Azerbaijan goes ahead with Zangezur Corridor railway construction

Azerbaijan is actively constructing a railway in the direction of the ‘Zangezur Corridor’. The railway is reportedly about halfway to completion. With the railway, Azerbaijan is looking to open up a free movement corridor through southern Armenia to connect with its exclave Nakhchivan. The new route could be part of the ‘Middle Corridor’ land route […]

Kyrgyzstan struggles to find money for CKU line construction

Kyrgyzstan is looking for money to build its part of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway line. In an interview about the country’s debt situation, the president reassured the people that no unfeasible loans would be taken. Where the money for the CKU line is going to come from remains unclear. While Kyrgyzstan is willing to take […]

Freight paths are the key to faster London to Edinburgh services

Preserving access for freight is vital to a plan to speed up passenger services on the East Coast Main Line. The government-backed train operating company LNER wants to cut around thirty minutes off the journey, reducing the capital’s connection to a few minutes more than four hours. However, route availability between London and Edinburgh is […]

LDZ Cargo expands in Estonia while Lithuania opens its doors

Latvian rail freight operator LDZ Cargo aims to expand its business operations in neighbouring Baltic countries. It has succeeded in winning public tenders in Estonia, and it has secured access to Lithuania’s public railway infrastructure for freight transportation. As per the company, the stated aim of the expansion is to become a regionally significant rail […]

Germany: federal government approves amended rail budget cuts

The majority of the German coalition government has approved the proposed budgetary cuts for 2024. Concerns that rail transport would receive considerably less funds for the running year are now confirmed. Nevertheless, the situation is better than initially expected since the government made some essential adjustments. The expectation from the draft budget 2024 was that […]

Hope Valley Bamford loop passes with flying colours

The Hope Valley upgrade in the north of England is improving the railway between Manchester and Sheffield. The project is being promoted as a provision for more reliable and faster passenger journeys. However, the route is also vital to freight operations. It generates multiple flows from industrial plants and aggregates quarries. The latest part of […]

Hope Valley Bamford loop passes with flying colours

The Hope Valley upgrade in the north of England is improving the railway between Manchester and Sheffield. The project is being promoted as a provision for more reliable and faster passenger journeys. However, the route is also vital to freight operations. It generates multiple flows from industrial plants and aggregates quarries. The latest part of […]

2024 brings new Italy-Benelux rail freight connections

Freight convoys running between Italy and the Benelux region are increasing with the beginning of 2024. GTS Rail has increased its Bologna-Zeebrugge frequency from four to six weekly trains. Moreover, starting in February, Contship will upgrade from three to five weekly convoys between Milan and Rotterdam. Contship will implement this frequency increase as of 5 […]

After cutting subsidies, Germany also increases track access charges

DB InfraGo, which took over Germany’s rail network management effective January 2024, plans to increase track access charges by 13,4 per cent starting December 2024. The decision follows a substantial 49 per cent cut in subsidies for track access fees, which will probably occur during 2024. Peter Westenberger, managing director of the association DIE GÜTERBAHNEN, […]