DB Cargo ordered 150 Vectron Dual Mode light locomotives from Siemens Mobility. The new locomotives are several tonnes lighter than the usual Vectron Dual Mode. As DB Cargo mentioned, they can be used “on branch lines and sidings with a lower load capacity”. The company stated that this initiative will favour single wagonload traffic in…
Author: Marco Raimondi
DB vs GDL: strikes end, agreement in sight
There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) said that a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement should be expected in the coming days. “Until then, the GDL will refrain from further strikes”, the parties stated in a joint note. Five […]
Strike in Finland halts rail freight services and exports
A number of Finnish trade unions started a political strike Monday 11 March which will continue until 25 March. The initiative has a significant impact on the Finnish transport industry, including rail freight. According to the Confederation of Finnish Business (EK), the strike will cost Finland 320 million euros in damage to the gross domestic […]
Strike in Finland halts rail freight services and exports
A number of Finnish trade unions started a political strike Monday 11 March which will continue until 25 March. The initiative has a significant impact on the Finnish transport industry, including rail freight. According to the Confederation of Finnish Business (EK), the strike will cost Finland 320 million euros in damage to the gross domestic […]
Italy might cancel an incentive for rail freight rolling stock
An incentive regarding the acquisition of rail rolling stock in Italy is on the verge of being cancelled, despite the funds being already allocated and having generated huge investments. “We lack certainty about the rules”, Fermerci general manager Giuseppe Rizzi told RailFreight.com. The amount being cut is 70 million euros, and it would be retroactive […]
LTG Cargo launches first cross-Baltic service
Lithuanian state-owned rail freight operator, LTG Cargo, recently started transporting petroleum products between Bugeniai, in Luthiania, and Valga, in Estonia. The initiative is another reflection of how operators in the Baltic are looking to diversify their operations due to loss of cargo to and from Russia and Belarus. The launch of operations was preceded by […]
Container rates surged amid Red Sea blockade
The blockade of the Red Sea has caused serious headaches for the freight forwarding companies. Container rates are going through the roof, and many companies chose to switch transport modalities or divert their routes and circumnavigate Africa rather than risking passing through the Suez Canal. Rogier Vervoort, owner and managing director of Dutch Container Merchants […]
Metrans adds rail freight connections to Turkey
The Metrans’ service connecting the Halkali, west of Istanbul, to Dunajska Streda, in Slovakia, is getting to extra stops: Belgrade and Budapest. The new initiative, the company said, comes as a response to the increased demand for rail freight services along this corridor. Test trains started running on 19 February, but the connection was officialised […]
Fret SNCF urges government to postpone company discontinuation
The Social and Economic Committee (CSE) of Fret SNCF recently sent a letter to the French government asking to introduce a moratorium to review the discontinuation of the company. “We believe that the hasty action taken by the French government and the SNCF management will not allow the railways to make the necessary changes”, the […]
DB’s third attempt to take GDL to court fails
Deutsche Bahn is trying in many ways to stop the wave of strikes announced by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). Most recently, the company tried to take legal action against the union for the third time. However, the Frankfurt am Main Labor Court ruled in favour of GDL, stating that the strikes are proportionate, […]