KTZ temporarily bans agricultural exports to China after border overload

Kazakh Railways (KTZ) has temporarily banned the export of agricultural goods via rail to China. KTZ explains the ban by referring to overloaded border crossings.
Maritime appointed rail freight operator at forthcoming West Midlands Interchange

The UK multimodal freight carrier Maritime Transport has been appointed rail freight operator at the West Midlands Interchange. The government-designated strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI)…
Bridge in Russia collapses onto rail tracks: Traffic restored in a day

A road bridge in Russia has collapsed onto rail tracks. The debris of the bridge blocked the main rail line between Russia and Belarus. While…
European rail a mixed bag: Polish PKP Cargo profits while others struggle

Rail freight operators in Europe are performing very differently. Big names such as DB Cargo and Lineas are in trouble, but in Poland, the annual…
Operail CEO refutes media accusations: “Operail Finland sold at fair price”

The CEO of Operail, Merle Kurvits, has responded to media attention for Operail Finland’s sale. Estonian media recently said Operail Finland’s sale was a 12…
Poland to invest over a billion euros in Silesia rail infrastructure

The Polish rail Infrastructure Manager PKP PLK will invest over a billion euros in rail infrastructure. The operator signed contracts for rail upgrades in the…
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…

Business

Farmers protesting French farmers threaten to block rail freight services

A branch of the French militant farmers’ union, the Coordination Rurale (CR), have threatened to block rail freight services carrying food shipments in south-west France…
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…
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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

new terminal coming soon Italy allocates 206 million euros for new terminal at the port of Trieste

The Italian Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning and Sustainable Development (CIPESS) approved the funding for the first construction phase of the so-called Pier VIII container…
service reinstated GBRf restarts Felixstowe – Daventry connection

GB Railfreight (GBRf), one of the UK’s younger rail freight providers, is restarting a daily service between the Port of Felixstowe and Daventry Intermodal Rail…
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…
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Policy

Says European Sea Ports Organisation ‘Big cross-border rail projects to suffer upon CEF discontinuation’

The EU’s overhaul of its budget is putting the effectiveness of transport funding in doubt. A member state-specific approach for transport funding, as is planned…
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…
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Technology

digitising the industry eFTI project gets 15 million euros grant agreement

The European Union’s electronic freight transport information (eFTI) initiative obtained funding for over 15.2 million euros for the next four years. The aim is to…
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…
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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…
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