Trilink: the radical West Coast Main Line upgrade explained

Network Rail, the British government’s infrastructure management agency, has given a briefing and update on the Trilink project. The immense upgrade is quietly underway on…
Latvia appoints special Rail Baltica secretary amid strategy change

In the midst of a troubled implementation of Rail Baltica in Latvia, the country is undergoing a strategy change. Latvia is centralising the project’s management…
Is the Capacity Management Directive taking the wrong turn?

The Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP) seemed to be a sign of EU-wide political will to bring significant changes and improve the transport sector in…
German TAC lawsuit follows political deal that shields local passenger rail

The German rail sector is heading into a pivotal lawsuit that could decide the future of the country’s track access charges (TAC) policy. Eleven rail…
HHLA off to a rocky start in 2024, last year’s trends continue

HHLA’s intermodal services experienced a “significant decrease in volumes” in the first quarter of 2024. Rail transport fell by 3,2 per cent, while container transport…
UPS and CargoBeamer expand partnership with new test service

CargoBeamer and UPS are cooperating on an intermodal service connecting Italy to Greece. The two companies ran a successful test which entailed rail transport between…
Iran and India overcome key hurdle for Chabahar’s INSTC port operation

Iran and India have signed an agreement that will enable the purchase of cargo handling equipment for the port of Chabahar. The port, located in…
Freightliner strengthens electric locomotive roster

UK operator Freightliner, part of the American Genesee and Wyoming corporation, has made a pair of locomotive purchases. They come from rival DB Cargo UK,…
China to build four rolling stock production sites in Hungary

CCRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CCRC, signed agreements with Hungarian equity fund Acemil to build four facilities in the…

Business

legal battle ahead? ‘DB InfraGO seeks to change rules with planned 35% TAC increase for 2026’

Track access charges (TAC) in Germany remain an issue for the rail freight industry. They will rise 16.2 per cent in 2025, with industry associations…
against fret sncf discontinuation French rail unions call for strike on 21 November, and it might only be the beginning

“It’s time for conflict at SNCF”. This is how four French rail trade unions began their note announcing a 24-hour general strike for Thursday, 21…
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…
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In Depth

interview ‘It’s hard to convince shippers to use combined transport services’

Lahaye Global Logistics is a French family-owned road haulage and logistics company based in Brittany. Railfreight.com spoke to Bastien Thirion, Lahaye’s director of rail freight,…
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…
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Asia-Europe

To participate in INSTC Iran wants to join CIS railway network

Iran is looking to join the Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) railway network. If Iran’s bid were to be accepted, it would allow Tehran to…
Problems on the Russian network Russian Railways leaked audio: ‘We want hundred thousand wagons off the rails’

In a leaked conversation with Russian government officials, Russian Railways’ (RZD) head Oleg Belozerov ordered no less than 100,000 wagons to be removed from the…
France-Kazakhstan axis Kazakh Railways and Alstom expand partnership with new type of locomotive

Kazakh Railways (KTZ) signed an agreement with French locomotive manufacturer Alstom for the production of a new type of electric locomotive for rail freight transport.…
Istanbul - Bulgaria Türkiye completes vital rail tunnel drilling for Asia – Europe freight traffic

Türkiye has completed excavations for an important rail tunnel that is supposed to enhance freight traffic to and from Europe. The tunnel is a relatively…
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Intermodal

interview ‘It’s hard to convince shippers to use combined transport services’

Lahaye Global Logistics is a French family-owned road haulage and logistics company based in Brittany. Railfreight.com spoke to Bastien Thirion, Lahaye’s director of rail freight,…
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…
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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.…
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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…
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Infrastructure

DANA aftermath No reopening of Valencia-Madrid railway highway until December

After only four months from its launch, the rolling highway service between Valencia and Madrid is now unavailable due to the disastrous wave of extreme…
Diversification Switzerland goes ahead with 80 million euro investment in French railway line

It has been talked about for quite some time, but now it’s official: an 80 million euro investment in French railway infrastructure has been approved…
new infrastructure, no traffic Still no trains along renewed rail freight line in southwest France

Public investments for 25 million euros have been spent on renovating a 12.5 kilometre-long rail freight line between Laluque and Tartas, in south-west France. However,…
Istanbul - Bulgaria Türkiye completes vital rail tunnel drilling for Asia – Europe freight traffic

Türkiye has completed excavations for an important rail tunnel that is supposed to enhance freight traffic to and from Europe. The tunnel is a relatively…
More Infrastructure