Rail freight in Poland in 2023 experienced a minor setback both in terms of volumes and performance. Compared to 2022, volumes dropped by 6.8 per cent, while tonne-kilometres performance decreased by 1.4 per cent, as the Polish Office of Rail Transport (UTK) stated. In more concrete numbers, the tonnes transported went from 248,5 to 231,6…
Author: Marco Raimondi
Switzerland joins the club of countries increasing TACs
The Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) said that Track Access Charges (TACs) in the country will increase by 2.1 per cent as of 1 January 2025. The figure chosen by the FOT was established to be as moderate as possible, taking into account the worries expressed by the sector. For the rail freight sector…
Shortlist for DB Schenker’s buyers to be ready next week
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has received the first confirmatory bids for the sale of its logistics arm DB Schenker. Some of the companies that presented an offer include DSV, Maersk and MSC. Morevoer, equity firms such as CVC Capital Partners and Carlyle Group confirmed their bid of around 14 billion euros. This new step comes after…
Surprise, surprise: TACs in Hungary are about to rise
Hungary will increase its Track Access Charges (TAC) by 14 per cent from 1 September 2024. This is the first time in two decades that TACs in the country have been increased in the middle of a year, as Hungarian rail association Hungrail pointed out. “The increase will most likely cause more damage to the…
Key freight line in Norway reopens after nine months
After nine months, freight trains in Norway are running again along the Dovre Line, which stretches for roughly 500 kilometres between Eidsvoll and Trondheim. The railway has been closed since August 2023, when the Randklev Bridge, near Ringebu, collapsed due to bad weather. The first freight train, operated by OnRail, crossed the bridge on Monday…
EU Commission approves German rail freight scheme for 1.7 billion euros
The European Commission (EC) approved a scheme for 1.7 billion euros to support single wagonload and wagon group transport in Germany until 2029. “The maximum annual budget amounts to €320 million”, the EC specified. The measure aims at ensuring that these types of transport and the companies operating them do not cease to exist due…
‘Our situation is worse than I thought’, says PKP Cargo President
The Polish state-owned rail operator, PKP Cargo, might be nearing the end of its life due to years of mismanagement and the inability to adapt to a changing market. The current Acting President of the company, Marcin Wojewódka, said that the situation is worse than expected, with both volumes and share values dropping significantly and…
Combined transport in Europe in 2023 down by 10%
Combined transport in Europe in 2023 dropped by 10.57 per cent the number of consignments transported and by 9.39 per cent in the tonne-kilometre performance. This means that these volumes are roughly back at pre-COVID 19 levels after four years of moderate growth between 2019 and 2022. UIRR said this downward trend was caused by…
From sail to rail: groundbreaking transatlantic route in the making
Lahaye Global Logistics and Grain de Sail, both French companies, are collaborating on a new type of intermodal service connecting the Americas to France. The maritime leg of the route is being carried out by Grain de Sail via sailboats, while Lahaye takes care of the land transport via road and rail. The first round…
Freight wagons in northern Italy knocked over by strong winds
For the second year in a row, the month of May is bringing waves of bad weather in northern Italy which disrupt the country’s rail freight industry. A few wagons of a convoy near Borgo Mantovano, a town between Verona and Bologna, was knocked over by the strong winds. “I have never seen freight trains…