The European Council might approve the Capacity Management Directive of the Greening Freight Package (GFP) next week. However, in its current state, the Directive might be more detrimental than beneficial for the rail freight sector. The EU Council is expected to finalise a General Approach agreement for the Capacity Management Directive before the Transport Council…
Category: Policy
‘Road transport will keep dominating in Austria and Europe’
A study from the Institute of Transport Economics and Logistics at the University of Vienna of Economics and Business showed quite pessimistic results for the future of Austrian and European rail freight. “Road will remain the dominant mode of transport”, while rail freight will keep losing ground over the next couple of decades, making the…
Poor reliability of Russian rail network pushes shippers onto trucks
Much like the rail and road modalities are clashing in Europe, with the ensuing discussions about rail’s competitiveness, Russia is having similar issues. A recent conference on the topic prompted a sector appeal to the government. The Russian rail freight sector protests the order of priority on the Russian network, on which freight takes last…
‘A fairer rail freight market means fewer state-owned companies’
“There is no reason for the member states to act indirectly as market participants via state-owned, integrated companies”. This was stated in a joint paper by UIRR, ERFA, Die Güterbahnen and RailGood, which set out what they think are the most important measures for rail freight transport in Europe between 2024 and 2029. According to…
French National Assembly urges EU Member States to boycott the WDD
The French National Assembly, part of the French Parliament, is asking its government to oppose the Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD) of the Greening Freight Package (GFP). They are also calling for “Member States to retain full control over the parameters for authorising cross-border driving conditions for lorries over 40 tonnes”. The European Parliament approved…
Ten rail associations ask the EU Commission to postpone TSI revision
The European Commission (EC) is planning another extensive revision of the package of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) in 2026/2027. However, ten European rail associations came together to ask the EC to rethink its plan and wait for an extensive TSI revision until 2030. One of the main reasons for this request is that…
Who (and why) gains from Germany’s €1.7 billion single wagonload fund?
With single wagonload transport being one of the most fragile and volatile services offered by the rail freight industry, the 1.7 billion euros that Germany will pour into it sounded like music to the ears of logisticians. Nevertheless, soon, joy was overtaken by doubt, considering reports claiming that DB Cargo would be the primary beneficiary…