Nurminen Logistics is extending its Örebro–Parma block train to North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Malta through a new partnership with Italian shipping and logistics group Tarros, adding a 109-kilometre truck leg to the port of La Spezia.

The Finnish operator has run two return services per week on the Sweden–Italy corridor since early 2026, with a rail transit time of 2.5 to 3 days. The Tarros agreement opens onward maritime forwarding from La Spezia's Terminal del Golfo, where Tarros Group and Carbox deliver inland transport, terminal handling and shipping.

"The real value for customers lies in the competitive transit time and simplicity of the service. We coordinate every stage of the journey, making a complex international transport chain straightforward for the customer," said Marjut Linnajärvi, vice president of International Rail Operations and Sales at Nurminen Logistics.

What does the service cover?

The door-to-door package bundles rail, road and maritime transport, terminal handling, freight forwarding, customs clearance and documentation under a single booking. Shippers can consign individual pallets, LCL cargo, full container loads or complete trainloads on the Örebro–Parma block train. Unloading, storage and distribution in both Italy and Sweden sit with Lanzi Trasporti, Nurminen's partner since the initial service launch in February 2026.

The simplified model removes a layer of coordination work that has historically made intermodal Nordic–Mediterranean chains expensive to administer for small and mid-sized shippers, who would otherwise have to contract hauliers, forwarders and shipping lines separately.

How does the Mediterranean extension work?

The Italian port leg is short — 109 kilometres by truck between Parma and Terminal del Golfo at La Spezia — but it unlocks Tarros' established Mediterranean network. The road haul carries containers loaded at the rail terminal directly to the quayside, with no intermediate cross-docking. Tarros takes responsibility from the port gate onwards.

From the terminal, Tarros connects to ports across North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Malta. Carbox supports Tarros for inland collection, terminal handling and the sea crossings themselves. Customers deal with Nurminen throughout, and Tarros carries the equivalent product back from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia in the opposite direction.

What does the rail timetable look like?

Two block trains depart each direction per week, producing four weekly movements on the corridor. End-to-end rail transit runs at 2.5 to 3 days, putting the service within competitive range of all-road alternatives for many commodity groups. The Örebro terminal anchors the Swedish end, drawing on Nurminen's existing Nordic customer base.

For customers, the practical effect is a fixed weekly departure slot rather than a flexible booking window. Rail provides the bulk of the long Scandinavian–Italian haul, while the short Italian road section acts as a feeder to the ship. Nurminen is marketing the offer to shippers moving palletised consumer goods, industrial inputs and project cargo that does not justify full-train volumes but still benefits from rail's reliability on the main leg.

What gaps remain?

Nurminen has not disclosed tonnage or volume projections for the extended Mediterranean leg, nor end-to-end transit guarantees covering the maritime section. Specific sailing frequencies, port rotations and indicative transit times to the new destination countries have not been published.

The combined service rests on Nurminen's ability to align its two-train-a-week rail schedule with Tarros' port calls at La Spezia, and on Tarros maintaining sailing frequency into North African, Eastern Mediterranean and Maltese ports at competitive rates. The expanded offer is open for booking now, with the companies positioning the product as a coordinated alternative to direct all-road haulage between Scandinavia and southern Europe — a corridor where rail has so far captured only a fraction of total freight volumes.