In November 2008, in the framework of the European community project TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network) the Commission granted the funding request advanced by Italian Ministry for Public Infrastructures and transportation and SAVE, acting as implementing body. The funding will be used to draft a feasibility study for the transformation of Marco Polo airport into an intermodal centre. The commission declared the project to be of EU interest, acknowledging the interventions’ relevance and strategic value to develop connections between several transportation systems within the European network.

SAVE’s goal is now to verify technical, economic and managing feasibility of the Ocean/Air/Truck/Rail intermodal exchange centre as outlined in the airport development plan. The study should verify the project environmental risk and territory compatibility, outline realization steps and identify financial needs to be met by public and private intervention. The intermodal area will include a new underground railway station connected to a series of transportation infrastructures such as the regional metropolitan railways system (due in 2020), AV/AC standard railway line Venice-Trieste (due in 2030), Venice sub-lagoon metro system, water dock, People Mover linking to the air station, exchange parking system and complementary services.

The airport development will thus include the introduction of the railway as a new transportation system; the terminal will serve both AV and regional lines. The railway will be a very influent element in the characterization of the landside area. Linking various transportation flows (airport and railway) the intermodal centre will be centrally located with respect to the landside area, all of its parts will be within walking distance and characterized by limited height differences. The project will also include a commercial mall in order to benefit at the most from the centre’s interchange functions; thus all elements (passenger terminal, ground level and multi-storey car park, underground train station) will be visually and functionally connected by means of commercial spaces designed according to a complex cross section. In the surroundings there will be parking areas for the AV station and its additional structures.

Assisted by One Works S.p.a, in February 2009, Save presented the “Feasibility study of Marco Polo Venice international airport intermodality node. Selected further to the 2008 AP Call for Proposals in the domain of Air, Waterborne Transport, Logistics, Innovation & Co-modality. Technical and financial informations” to the European Commission. The document defines and plans all necessary activities for the implementation of the project. Now under development, the “preliminary feasibility study” will be concluded by the end of 2009. This study is aimed at expanding the estimates included in the global project through the development of a master plan that will integrate all existing projects into a unified and coherent design, able to guarantee expected efficiency, environmental sustainability, urban quality and cost containment.

In consideration of the projects strategic role, of the designed works complexity, of the elevated number of institutions involved as well as the different degree of development of each infrastructural intervention all project partners have gathered in a round table aimed at the definition of shared strategic guidelines. The content of the “preliminary feasibility study for the intermodal node” will deepen and detail the already existing airport development plan, that is now under scrutiny of ENAC, an institution especially concerned with the landside area.