China, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have signed an agreement on the construction of the railway between the three countries. The document specifies financing, the route to be taken, operation and maintenance. Reportedly, construction will begin in October. The three countries took part in an online signing ceremony on Thursday, 6 June. The agreement sets in stone…
Category: Infrastructure
Freight to contribute little to billions of Rail Baltica-induced growth
Rail Baltica is an economically viable undertaking. While its projected cost has grown immensely in recent years, the high-speed rail line is expected to contribute up to 23,5 billion euros to the Baltic economies. Freight, however, is not likely to contribute much. An independent cost-benefit analysis (CBA) found that Rail Baltica will likely add between…
Finland to study European gauge connection to Sweden
Finland wants to study the possibility of creating a European gauge (1435 mm) connection to Sweden to facilitate trade and military mobility with the rest of the European Union. The first option would be to create a 1435 mm railway line connecting Oulu, to Haparanda, on the border with Sweden, where goods have to be…
Russia assigns lowest priority to freight on rail network
Russia is getting a new set of rules determining priority on the rail network from September onwards. Freight is forced to yield to all other types of rail transportation. It remains at the bottom of the priority list, even as crucial trade infrastructure is already at maximum capacity. The new priority system in Russia does…
Kazakh minister beats back: tariff hikes justified
Kazakhstan is in the wake of a series of tariff hikes on the Kazakh rail network. Businesses and parliamentarians have protested the frequent price increases, and the government cancelled an earlier planned hike. Now, the Kazakh transport minister is beating back: the Kazakh network is cheap and the hikes are justified. “We need to point…
Sweden upgrades Iron Ore Line, possibly raises TACs for funding
Sweden’s traffic administration intends to advance several rail infrastructure projects along the country’s northern Iron Ore Line, which is crucial for mines in the area. Moreover, Sweden is considering raising track access charges to fund a partial double track between Boden and Luleå. Sweden’s northern rail infrastructure is vital for some of Europe’s largest mining…
Valencia-Madrid rolling highway enters test phase
The rolling highway service between Valencia and Madrid is one step closer to starting operations. The first testing phase started over the weekend, with Tramesa, one of the headliners of the project, underlining that it will not be an easy task. The deployment of the rolling highway between Valencia and Madrid was announced in the…
Valencia-Madrid rolling highway enters test phase
The rolling highway service between Valencia and Madrid is one step closer to starting operations. The first testing phase started over the weekend, with Tramesa, one of the headliners of the project, underlining that it will not be an easy task. The deployment of the rolling highway between Valencia and Madrid was announced in the…
New Romanian transshipment terminal opens at Ukrainian border
Grampet Group, a Romanian private rail freight company and owner of Grup Feroviar Român, is opening its newly built grain transshipment terminal near the Ukrainian border. Located in the town of Dornești, the terminal is supposed to streamline grain shipments to the port of Constanța. The inauguration ceremony of the terminal is taking place on…