Author: Marco Raimondi

China-Europe: railways are congested and container rates are spiking

China-Europe trade corridors are currently facing some significant issues concerning container rates as well as congestion along the railways. Concerning rail freight, congestion concerns the ​​Alashankou and Khorgos border crossings between China and Kazakhstan. Moreover, some issues are starting to surface at the Małaszewicze border crossing in Poland. Rail congestion is having a serious impact…

Lithuania’s LTG Group to ditch Russian locomotive safety system

As another step towards EU integration, the Lithuanian railway holding LTG Group will replace its current Russian KLUB-U locomotive safety system. The new one will be developed by SRPA Impulse, a Ukrainian company which already had similar projects in Bulgaria and Estonia. In total, 163 locomotives will have their system replaced, including 111 for rail…

Europe’s mining giant scrapes for options to secure more rail capacity

LKAB, the largest mining company in Sweden (and Europe), relies heavily on rail freight transport along the Iron Ore Line, which connects the Swedish port of Luleå to the Norwegian port of Narvik. However, the company is in dire need of additional capacity, and it is now considering the option of purchasing buses to remove…

Hupac’s numbers during 2023 decreased across the board

Hupac’s volumes in general fell by 11.7 per cent, from 975,000 to 845,000 road consignments. In financial terms, this translated into a “consolidated result” of -6,2 million euros. Transalpine volumes, the largest market segment for the company, decreased by 7.6 per cent. For non-transalpine traffic, the drop was set at 14.9 per cent. “Maritime hinterland…

Medway to operate three new terminals in Spain by 2025

Medway, MSC’s rail freight subsidiary, will soon start operating three intermodal terminals in the Spanish region of Extremadura, near the border with Portugal. The three facilities are Badajoz, Mérida, Navalmoral de la Mata. The three terminals are all expected to commence operations between October 2024 and March 2025, as Spanish media El Mercantil mentioned. The…

Medway to operate three new terminals in Spain by 2025

Medway, MSC’s rail freight subsidiary, will soon start operating three intermodal terminals in the Spanish region of Extremadura, near the border with Portugal. The three facilities are Badajoz, Mérida, Navalmoral de la Mata. The three terminals are all expected to commence operations between October 2024 and March 2025, as Spanish media El Mercantil mentioned. The…

Ten rail associations ask the EU Commission to postpone TSI revision

The European Commission (EC) is planning another extensive revision of the package of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) in 2026/2027. However, ten European rail associations came together to ask the EC to rethink its plan and wait for an extensive TSI revision until 2030. One of the main reasons for this request is that…