Metrans’ terminal in Slovakia just got bigger
Metrans, the rail freight subsidiary of HHLA, expanded its terminal in Dunajská Streda, near the Slovakian border with Hungary. The terminal now has 50,000 extra…
Swedish rail investments “urgent” for industry to flourish
Investments in Swedish rail are a necessity for the country’s industry to flourish. One in four of Sweden’s industrial companies is seriously affected by disruptions,…
silk road business
China-Europe: railways are congested and container rates are spiking
China-Europe trade corridors are currently facing some significant issues concerning container rates as well as congestion along the railways. Concerning rail freight, congestion concerns the…
Rail Baltica mainline construction takes off in Latvia
Latvia is commencing construction works on the Rail Baltica mainline. The Rail Baltica team and its international partners gathered in Riga to mark the occasion,…
Lithuania’s LTG Group to ditch Russian locomotive safety system
As another step towards EU railway integration, the Lithuanian railway holding LTG Group will replace its current Russian KLUB-U locomotive safety system. The new one…
INTERVIEWs
Where does rail stand in the auto transport and logistics ecosystem?
Freight trains would appear to be particularly suited to the shipment of automobiles, considering their high volume capability and economic viability over long distances while…
PKP Cargo eyes “untapped” semi-trailer market for business revival
Polish state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo is looking for ways out of its dire financial situation. Earlier, the company’s new management took the drastic…
Europe’s mining giant scrapes for options to secure more rail capacity
LKAB, the largest mining company in Sweden (and Europe), relies heavily on rail freight transport along the Iron Ore Line, which connects the Swedish port…
Freight gets the message to British TV
Freightliner’s chief executive, Tim Shoveller, hosted a TV news crew aboard a long-distance intermodal service last week. The journey was the weekend lead for Channel…
TX Logistik launches new Göteborg – Umeå intermodal connection
TX Logistik is launching a new intermodal service in Sweden. The company will run a biweekly round trip from Göteborg to Umeå via Eskilstuna near…
Hupac’s numbers during 2023 decreased across the board
Hupac’s volumes in general fell by 11.7 per cent, from 975,000 to 845,000 road consignments. In financial terms, this translated into a “consolidated result” of…
Demonstration in Paris to save rail freight ‘for the planet and jobs’
A demonstration will be held in Paris today, Tuesday, 28 May, to save rail freight “for the planet and jobs.” The protest is being staged…
Business
company reogranisation
Azerbaijan Railways to merge ADY Container into ADY Express
Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) has merged its ADY Container subsidiary with ADY Express as part of its reorganisation process. This initiative will lead to container and…
Up to 20 per cent
LTG Cargo goes ahead with 2025 price increases
Lithuanian rail freight operator LTG Cargo has announced a number of price increases for its services. Supposedly, the increases will affect approximately a fifth of…
new names revealed
The successors of Fret SNCF officially have their names: Technis and Hexafret
The two entities replacing the French rail freight operator Fret SNCF now have their official name. The company taking care of locomotive maintenance will be…
Growing business
Polish operator Laude planning new terminal in Ukraine
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…
In Depth
rolling stock repurposing
UK electric shunter completes field trials
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…
Delay or no delay?
Fehmarnbelt tunnel’s rail freight traffic could be delayed until a decade from now
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…
optimistic predictions
Survey of French shippers highlights strong growth potential of rail freight
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…
Establishment of Carpatica Feroviar
Romania’s controversial plan to save state rail freight
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
company reogranisation
Azerbaijan Railways to merge ADY Container into ADY Express
Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) has merged its ADY Container subsidiary with ADY Express as part of its reorganisation process. This initiative will lead to container and…
back on track
China resumes direct rail freight service to Afghanistan
China is once again sending freight trains to its neighbour Afghanistan. It already started such a service in 2016, but is now giving it another…
Faster China - Europe traffic
Northern Corridor countries want automatic train registration system in 2025
Kazakhstan has presented plans to launch the so-called “Seamless Transit” project along the Northern Corridor between China and Europe in early 2025. It would enable…
Problems on the Russian network
Locomotive shortage causes at least 93% of Russian loading decline
Russian Railways (RZD) keeps struggling with a locomotive shortage, reducing its capacity to grow or even maintain its transported freight volumes. Loading has been declining…
Intermodal
balkan connections
RCG launches another service through Serbian subsidiary
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…
rail-port synergies
Spain launches two feasibility studies to boost rail freight in A Coruña port
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…
boosting combined transport
France’s master plan for combined transport highlights need for more terminals
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…
modal shift tests
Volkswagen to start EcoDuo-rail intermodal pilot between Germany and Spain
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
Public versus private
Dutch government and rail freight sector do not see eye to eye on DAC
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…
file: greening freight package
European associations ask for more concreteness over Greening Freight Package
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…
rail revolution?
MPs in France push to connect all logistics sites to the railways
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…
subsidy dilemma
Italy opens application for this year’s subsidies, but still hasn’t paid last year’s
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
rolling stock monitoring
Austrian solar-power tracking for DB Cargo
A Vienna-based telematics specialist has won a contract with DB Cargo AG to provide self-powered monitoring telematics hardware for freight rolling stock. CargoMon Systems GmbH…
Public versus private
Dutch government and rail freight sector do not see eye to eye on DAC
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…
rolling stock repurposing
UK electric shunter completes field trials
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…
New technology
Öresund bridge gets rail maintenance-reducing pilot
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…
Infrastructure
Infrastructure renovation
Germany kicks off Emmerich – Oberhausen works
Renovation works on the Emmerich – Oberhausen railway started on Saturday 2 November. It is an important route for freight trains, and will lead to…
rail-port synergies
Slovenian Parliament gives final approval for Divača-Koper doubling
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…
rail at a standstill
Valencia remains logistically isolated due to extreme weather conditions
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…
Rail overhaul
‘Freight to be primary beneficiary of 6 billion euros in Croatian investments’
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…