White House confirms North Korea-Russia ammunition transport by rail
A couple of months after the first assumption that North Korea transports ammunition via rail to Russia, the White House National Security Council confirmed even the most sceptical. According to John Kirby, NSC coordinator for...Read more
Latvia and Lithuania pledge for collective effort on Russian rail ban
The ministers of transport from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania met for the first time in four years to discuss the ban on the transit of Russian and Belarussian goods on 23 January. Estonia, via its...Read more
Russian armoured trains deployed on border with Ukraine
In times of war, everything changes, including the role of trains. We see that in Ukraine, where trains are now one of the most important evacuation means. But we also see how freight trains are...Read more
Russian Railways loses around 10 per cent of cargo since the war
Russian Railways has lost a rough 10 per cent of its cargo volumes since the start of the war. The volume of cargo transportation on the Russian railway network collapsed by 125 million tons, Oleg...Read more
More war equipment on Belarus-Russia trains, this time it’s vehicles
Bealrus and Russia are cooperating once again in transportng military equipment on the rail after they exchanged over 100,000 tonnes of ammunition between February and September. During the month of October, in fact, over 5,200...Read more
Von der Leyen: Ukraine’s Solidarity Lanes are almost at full capacity
The European Commission (EC) is going to unlock an emergency fund for 250 million euros to boost the Ukrainian Solidarity Lanes in the short term. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EC, pointed out...Read more
Lithuania sent empty wagons with Russian army logo back to Kaliningrad
The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service stopped and sent back five empty wagons with the symbols of the Russian Airborne Forces coming from Guryevsk, 20 kilometres from Kaliningrad. The five wagons were part of two...Read more
EU sanctions on Russia impact Estonia: ‘rail might disappear’
Operail, the Estonian state-owned international transport and logistics company, has halved its freight volumes in the first nine months of 2022. In addition, the decrease in freight volumes has led to the layoff of over...Read more
Ukrainian rail industry needs a new Marshall Plan
The Global Ukraine Rail Task Force is asking for a new Marshall Plan for the Ukrainian rail freight sector. The plan, as the name suggests, would be similar to the Marshall Plan, implemented by the...Read more
Rail war: 3,330 ammunition-loaded wagons between Russia-Belarus
Russia and Belarus have exchanged over 100,000 tonnes of ammunition via rail between February and September 2022. The Community of Railway Workers of Belarus’ Telegram channel, belzhd_live provided specific data on the amount of ammunition...Read more
Not broad gauge to Europe, but normal gauge to Ukraine
The possibility of extending the European railway gauge to Ukraine and Moldova has become more than just a proposal. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have launched a pre- feasibility study, which...Read more
Rail guerrillas in Russia bomb railway section to Belarus
A railway section near Novozybkov, close to the Russian borders with Belarus and Ukraine was damaged by the deployment of explosive devices. The damaged tracks are part of an important line connecting Bryansk, in Russia,...Read more
Finland’s VR will stop rail freight traffic to Russia by the end of the year
VR Group, the Finnish state-owned railway company, said it will stop the transportation of goods to Russia by the end of 2022. In April, VR Group claimed that rail freight traffic between the two countries would...Read more
Aftermath of Kerch bridge: rail freight comes to the rescue, for now
While reparations are being carried out on the road section of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, traffic of goods on the bridge has been moved on the rail. As Russian Railways (RZD) posted on Telegram,...Read more
Germany to give priority for energy supplies on congested railways
The German government will prioritise the rail transportation of cargo essential for energy production. The measure is going to be in place for six months. Germany’s government cabinet yet has to approve the provisional legislation,...Read more
Russia exceeds EU quotas for Kaliningrad in just two months
Tensions between Russia and Lithuania have increased since the EU sanctioned the land transit of goods, including steel and concrete, from Russia and Belarus to Kaliningrad. According to Russia, the quotas established by the EU...Read more
More than 1,000 Ukrainian railway workers killed since the war started
According to the Ukraine Crisis Media Center (UCMC), over 1,000 Ukrzaliznytsia railway workers have been killed by the Russian army since the start of the conflict. Many trains and stations have been fired upon more...Read more
How can Germany keep up with the rising demand for coal?
The German rail transport infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for alternative fuels, especially coal, to replace gas. The German government is working on solutions, namely the prioritisation of coal transportation.Read more
EU railway companies will help reconstructing Ukrainian railways
32 European rail companies and organisations signed a declaration to support the reconstruction of railways in Ukraine. The declaration was realised on 9 July at the Rail CEO Summit 2022 in Vienna, hosted by Austrian...Read more