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 […]
Author: Marco Raimondi
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 […]
DB’s third attempt to take GDL to court fails
Deutsche Bahn is trying in many ways to stop the wave of strikes announced by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). Most recently, the company tried to take legal action against the union for the third time. However, the Frankfurt am Main Labor Court ruled in favour of GDL, stating that the strikes are proportionate, […]
Third time’s the charm? DB sues GDL once again over strike dispute
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is for the third time taking legal action against the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL). This time, the company is appealing to the Frankfurt am Main Labor Court to stop the strike planned for tonight, Monday 11 March. The main reason behind DB’s actions is “the far too short lead time of […]
How can Sweden enhance rail freight capacity along the Öresund axis?
The Öresund Bridge, connecting Sweden and Denmark, is one of the key rail nodes of the TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor. However, many in the rail freight sector have been stressing about the lack of redundancy and viable alternatives in case of disruption. The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) is currently debating three options to create additional capacity […]
GDL to stage 24-hour strike starting tonight
The German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) is staging its sixth round of strikes in the context of its dispute with Deutsche Bahn (DB). For the freight industry, the action will start today, Monday 11 March at 6 pm and will end tomorrow, Tuesday 12 March at 6 pm. For non-freight-related operations, the strike will start […]
Danish DSV becomes frontrunner for DB Schenker acquisition
The sale of DB Schenker, Deutsche Bahn’s logistics arm, might have found its suitor. Danish shipping giant DSV signed an agreement with two investment banks to gather enough funds to conclude the purchase. On the other hand, DHL officially withdrew from the race. DSV is cooperating with French BNP Paribas and the British-Chinese credit institution […]
More GDL strikes will come, but no date has been set yet
A solution to the dispute between Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Union of Train Drivers (GDL) still seems unattainable after roughly five months of negotiations. Another round of strikes is in the books, but more are on the horizon, as GDL’s boss Claus Weselsky pointed out. During a video interview with German media outlet […]
Iron Ore Line reopens ahead of schedule, but concerns remain
Reaching the Norwegian port of Narvik via the Iron Ore Line had been impossible for the majority of the past 81 days due to two derailments. The line was reopened once again on Wednesday 6 March, one day before the forecasted date, as the Swedish infrastructure manager Trafikverket mentioned. On the other hand, industry players […]