To say it’s been a challenging year for the rail freight sector, not least in Europe, is an understatement. While the immediate effects of the Rastatt landslip in August were nothing short of an operational...Read more
The Netherlands has received a EU grant of 32 million Euros to install ERTMS technology on Dutch locomotives using the Rotterdam-Genoa rail freight corridor.
Part of a wider 83 million Euros package for various transport projects,...Read more
The European Commission (EC) has given the green light to an Italian funding scheme aimed at supporting the shift of freight from road to rail in the northern province of Bolzano. Running until 2019 and with...Read more
Proposed new EU rules aimed at creating a more customer-oriented rail freight network have received the formal backing of the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA). The body which represents more than 30 members across Europe...Read more
The Royal Dutch Transport association (KNV), which represents rail freight employers, is to lead a Europe-wide project on the real-time exchange of data on the arrival times of freight trains.
It will work with intermodal body...Read more
A rail freight infrastructure programme for Slovenia that would cost a billion Euros is to be put to a referendum, following a vote by the country’s Parliament. The 27-kilometre line is designed to speed up...Read more
The European Commission has approved state aid of 975 million Croatian Kruna (approximately 129.5 million Euros) granted by Croatia to HZ Cargo, a state-owned rail freight operator.
HZ Cargo had been in financial difficulties before the...Read more
Roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) has been ‘too slow’ and action is required to ensure targets are met, says the EU’s Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc. She told the final SERA railway convention...Read more
Measures taken in Greece to support the restructuring of rail infrastructure manager OSE and the country’s sole freight & passenger operator Trainose are in line with EU state aid rules, the European Commission (EC) has...Read more
A new website dedicated to promoting the International Union of Railways’ (UIC) safer level crossings campaign is now online. The SAFER-LC EU project is a three-year programme, and aims to improve safety and minimise risk...Read more
Legislation to end noisy freight trains in Germany has passed the final hurdle in the process, ensuring that the country’s Quiet Rail Strategy will become a reality within the next four years. Rail operators will...Read more
A new cost-benefit analysis on Rail Baltica, an EU initiative linking the Baltic States and Poland with a new standard gauge freight line, says the project can deliver vital socio-economic benefits such as increased exports....Read more
Tackling rail freight noise pollution must involve a ‘comprehensive approach’ by stakeholders, EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc has told a summit organised by the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). The aim was...Read more
Swedish-based Kiruna Wagon has successfully tested a new side dump wagon and unloading station as part of a European Union (EU) project for developing ‘smart’ rail freight wagons for the mined agricultural sector.
Led by Spanish...Read more
As Executive Director of the UK Rail Freight Group, Maggie Simpson’s inbox is never empty. She leads the RFG’s work to increase modal shift, by campaigning for a policy environment which supports rail freight, promotes...Read more
The pilot version of a ‘one-stop-shop’ European web portal detailing rail freight service facilities across the continent can now be accessed online. The railfreightlocations.eu site is a European Union initiative involving a group of rail...Read more
The European Railways Agency’s Karel Vinck says there is no reason why all freight trains should not be the 700 metre-long version as an effective roll-out of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) will...Read more
European rail freight policymakers must help ensure that national rail infrastructure managers work much more closely together to alleviate bottlenecks at borders, and thus pave the way for a much-increased sustainable modal shift from road...Read more
