Hupac: rough year with traffic and turnover slowdown
Hupac experienced a tough year in 2022 and saw its volumes and economic turnover drop. The intermodal company carried 1,104,000 road consignments in combined transport, seeing a decrease of 1,8 per cent compared with the...Read more
Switzerland to partly finance new rail terminal in Milan
The Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) will allocate over 67 million euros for the construction of a rail terminal east of Milan, in northern Italy. The new transshipment terminal will be built on a...Read more
Decision for Rhine-Alpine alternative on Rhine left bank is now up to France
Pledges to find alternative rail freight routes along the left bank of the Rhine river have been discussed for a few months now due to rising capacity bottlenecks along the main line. Now the ball...Read more
Italian waste in the Netherlands via rail: Switzerland is opposed too
The recently launched initiative of shipping waste from Rome to Amsterdam via rail keeps encountering criticism. This time, Swiss MP Bruno Storni pointed out that the new service does not benefit Switzerland but, on the...Read more
VTG deploys choco-train to transport cocoa beans for Lindt
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli will receive cocoa beans coming from Amsterdam by rail from now on. The initiative is made possible by VTG, which converted some of its regular hopper wagons to enable...Read more
Switzerland: adverse reactions for SBB’s one-off financing and waivers plans
The Swiss Federal Council proposed to provide a one-off financial injection of 1,25 billion Swiss Francs to state-owned SBB and waive long-distance track access charges by 200 million Swiss Francs per year until 2029. The...Read more
SBB Cargo notes substantial financial losses
Last year, the Swiss rail freight operator SBB Cargo saw its financial losses catastrophically increase from 1,2 million euros in 2021 to a negative result of 191 million euros. That was almost 80 per cent...Read more
Switzerland starts testing ‘DAC+’ digital freight train
A Swiss consortium that includes the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) launched the so-called DAC+ pilot freight train. This automated freight train is equipped with an automatic coupler including a digital data line. This new initiative...Read more
Switzerland: running trains in the EU might become an issue
Running trains in the European Union might become problematic for Switzerland. The authorisation procedure that allowed Swiss companies to run trains in all EU member states will in fact expire at the end of 2023...Read more
The Rotterdam-Swissterminal connection became direct to avoid German network nuisance
Since early January 2023, the rail connection between the port of Rotterdam and Frenkendorf (Basel) and Niederglatt (Zürich) has become direct without passing through Neuss in Germany. The service is offered by Schweizerzug, part of...Read more
Swiss single wagonload support: ‘yes, but…’, says rail sector
The Swiss Federal Council’s scheme to grow rail freight is currently in consultation until 24 February. The plan focuses on two variants: either supporting single wagonload or opening competition with road transport. So far, Swiss...Read more
Nevomo: hyperloop-inspired rail freight could be soon a reality
interviewCan hyperloop-inspired technology be applied to rail freight within this decade? Tech company Nevomo thinks so. RailFreight.com had a chat with Stefan Kirch, CBDO at Nevomo, about the possible applications of Nevomo technology in the...Read more
The new basin at the port of Basel will have a railway section
Big changes are ahead for the port of Basel, Switzerland’s only access to the Rhine river and therefore a key point for developing the TEN-T Rhine-Alpine Corridor. The Parliament of Canton Basel-Stadt has submitted to...Read more
Bertschi Group expects a challenging year, despite increased turnover
2022 was a positive year for the Swiss Bertschi Group. However, despite a turnover increase of 8 per cent, the company sees a gloomy future. The chemical-specialised transport company expects a further deterioration of the...Read more
Hupac to increase frequency of Cologne-Malmo shuttle train
Hupac will increase the frequency of their shuttle service between Cologne, in Germany, and Malmo, in Sweden, from three to four weekly roundtrips. From Cologne, Hupac has further connections to Switzerland and Italy.Read more
Cargo Sous Terrain starts drilling tests on project’s first section
Cargo Sous Terrain (CST), the Swiss company working on underground freight transport, will start tunnel-related activities for the first time. This project entails test drilling and geophysical measurements of the subsoil along the first section...Read moreSingle wagonload in Switzerland: state aid or competition with road?
The Swiss Federal Council submitted two new variants to the framework conditions for freight transport to incentivise rail freight. The first one concerns extensive financial support from the Swiss government for single wagonload traffic. The...Read more
Chiasso gets a new terminal for Swiss regional network
A new logistics terminal has been opened at the marshaling yard in Chiasso, a Swiss city on the border with Italy. The terminal is expected to facilitate the transfer of goods from road to rail...Read more
EuroTube will experiment with hyperloop tech applied to rail freight
The EuroTube foundation, a Swiss non-profit research organisation for the development of vacuum transport technology, will launch two test tracks to apply hyperloop technology to the transportation of goods via rail. The two test tracks...Read more