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
More multi-system electric locomotives to be spotted on this border
Since 5 February, freight trains hauled by multi-system electric locomotives can cross the border between Germany and the Netherlands at yet another point. The border crossing Haanrade – Herzogenrath was upgraded with the German security...Read more
How to reduce dust in the air from steel transport by train
How can steel transportation be done more sustainably? One step that helps to reduce the footprint of this supply chain is right at the start, with a new unloading system that minimises dust formation. This...Read more
‘Disruptions due to coal transport prioritisation should not be ruled out’
Everything goes according to the plan regarding coal transport by rail, says Deutsche Bahn. The federal government’s prioritisation plans seem to be working with the country’s first major energy production plants receiving regular trains. However,...Read more
Rail prioritisation of energy supplies in Germany: much ado about nothing?
The prioritisation of trains carrying energy supplies in Germany was enforced two months ago, on 24 August and is planned to stay in place for six months. At the time, rail freight companies had mixed...Read more
150 workshops popping up around Germany to speed up DAC retrofitting
The successful test runs of Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) trains around Europe bring some rapid developments in Germany. DB is eager to set up 150 pop-up workshops for the DAC retrofitting of wagons. First, the...Read more