The threat of Polish-Ukrainian border blockades is systemic. As road blockades can resume at any time, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) is now asking: Why not ship goods via rail? UZ is proposing that more Ukrainian export freight be transported via rail. The operator says that it received warnings that the frequent border blockades are systemic, and…
Category: Business
RCG’s innovative logistics solution scoops Austrian Logistics Prize 2024
The Austrian Logistics Network Association (VNL) has awarded the Austrian Logistics Prize 2024 to ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) and Transporeon for their innovative logistics project. This annual prize highlights groundbreaking achievements in the logistics sector, and this year, RCG and Transporeon stood out by successfully integrating multimodal transport into a single platform. For the…
Poor reliability of Russian rail network pushes shippers onto trucks
Much like the rail and road modalities are clashing in Europe, with the ensuing discussions about rail’s competitiveness, Russia is having similar issues. A recent conference on the topic prompted a sector appeal to the government. The Russian rail freight sector protests the order of priority on the Russian network, on which freight takes last…
Estonian Operail to be auctioned off and privatised
Operail, the Estonian state-owned rail freight operator, is for sale. On 6 June, the government approved the imminent privatisation of the company. It has struggled to maintain profitability following sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Operail is now being auctioned off completely. The Estonian climate ministry had made a proposal to that end, which the government…
PKP Cargo bets its future on frail foundations
The Polish state-owned rail freight operator PKP Cargo is struggling, as are many of its counterparts across Europe. Rumours surfaced about a possible bankruptcy for PKP Cargo and RailFreight.com went straight to the source to better understand what is happening. The company confirmed that the situation is bleak, and most of its hopes heavily rely…
RCG’s new Serbian subsidiary to start operations in “the upcoming months”
ÖBB’s cargo subsidiary Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is creating a joint venture with Serbian logistics company Transfera. The enterprise will be headquartered in Belgrade and initially focus on intermodal transport. RCG and Transfera, a Serbian company that organises transportation across various modalities, have signed a partnership agreement for the establishment of a joint venture. Together,…
Kazakh minister beats back: tariff hikes justified
Kazakhstan is in the wake of a series of tariff hikes on the Kazakh rail network. Businesses and parliamentarians have protested the frequent price increases, and the government cancelled an earlier planned hike. Now, the Kazakh transport minister is beating back: the Kazakh network is cheap and the hikes are justified. “We need to point…
Ukrainian Railways grows early-year freight transportation by 30 per cent
Ukrainian Railways (UZ) has achieved year-on-year success by growing its freight transportation by 30 per cent. The growth concerns freight volumes in the period of January to May. At 57 per cent, export volumes grew even more. The total transported volume of freight in the first five months of 2024 amounted to 75,4 million tonnes.…
German states call for compensation to rail freight amid renovations
The upcoming German rail renovations could cause a reverse modal shift. Expected disruptions and additional expenses will likely reduce the competitiveness of rail and make road transportation more attractive. German states have taken note and are appealing for proper compensation for the rail freight sector. Germany is planning large-scale renovation works on its rail network,…