Join the free RailFreight Webinar: Poland, a new reality
Within a few months, the role of Poland on the international rail freight market has changed completely. Whereas it used to be the gateway to Europe for traffic from Asia with the most heavily consumed...Read more
Belarus finds new rail routes to export goods amidst sanctions
Belarusian Railways says it has developed a total of 40 new export routes to more than 20 countries, now that sanctions have cut off its traditional routes to the global market. The Transport and Communications...Read more
Rail freight traffic in Małaszewicze significantly drops
InterviewThe border crossing at Małaszewicze, the most important for the New Silk Road, experienced a significant decrease in traffic in the first half of 2022. In total, 2,876 trains were handled in Małaszewicze, while in...Read more
Hebei-Hungary direct Silk Road rail link makes its first trip
The first direct China-Hungary train was launched, with the first train departing from the Shijiazhuang International Dry Port in Hebei province on 15 July. Its destination is the BILK intermodal terminal in Budapest, with an...Read more
Latvia sees startling increase in transit cargo from Central Asia
Cargo turnover at Latvian ports reached 23,58 million tonnes in the first half of 2022, an increase of 15,2 per cent compared to 2021 and equivalent to 3,1 million tonnes of cargo. This increase was...Read more
Preliminary route for China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan line on the table
Kyrgyzstan has proposed a route through its territory for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway line. Plans to construct this railway line received renewed interest by the parties involved, in an effort to seek new routes from...Read more
New four-country partnership brings the Middle Corridor to Europe
The transport ministers of Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary established a quadrilateral coordination council and a rail transport working group. They aim to jointly invest in and develop rail infrastructure, focusing on freight transport. As...Read more
Temporary stop at Chinese border does not affect Silk Road traffic
A temporary stop of transloading trains has been issued at the China-Kazakhstan border crossings of Alashankou and Khorgos. The suspension started on Saturday 2 July and will last at least until Saturday 9 July. There...Read more
New Silk Road growth almost reaches rock bottom
For the first time in over a decade of stable and continuous growth, freight traffic between China and Europe is experiencing a period of stagnation. In the first half of 2022, freight trains trips between...Read more
G7 and EU plan a new BRI in the making?
The G7, the big leaders of the world, and the EU have pledged to raise 600 billion US dollars (634.56 billion euros) over five years to finance needed infrastructure in developing countries. In the west,...Read more
From China to Scandinavia via Greece? Yes, it’s possible also by rail
Can the Nordic countries connect via the Silk Road with China with Greece as a transit point? This is possible, says Nordicon, a consolidation company that runs a new multimodal service between Yantian, China and...Read more
A high-speed line from Bulgaria to Istanbul, also for freight
Turkey has come one step closer to having a high-speed railway link from Istanbul to the border with Bulgaria. The Halkalı – Kapikule project, which is scheduled to be completed this year, saw the first...Read more
Maersk revamps Middle Corridor service and calls customers to use open capacity
Maersk has also joined the Middle Corridor game with a new, improved rail freight service. The global logistics company implements a rail solution that bundles cargo from multiple Chinese locations and dispatches them to Europe...Read more
Finnish VR Group to discontinue Russian traffic faster than expected
Finnish state-controlled rail company VR Group is racing to terminate transport agreements with customers on the Russian route. The company sped up the gradual phase-out of traffic to and from Russia and started concluding agreements...Read more
CEVA Logistics in the Middle Corridor with weekly departures
CEVA Logistics is the latest addition to a series of companies entering the MIddle Corridor to transit between China-Europe. WIth a new service connecting Xi’an to Duisburg, the logistics specialist company will offer weekly departures...Read more
Luxury cars take the high road, or sea to China since war in Ukraine
Large car manufacturers that were once solid customers of rail freight between China and Europe are withdrawing from the New Silk Road. Apart from BMW and Audi, Porsche has stopped shipping its finished products via...Read more
This railway bridge brings China and Russia closer together
Rail freight traffic between China and Russia will soon have another border crossing to choose from. The railway bridge connecting Chinese Tongjiang with Nizhneleninskoye in Russia is to become operational in the coming months, with...Read more
Rail freight Finland-Russia: traffic to phase out gradually, private operators affected
Rail freight traffic between Finland and Russia will gradually cease after the existing transport contracts of state-controlled company VR Group end. For now, traffic is still possible. However, in the following months, this will not...Read more
Russia-China increase freight traffic while new rail line is almost operational
Russian and Chinese railways have agreed to increase the number of rail freight trains passing through their shared border crossings. Traffic has already increased in April, and the two parties aim to boost both westbound...Read more