The Vinjan viaduct, a key piece of the new Divača-Koper railway line, in southwestern Slovenia, was inaugurated last week. The new railway section should be commissioned by 2026 and bring many advantages for rail freight in the area. The Vinjan viaduct stretches for 620 metres, connecting the Mlinarji and Škofije tunnels across the Vinjan valley. […]
Author: Marco Raimondi
CEF unlocks 1 billion for alternative fuels, rail doesn’t get a penny
The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) unlocked one billion euros through its Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) to boost the deployment of alternative fuel supply infrastructure across the European Union. However, rail seems to be the only transport sector currently excluded from this project. The initiative is aimed at “road, maritime, inland waterway and air transport […]
DB vs GDL: negotiations failed, new strikes on the horizon?
The negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Union of Locomotive Drivers (GDL) seems to have taken another wrong turn. GDL accused DB of leaking confidential information to German media. On the other hand, the German company is saying that the union is “letting the negotiations collapse”. […]
Terminal in Alsace launches first freight train to port of Antwerp
The tri-modal terminal in the port of Lauterbourg, part of the Ports of Strasbourg, deployed the first freight train to the port of Antwerp. The initiative sees the involvement of big industry players including MSC, Fret SNCF and Wascosa. MSC will provide the containers, Fret SNCF will take care of rail traction, while Wascosa will […]
MSC expands rail presence in Italian ports
The month of February saw shipping giant MSC taking further steps to solidify its presence in Italy, with a focus on rail freight. The company recently became a shareholder in Rail Hub Europe, the entity managing the Rivalta Terminal Europe, near the port of Genoa, on the Italian northwest coast. Moreover, the company is working […]
France cuts hundreds of millions from transport and infrastructure plan
The French government announced the cancellation of 10 billion euros that were supposed to be invested throughout the country in 2024. The infrastructure and transport sectors will see their budget decrease by over 341 million euros. This sum, according to French media outlet Maire Info, equals 7 per cent of the total budget previously allocated […]
Rail freight in Italy set back in 2023, subsidies are key to remain afloat
The Italian rail freight sector had to deal with various hiccups throughout 2023 which led to a general drop across the whole industry. RailFreight.com had a chat with Giuseppe Rizzi, managing director of Italy’s largest rail freight association FerMerci to better understand this trend and the causes behind it. “There seems to be a lack […]
Another derailment along the Iron Ore Line, this time it may be sabotage
The Iron Ore Line, Europe’s northernmost rail border crossing connecting Sweden and Norway, is again closed due to a freight train derailment near Vassijaure. The line had just been reopened last week after another derailment took place near the same area in December. According to the Swedish police, the latest derailment is being treated as […]
Upgrade of Hupac’s terminal in Piacenza to be completed by 2025
The Piacenza Intermodal Terminal, located 50 kilometres south of Milan and managed by Hupac, will almost triple the number of containers handled by train by 2025. The facility is currently undergoing a major refurbishment to embrace the modal shift from road to rail. The project entails the expansion of the terminal, which will go from […]
CFL cargo: new CEO brings good news despite ‘difficult year’
CFL cargo, the international rail freight company in Luxembourg and sister company to the CFL multimodal group, recently had a change of heads with Sébastien Hoffmann taking over the role of CEO from Laurence Zenner. RailFreight.com had an exclusive interview with M. Hoffmann to better understand what 2023 looked like and what can be expected […]