MSC to take over 50 per cent of Renfe Mercancías
Shipping giant MSC has been selected to take over 50 per cent of the Spanish national rail freight operator Renfe Mercancías. The initiative is expected to help Renfe Merciancías’ operations and finances, given that the...Read more
Gotthard accident aftermath: ‘There is no more room for error’
The east tunnel of the Gotthard Base Tunnel has been reopened for freight traffic after a massive train derailment two weeks ago. Akos Ersek, Chief Policy Advisor at UIRR told RailFreight.com that this is now...Read more
Emmerich-Oberhausen upgrade: traffic restricted for next six weeks
A bundle of upgrades is about to start on the Emmerich-Oberhausen railway line, in northwestern Germany. This line is a key section of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, connecting Germany to the Arnhem, in the Netherlands. The...Read more
DB Cargo continues being the ‘black hole’ of the Group’s finances
The half-year report of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Group is shadowed by an overall negative performance which mainly highlights DB Cargo’s losses. The Group’s freight division completed the first six months of 2023 with a...Read more
DB Cargo Nederland tests HVO to replace diesel
Another subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn (DB) is launching a trial to replace traditional diesel with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). This time is DB Cargo Nederland, who stated that the fuel is being tested on the...Read more
DB Cargo puts transformers on the rail from Italy to Belgium
DB Cargo transported transformers from the rail terminal in Desio, near Milan, Italy, to Vilvoorde, near Brussels, Belgium. The initiative was carried out in collaboration with LoTraFer an Italian logistics company specialised in project cargo...Read more
To liberalise or not: is rail freight under attack?
Market liberalisation has been a crucial component of rail freight growth in Europe. Since markets, like the German, started opening up to private initiatives less than fifteen years ago, rail cargo transport went into a...Read more
Voestalpine stays on the rail with ambitions for doubled volumes
The cooperation between DB Cargo, voestalpine and LogServ has been extended for another two years. The Austria-based steel technology company aims to increase the volumes of steel and scarp circulating via rail per year to...Read more
DB Cargo and British Steel to supply Belgium with brand new rail tracks
British Steel will supply Belgium with 100-metre-long rail tracks that Infrabel, the country’s infrastructure manager, will use to maintain and renew the rail network. The cargo will be delivered by convoys run by DB Cargo....Read more
No freight traffic between Rotterdam and Kijfhoek
There is currently no train traffic between the port of Rotterdam and Kijfhoek, the large emplacement yard located south of the port towards Dordrecht. The emplacement yard is where DB Cargo handles a large part...Read more
Analysis: will DB Cargo end up like SNCF Fret?
This week, an important European rail freight company was saved from possible sanctions by the European Commission through an uncompromising reorganisation plan. SNCF Fret, the French subsidiary of SNCF was under fire because it had...Read more
Munich hot topic: to DAC or not to DAC?
analysisThe implementation of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) for rail freight in Europe has been under the spotlight for a while now. What makes the DAC digital? How realistic can a large-scale implementation by 2030 be?...Read more
Strike or not, rail freight still faces nuisance
The grand 50-hour-long strike organised by the rail association EVG did not take place in the end, at least not in the magnitude it was supposed to. Nevertheless, several operators braced for its impact, and...Read more
DB Cargo CEO appointed as the new head of Rail Freight Forward
news from MunichSigrid Nikutta, DB Cargo’s CEO, is the new chair of the Rail Freight Forward (RFF) initiative. She takes up the torch from Rail Cargo Group’s CEO Clemens Forst. This was announced at the transport logistic...Read more
Deutsche Bahn completes digital freight train test run
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has completed the first practical test of the so-called digital freight train. This test train was equipped with various prototypes of digital automatic couplers (DAC). The trial convoy ran throughout Europe for...Read more
DB’s locomotives at Munich North’s shunting yard will run on HVO
Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) shunting locomotives at the Munich-North shunting yard (Rangierbahnhof München Nord) will now be fuelled solely by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). “DB Energie has completely converted the refueling station at the Munich North...Read more
DB Cargo tests green fuel to replace diesel in UK locomotives
tech tuesdayDB Cargo and its British subsidiary, DB Cargo UK, have carried out tests to operate a Class 60 locomotive fuelled with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel instead of diesel. HVO can in fact be used...Read more
DB charging customers to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine
Sending humanitarian aid from Germany to Ukraine via rail with Deutsche Bahn (DB) is no longer free of charge as of 1 January 2023. In other words, anyone who wants to send aid to Ukraine...Read more
Bremerhaven shunting locomotives switched over to HVO
Shunting locomotives in the German Bremerhaven are now running solely on Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) instead of diesel fuel. With funding from the state Bremen, a filling station was converted so that last-mile transport now...Read more