The European transport sector has a new political leadership. Apostolos Tzitzikostas has been appointed Sustainable Transport & Tourism Commissioner by the Commission’s head, Ursula von…
The major upgrade of the 30-kilometre rail freight feeder line between Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne and Sablé-sur-Sarthe in western France was officially inaugurated last week following a nine-month…
Central and Eastern Europe have been dealing with extreme weather conditions for the past few days, with a significant impact on rail freight in different…
Italian oil giant Eni is partnering with the state-owned rail freight operator Mercitalia Rail, for the rail transport of four of its products. The contract…
Rail may hold the keys to climate friendly solutions in transport, but sometimes climate change hits back at the sector. This week, parts of Central…
The Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) is now operational after the completion of the first construction phase. Europe’s largest inland container terminal was officially inaugurated on…
The heavy rainfall in Central and Eastern Europe has not spared Romanian rail freight. Traffic has either been suspended or is severely limited in various…
Rail border crossings between Kazakhstan and China are heavily congested. As a result, Kazakhstan halted container and grain trains going to the Chinese border on…
The French Agency for the Ecological Transition (ADEME) approved financial schemes to fund six rail projects aimed at boosting the modal shift. Once completed, these…
Spanish logistics and transport companies are interested in extending the Madrid-Valencia rolling highway to Valladolid, according to the country’s Ministry of Transport Oscar Puente. The…
Rail freight in Southern Poland is also affected by floods, similarly to the extreme weather conditions in Czechia and Austria. Traffic on mainlines is reportedly…
Chinese freight trains destined for Russia are facing delays of several weeks. Trains heading to Europe are reportedly being prioritised by Chinese companies because the…
Business
Polish rail operator Laude Smart Intermodal seems on track to surpass last year’s freight volumes of its Ukrainian operations, with January-September figures approaching total 2023…
Four labour unions at France’s State railway continues to call for a moratorium on the discontinuity of Fret SNCF and have brandished the threat of…
There is a purchase and sale agreement for Estonian national rail operator Operail. It is Tiigi Keskus, an Estonian real estate company that also owns…
The German Ministry of Transport presented its rail traffic forecast for 2040, showing significant optimism especially when it comes to freight. Concerning total tonnes transported,…
In Depth
Developers Positive Traction have successfully completed trials with their prototype electric shunter, rebuilt from a successful diesel design dating back to the 1930s. Their first-of-a-kind…
The Fehmarnbelt tunnel is supposed to provide a shortcut to rail freight traffic, alongside road traffic, from Germany into Scandinavia. The grand opening of the…
A major study of the development of rail freight in the industrial and agricultural sectors in France has concluded that there is the potential for…
CFR Marfă, Romania’s state-owned rail freight operator, will soon be liquidated following bankruptcy. In its place will now come a new state-owned operator by the…
Asia-Europe
French rail rolling stock manufacturer Alstom is building four maintenance centres in Kazakhstan. The total investment revolves around 50 million euros and the first site,…
Problems on the Russian railway network seem to be persistent and worsening. Reportedly, there are more and more locomotives being left unused, all the while…
Besides the recently announced 400 million dollar deal with Kazakh Railways (KTZ), American rail technology company Wabtec is delivering more rolling stock to the rail…
The Kazakh Port of Kuryk, on the Caspian Sea coast, will get three new terminals. They are supposed to be ready by 2027, and Abu…
Intermodal
Austrian rail freight operator Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is launching a new service through its recently established Serbian subsidiary. The service will connect Serbia’s capital…
The Spanish ministry of transport began two feasibility studies concerning the port of A Coruña, in the northwest of the country. One of the studies…
France has published a “national master plan” for combined transport. Drawn up by the State Directorate-General for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility (DGITM), in close collaboration…
A new intermodal pilot project to move Volkswagen products between Germany and Spain will start in 2025. The initiative, led by the German Association of…
Policy
The Dutch state secretary for infrastructure, Chris Jansen, recently attended a Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) demonstration with his German counterpart. Jansen sees potential in the…
The Greening Freight Package remains a significant initiative for the European Union. One of its pillars, the Combined Transport Directive, is however once again in…
A French Parliamentary bill aimed at developing rail freight has been tabled by a group of MPs which, if passed into law, would oblige all…
The Italian Ministry of Transport has opened applications for the 2024/25 Ferrobonus incentive, one of the main measures to support the country’s rail freight sector.…
Technology
The Dutch state secretary for infrastructure, Chris Jansen, recently attended a Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) demonstration with his German counterpart. Jansen sees potential in the…
Developers Positive Traction have successfully completed trials with their prototype electric shunter, rebuilt from a successful diesel design dating back to the 1930s. Their first-of-a-kind…
The Öresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden is the site of a pilot project that is supposed to reduce maintenance on the rail tracks. With…
Kazakh Railways (KTZ) has tested a service with a double-stack container load. Its freight subsidiary KTZ Express cooperated with wagon manufacturer Ziksto (ЗИКСТО) to make…
Infrastructure
The Slovenian Parliament officially approved the project to double the Divača-Koper railway line. Construction works for the second track leading into the country’s largest port…
The east of Spain is currently experiencing extreme weather conditions, especially in the area of Valencia. The events have already claimed dozens of lives, caused…
Croatia is planning to invest a record 6 billion euros in its railway infrastructure during the coming decade. Its infrastructure manager, HŽ Infrastruktura, says that…
The London Olympics of 2012 is still developing, and rail freight is the last medal winner. The UK infrastructure agency Network Rail has been given…