With a marginal majority (300 votes against 295), the European Parliament has approved the legislative proposals of the Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD) part of the Greening Freight Transport Package (GFTP). In practice, this means that the Parliament approved, among other things, the circulation of gigaliner trucks and the use of heavier trucks diesel-powered trucks […]
Author: Nikos Papatolios
A year after the Greek tragedy: Mystery covers freight train’s load
It has been something more than a year since the late night of 28 February 2023, when Greece experienced the deadliest railway accident of its modern history. A tragedy that occurred under unprecedented conditions and a death toll of 57 were more than enough to uncover the chronic weaknesses and neglect of the Greek railway […]
Spain and Ukraine launch cooperation on variable gauge technology
What started as a contemplation over half a year ago is now becoming a reality. Spanish Infrastructure Manager Adif and Ukrainian Railways (UZ) will start cooperating to develop and implement a variable gauge wheel technology, allowing Ukrainian trains to migrate between 1,453mm and 1,520mm gauge tracks fast and effortlessly. “This is another step in UZ’s […]
Spain and Ukraine launch cooperation on variable gauge technology
What started as a contemplation over half a year ago is now becoming a reality. Spanish Infrastructure Manager Adif and Ukrainian Railways (UZ) will start cooperating to develop and implement a variable gauge wheel technology, allowing Ukrainian trains to migrate between 1,453mm and 1,520mm gauge tracks fast and effortlessly. “This is another step in UZ’s […]
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway opens in April after major refurbishment
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line (BTK), spanning the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, has been undergoing a major ‘facelift’ since last year. The goal is for the line to regain its past prestige and become a key route extending the Middle Corridor’s rail leg through Turkey to Europe. “We will commence cargo operations soon,” commented […]
German rail development indicates shifts in North Sea ports’ modal split
Container shipments via rail freight in Germany have showcased incredible growth between 2005 and 2022. Their transport volumes grew by an impressive 85.9 per cent in these 19 years, going from under 4.2 million TEUs in 2005 to roughly 7.7 million TEUs in 2022. Increased traffic to and from North Sea ports has contributed the […]
‘EU’s combined transport definition should be more practical,’ says UIRR
In view of the Combined Transport Directive (CTD) amendment, the EU Commission proposed an alternative definition of combined transport services. In the legislators’ view, combined transport operations should include intermodal freight operations that carry out at least 40 per cent of transport without using trucks. For UIRR and the intermodal sector, the definition could be […]
PJSC TransContainer in U.S. sanctions list: “Business continues as usual,” says company
Russian intermodal container operator PJSC TransContainer is included in the latest sanction package published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Russia-based company will no longer be able to conduct business with U.S. entities. PJSC TransContainer’s official statement on the matter underlines that “the company’s operating activities continue as usual,” while its subsidiaries based […]
Infrabel invests hundreds of millions to upgrade rail operations in Antwerp
The Belgian rail Infrastructure Manager, Infrabel, has big plans for the port of Antwerp and its rail operations. Via a 130 million euro investment that will take place in the coming ten years, Infrabel aims to upgrade rail infrastructure in the Flemish port and tackle issues like restricted capacity, traffic jams, and accessibility for the […]
Lineas sets up new route to facilitate COSCO’s disrupted sea services
Lineas has set up a new rail freight connection between Zeebrugge in Belgium and Graz in Austria. The service is launched in collaboration with CSP Zeebrugge, a COSCO Shipping Lines terminal. The purpose is to keep COSCO’s supply chain towards Austria running since traffic that used to be directed there via the Greek port of […]