With Germany caught up in frequent rail strikes, the sector has been facing difficulties with the transportation of goods. The branch organisation of the German chemical industry (VCI) sounded the alarm bells ahead of last week’s 24-hour strike. VCI warned that the industry cannot cope with more strikes. RailFreight.com reached out to VCI and chemical […]
Category: Business
SBB’s black results cannot hide single wagonload financial bleed-out
The Swiss SBB Group brought its finances back to the black in 2023 for the first time since 2019. Strong passenger transport performance led the Group’s recovery. Cargo performance was still in the red for 2023, despite the closing gap of losses (-40 million francs against -191 million francs in 2022). At the same time, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Maersk still in the race for DB Schenker’s acquisition, says CEO
After DHL withdrew from the race of DB Schenker’s acquisition last week, Danish shipping company DSV appeared to be the sole remaining candidate to proceed with the purchase. However, another player claims it’s still here and ready to ‘disrupt’ the process. According to Maersk’s CEO Vincent Clerc, his company is still examining buying the German […]
Rail Cargo Group establishes two new Italian connections
Rail Cargo Group (RCG), the rail subsidiary for Austrian national rail operator ÖBB, has announced that it is launching two new rail connections between Italy and Germany. Alongside the two new connections, it is increasing the frequency of services on the Verona-Wuppertal line. RCG is launching two new rail lines between Italy and Germany. According […]
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 […]