Freightliner chief says get costs down for sake of environment
Tim Shoveller, the chief executive of Genesee and Wyoming UK and Europe, less tongue twistingly branded as Freightliner, has bemoaned the rising cost of operating…
French shippers say rail freight improves but remains ‘very inadequate’
The findings of the latest annual study by the Association des Utilisateurs de Transport de Fret (AUTF) on how French shippers view the service offerings…
Spain introduces new scheme to keep an eye on track access charges
Despite being one of the countries with the lower track access charges for rail freight in Europe, Spain is implementing a new scheme to supervise…
North-South Europe fresh produce train may start trial in late 2024
A new rail freight route carrying fresh produce will start a pilot in late 2024. On a weekly basis, a train will make a return…
Ukrainian Railways is planning to launch 18 new European routes
Ukrainian Railways is planning to launch 18 new routes to European countries. Additionally, the company will seek to restore and build new multimodal container terminals…
China-EU freight through Russia nearly back at pre-war levels
Rail freight transit through Russia to the EU is nearly back at its pre-war level. As Houthi attacks endanger shipping on the Red Sea, shippers…
Czechia warns: Russia is trying to sabotage European rail
The Czech transport minister has warned that Russia is trying to sabotage European rail. The minister said that Russia has made thousands of attempts to…
Switzerland to invest in CargoBeamer’s Domodossola terminal
The Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) will invest 38,8 million francs (39.5 million euros) to build a transshipment facility in Domodossola, one of the…
GBRf Southampton to Hams Hall service begins today
GB Railfreight is making good on its promise to introduce a raft of new services and expand its operations. The company inaugurated a new Southampton…
French rail cooperative Railcoop to be dissolved next week
After five years of struggles to remain financially viable, French rail cooperative Railcoop will come to an end next week. The Cahors Commercial Court shall…
Operail Finland sale was 12 million euro “gift” to Finnish business
Estonia lost 12,3 million euros with the sale of the Finnish branch of Operail. Last year it sold Operail Finland, the former name of the…
Derailment makes triple Friday headache for British network
A triumvirate of deep depressions hit British railways on Friday. Commuters into London Paddington and airline travellers heading for Heathrow were grounded by a freight…
Business
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…
strikes on the horizon?
French labour unions get ready to go on strike over Fret SNCF discontinuity
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…
Privatisation
Operail goes private with real estate company Tiigi Keskus
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…
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
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…
International interest in Kazakhstan
Alstom to build 4 maintenance plants in Kazakhstan
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,…
Locomotives left lingering
Russian Railways: ‘We are using our capabilities in overheat mode’
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…
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…