DB Cargo restructuring: massive job cuts or not?
DB Cargo is attempting to improve its loss-making performance, and plans entail restructuring the company’s business. In doing so, Europe’s largest freight operator aims to outsource a large part of operations to other companies, some...Read more
METRANS expands Southeast Europe business with Adria Rail’s acquisition
METRANS has just completed the full acquisition of AdriaRail Group. The company had taken over 51 per cent of Adria Rail’s stakes in March 2023, while now it has proceeded to acquire the remaining 49...Read more
Private investment reactivates French domestic rail freight service
Soprema, a French company specialising in waterproofing, roofing, soundproofing and thermal insulation, has invested 150,000 euros in re-activating a domestic rail freight service between Strasbourg and Rouen.Read more
Estonian Operail announces full privatisation in order to save itself
Estonian national rail operator Operail has announced a new business strategy that involves full privatisation. The privatisation is a necessary step to find additional financial sources. According to the company, privatisation will also enable the...Read more
Stadler to produce 130 electric freight locomotives for Spanish operators
Stadler will produce 130 electric freight locomotives for various Spanish operators. The company intends to supply the trains between 2024 and 2026. Currently, Spain operates between 400 and 500 freight locomotives.Read more
Russia and China saw record rail freight volumes in 2023
Russia and China have reached a new record rail freight volume between the two countries. The total freight volume going through Russia’s Far East border crossings grew by 26 per cent from 2022, amounting to...Read more
Getlink eyes “significant growth potential” of cross-Channel rail
INTERVIEWGetlink/Eurotunnel is seeking to unlock what it describes as the “significant growth potential” of cross-Channel rail freight. In the fourth quarter of last year, a total of 318 freight trains operated through the fixed Link,...Read more
Combined transport sector records five consecutive quarters of losses
Combined transport’s performance has been a tale of “a concurrent series of crises,” says industry association UIRR. The sector experienced losses for a fifth consecutive business quarter. Performance during Q4 2023 shrank by 11,1 per...Read more
Polish farmers to block all Ukrainian freight transport
Polish farmers will organise new blockades of Ukrainian freight. This time around, they will block all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, seaports and rail hubs. The intensified blockades are supposed to start on 20...Read more
EU may break up DB Cargo due to losses
The European Union may break up DB Cargo due to the rail operator’s large losses, which have reached nearly 500 million euros. Company sources reported to Reuters that the EU may consider the figures and...Read more
Hupac’s 2023 performance indicates the struggles of European rail
Multiple challenges, some continuing from previous years and some appearing out of the blue, created a not-so-business-friendly environment for intermodal operator Hupac in 2023. The company saw its traffic and volumes declining across its whole...Read more
Recovery and stagnation: German rail survey reveals mixed results
The German rail sector fully recovered from the pandemic in 2022. According to an annual German market survey, German rail freight exceeded its pre-pandemic performance levels by 10 per cent. However, performance also stagnated in...Read more
DB Cargo main beneficiary of Fret SNCF ‘discontinuity’
INTERVIEWLabour unions at Fret SNCF have highlighted that the ‘discontinuity’ of the French state railways’ biggest rail freight subsidiary has played directly into the hands of its biggest rival – DB Cargo France.Read more
Cycling team sends bicycles to Spain by train: ‘Not a one-off stunt’
The Dutch cycling team BEAT Cycling Club will travel to its training camp to Girona this year by train. The bicycles and other equipment will join the team to Spain by rail. “It is more...Read more
Multimodal Trade Fair 2024 presents a chock-full programme
Live studio conversations, an exhibition floor with more than 75 exhibitors, interviews, dozens of knowledge sessions and even a VIP deck. Multimodal 2024 is not to be missed for those active in the logistics or...Read more
Estonian Railways’ losses expected to worsen in the coming years
The losses of Estonian Railways are expected to continue and worsen in the coming years. Earlier, Estonia reported a decline of 43 per cent in freight volumes following sanctions on Russian goods.Read more
“It’s up to the sector to provide modal shift incentives,” says LTG Cargo CEO
“We don’t have time to wait – we need to act now”. This is the message of Egle Sime, CEO of the Lithuanian operator LTG Cargo. In her view, it’s not only the EU that...Read more
Polish farmers to block Ukrainian agricultural exports by rail
Polish farmers intend to block the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods by rail. They plan to hinder the transfer of goods from rail to road transport on the Polish side of the border. Protests against...Read more
Russia grants Belarus 40% rail freight discount
Russia is granting Belarus a discount of up to 40 per cent on rail freight transportation, according to the Belarusian ministry of transport. The two allies have agreed on a discount that applies to the...Read more