The International Union of Railways (UIC) and the International Union of Combined Road-Rail Transport Companies (UIRR) compiled their 2024 report on combined transport (CT) in Europe. RailFreight.com had exclusive access to the document, which, despite highlighting some growth, still painted quite a fragmented picture in different areas of the Old Continent.
In general, combined transport grew by 8.7 per cent in tonne-kilometre between 2018 and 2023, the report stated. However, in 2023 there was an 8 per cent decline. The report remains positive on the development of combined transport in Europe, envisioning a 3 per cent growth per year until 2040, when “the market will be around two thirds bigger than in 2023”.
One of the main takeaways from the report is that Europe is a fragmented continent when it comes to combined transport, both on a domestic and international level. In six European countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Switzerland and Norway), it accounts for over half of the total rail freight share in tonne-kilometre in 2022. In Finland, the Baltics, Poland, Slovakia and Romania however, this percentage drops to 15 and under. The main reason for the lack of CT rail freight services in eastern Europe is due to a market dominated by bulk cargo.
Germany dominates cross-border CT
However, the situation changes when it comes to cross-border combined transport connections. Most of the international CT rail journeys in 2023 took place along the north-south axis, especially between northern Italy and central Germany, which remains the fulcrum of the flows, with significant volumes going east through Czechia, south to Austria and west to the Benelux. Another very active corridor is the one connecting Poland and Hungary. France remained a little behind due to the closure of the Frejus railway connecting it to Italy and the fact that Spain still has a different gauge, which does not facilitate CT services.
The difference between the north-south axis and the rest of Europe is also apparent in the data concerning speeds and transit time. “While trains on the Northern corridor reach their destination on average within 3 hours, Benelux – South and East – South-East connections need on average more than a day”, the report explained. When it comes to speed, the Northern corridor is also where trains run the fastest at over 80km/h on average. Along other corridors, idling time and worse infrastructure conditions do not allow for such speeds.
Unaccompanied CT is growing, but accompanied CT is dropping
It is also necessary to distinguish between unaccompanied and accompanied combined transport. Unaccompanied CT entails the “transhipment of the loading unit independently from road vehicle and driver”. With accompanied CT services “the transhipment of the loading unit (occurs) together with road vehicle and driver”. The former is especially important to connect ports with the hinterland, as it is suitable for the transport of ISO containers. The latter mostly encompasses transalpine traffic, but it only retains a marginal market share.
Other than for cross-border services, the report expects a growth in the domestic segment as well. “In the coming years, the domestic segment should gain further market share as new domestic connections are introduced, for example in Spain”, the report claimed. Spain is in fact developing a number of rolling highways throughout its territories, with the first one, connecting Valencia and Madrid, being inaugurated recently but currently closed due to the extreme weather in Valencia.
On the other hand, accompanied combined transport has been declining since 2010 with the cancellation of many services. “Accompanied domestic CT is now mostly confined to Austria and its neighbouring countries”, the report pointed out. More specifically, accompanied cross-border combined transport dropped from 7.1 to 4 million tonnes between 2010 and 2022. During the same period, accompanied domestic combined transport experienced an even worse trend, dropping from 7.6 to 3.5 million tonnes.