The Netherlands desperately lack a vision for rail freight. That is the message of Hans-Willem Vroon, director of RailGood, a Dutch organisation promoting the interests of the rail freight sector. The Dutch government fails to deliver sound rail freight policy, has ignored a parliamentary proposal and sector appeals, and risks falling behind the rest of […]
Category: Rail freight
EU may break up DB Cargo due to losses
The European Union may break up DB Cargo due to the rail operator’s large losses, which have reached nearly 500 million euros. Company sources reported to Reuters that the EU may consider the figures and subsequent government support to be distorting the market. The Deutsche Bahn subsidiary incurred losses that were twice as high as […]
Russia building bizarre 30 kilometre train fortification in Ukraine
Russia is building a bizarre train fortification in Ukraine. The fortification consists of over 2,000 freight wagons and stretches over 30 kilometres. The train, possibly aimed at stopping future Ukrainian assaults, is dubbed the ‘tsar train’. Satellite imagery indicates that Russia has been working on the train fortification for the past nine months. The fortification […]
Recovery and stagnation: German rail survey reveals mixed results
The German rail sector fully recovered from the pandemic in 2022. According to an annual German market survey, German rail freight exceeded its pre-pandemic performance levels by 10 per cent. However, performance also stagnated in the second half of the year. According to an annual survey by the Bundesnetzagentur on the performance of the rail […]
South of England site signals its final nuclear shipment
Direct Rail Services (DRS), the rail freight arm of Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), has completed a significant task in the transportation of radioactive materials. The very last flasks of radioactive waste from the Winfrith treated waste store, located on the south coast of England, have been moved to their final destination at the low-level waste […]
Estonian Railways’ losses expected to worsen in the coming years
The losses of Estonian Railways are expected to continue and worsen in the coming years. Earlier, Estonia reported a decline of 43 per cent in freight volumes following sanctions on Russian goods. The loss of freight volumes has led to passenger transportation exceeding freight transportation, according to Estonian Railways’ commercial manager Arthur Raichmann. Whereas 9,5 […]
Spain to turn Valladolid into major rail hub by 2026
Spain will finish construction works on a rail terminal in Valladolid by 2026. The works will provide the city with a freight terminal, a rail technology centre and a maintenance hub. The project will turn Valladolid into a major rail hub on the TEN-T Atlantic Corridor. Spanish railway infrastructure administrator Adif put out a tender […]
Britain demonstrates affordable DAC alternative system
A British alternative has been demonstrated to the EU proposed Digital Automatic Coupler (DAC) programme. An examination has been backed by an industry-recognised safety body. The work has been carried out by a nationwide consultancy, and has demonstrated an alternative system. The study found that a cost-effective alternative system of monitoring and real-time reporting could […]
Polish farmers to block Ukrainian agricultural exports by rail
Polish farmers intend to block the export of Ukrainian agricultural goods by rail. They plan to hinder the transfer of goods from rail to road transport on the Polish side of the border. Protests against the import and transit of Ukrainian agricultural goods by road have been taking place for months, but will now also […]