the involvement of RFI and SNCF Réseau, the Corridor has launched a similar initiative, aimed at reducing border transit times through the identification of joint initiatives with railway companies, also in anticipation of the construction of the new Turin-Lyon link.
In 2024, the Mediterranean Corridor continued to play an active coordinating role, following the landslide that occurred in August 2023 in the Maurienne Valley, which led to the disruption of railway links between Italy and France.
Throughout 2024 and into early 2025, the Corridor supported the International Contingency Management (ICM) processes, facilitating dialogue between infrastructure managers, operators and local authorities, and monitoring the rerouting solutions adopted.
The railway line reopened in March 2025. The Corridor will continue to monitor the developing situation and promote measures to improve cross-border rail traffic, considering also that the closure of the border crossing led to a significant loss of competitiveness for rail transport against road transport.
QCO (Quality Circle Operation) Perpignan-Barcelona
During the meeting held in Madrid in 2023, between the Mediterranean Corridor and ADIF, the “QCO Perpignan - Barcelona” Task Force was launched, with the aim of facilitating and improving cross-border cooperation between the three Managers - ADIF, SNCF Réseau and LFP - and all other stakeholders. The priority objectives identified are as follows:
- Optimisation of management procedures at Perpignan Station.
- Further development of the QCO BCP Perpignan-Barcelona, extended to operators and public authorities.
During 2024, the activities of the Perpignan–Barcelona Quality Circle Operation evolved from the start-up phase to a structured cooperation between the Infrastructure Managers involved and the other operational stakeholders. In 2025 and 2026, the Corridor is continuing to develop the QCO, assessing further operational measures – including possible extensions to night-time operating windows and further traffic management optimisation – to increase the reliability of the French-Spanish section, and full exploitation of its available capacity.
Managing unplanned interruptions (ICM – International Contingency Management) and planned interruptions due to maintenance works (TCR – Temporary Capacity Restriction)
In 2025, the Mediterranean Corridor monitored and managed major infrastructure disruptions along the main cross-border routes. The reopening of the Culoz–Modane line and the Fréjus Tunnel on 31 March 2025 marked a crucial milestone, after the prolonged disruption caused by landslides in the Maurienne Valley. However, infrastructure repair work and further adverse weather conditions led to additional operational restrictions during the early summer months of 2025, which required a phased restoration of the capacity, which reached its full potential by mid-July 2025.
At the same time, the Corridor managed other line closures linked to modernisation and infrastructure development works, such as the suspension of services on the Guadalajara–Santa María de Huerta section, and restrictions on the Rubí tunnel in Spain.
These events only confirmed the importance of a coordinated approach to the way Temporary Capacity Restrictions and International Contingencies are managed, reinforcing the Corridor’s role as a platform for cooperation between infrastructure managers, railway operators and institutional stakeholders.
