Author: Nikos Papatolios

Why is the U.S. gaining momentum in financing African railway projects?

The discussion regarding increasing rail competition between the U.S. and China in Africa is not new. Recent months have seen the unfolding of U.S.-led initiatives to finance and develop railway projects of great freight significance in the continent. At the same time, Chinese investments that have been a staple in the region for years seem […]

Euro China Train – a new era of global logistics

Transporting goods between Asia and Europe is a complicated and multi-stage process. It requires extensive experience, knowledge of international regulations and a network of reliable contacts. Safe and timely transportation of cargo directly from the sender in China to any destination in Europe is the main element of the Euro China Train project. Intercontinental connections […]

The latest Military Mobility funds are in: here are the rail highlights

The latest round of Military Mobility funds provided by the EU Commission as part of CEF has been approved. Railway projects are once again highlighted. Of the 807 million euros released by the Commission, approximately 485 million euros will target railway infrastructure projects. Eight out of thirty-eight projects will also directly impact freight. According to […]

‘Rail is again an effective alternative for Eurasian transport’

All the more companies are identifying the same trend in Eurasian transport. With sea transport currently strained due to the situation in the Red Sea, rail is gradually becoming the preferred mode of transport between China and Europe. This is especially true for customers who want to avoid long transit times. As Martin Koubek, director […]

French funds still missing for Turin-Lyon tunnel access routes

Apart from the possibility of France missing CEF funding deadlines for constructing the Turin-Lyon railway, another issue persists. The project appears to be 15 to 20 million euros short in funds concerning investments in the railway’s access routes. If these funds are not found soon, the project will face another substantial obstacle towards its completion. […]

TX Logistik increases services between Lübeck and Northern Italy

January has been a month of service upgrades for TX Logistik. The intermodal operator has increased the frequency of two services between northern Germany and Northern Italy using Lübeck as the central hub. The first one is the Lübeck-Segrate Milan service, which now runs with six weekly roundtrips instead of four. The second and more […]

Germany: federal government approves amended rail budget cuts

The majority of the German coalition government has approved the proposed budgetary cuts for 2024. Concerns that rail transport would receive considerably less funds for the running year are now confirmed. Nevertheless, the situation is better than initially expected since the government made some essential adjustments. The expectation from the draft budget 2024 was that […]

After cutting subsidies, Germany also increases track access charges

DB InfraGo, which took over Germany’s rail network management effective January 2024, plans to increase track access charges by 13,4 per cent starting December 2024. The decision follows a substantial 49 per cent cut in subsidies for track access fees, which will probably occur during 2024. Peter Westenberger, managing director of the association DIE GÜTERBAHNEN, […]

‘Forget the IMEC, focus on the INSTC,’ says India

Instability caused by the ongoing war in Gaza and Houthi attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea has put the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) on hold until further notice. India seems to be reassessing its position within international transport routes in this context. Attention is now turned towards an ‘old acquaintance’: the International North-South Transport […]