Rail freight will not be included in the German Federal Railway Infrastructure Expansion Act (BSWAG). As a result, German rail freight will miss out on ETCS funding and compensation for the upcoming lengthy route closures. Rail freight is not being included in the BSWAG, and the German rail freight sector will therefore likely not be…
Category: Business
PKP Cargo and COSCO to expand intermodal flows all over Europe
Intermodal transport and logistics will be the core development pillar of a strengthened partnership between PKP Cargo and COSCO Shipping Group. The two parties are poised to expand their intermodal offerings in multiple countries “in Western, Central and Eastern Europe”. PKP Cargo appears to become a core partner in COSCO’s increased rail freight presence in…
Freight to contribute little to billions of Rail Baltica-induced growth
Rail Baltica is an economically viable undertaking. While its projected cost has grown immensely in recent years, the high-speed rail line is expected to contribute up to 23,5 billion euros to the Baltic economies. Freight, however, is not likely to contribute much. An independent cost-benefit analysis (CBA) found that Rail Baltica will likely add between…
Amid looming threat of Polish border blockades, UZ asks: Why not rail?
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…
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…