Fewer freight trucks used the Channel Tunnel in the first quarter of 2024. The LeShuttle Freight trains carried just under 302,000 trucks between the turn of the year and the end of March. Last year (2023), the figure was just below 322,000, representing a six per cent fall, according to Getlink. Getlink has also announced…
Category: Rail freight
Multinational effort supports rail ops at Celsa Steel Cardiff
A Spanish steel company with a production facility in Wales, supported by a British Rail freight company, running Italian locomotives. It’s like Brexit never happened. Nevertheless, the rail services provided by GB Railfreight keep manufacturing moving at the Celsa steelworks in Cardiff. Now, just like their hi-tech furnaces, rail operations are modernising too. Rolling stock…
Kazakh Railways once again requests higher track access charges: 20,3% increase
Kazakh Railways (KTZ) has once again requested approval for an increase of track access charges. The request for a 20,3 per cent increase comes after the loss-making rail company saw an earlier price hike cancelled by the government. According to the Association of Kazakh rail freight carriers, KTZ is insisting on a 20,3 per cent…
Dutch advisory body appeals to coalition negotiators: “Create level playing field”
The Dutch rail freight committee has presented a letter of appeal to government negotiators. In the letter, the committee requests the next government to take concrete steps for the betterment of Dutch rail freight. A level playing field, environmental challenges and decarbonisation feature as major points of attention in the appeal. The Dutch rail freight…
PKP Cargo launches Rotterdam connection from new intermodal terminal
Polish rail freight operator PKP Cargo is launching a new international connection to Rotterdam. Trains will depart twice a week from a newly built intermodal terminal in Karsznice, central Poland. The company says that the new route is part of a larger strategy for intermodal transport in the region. The Polish rail operator will be…
DB Cargo France: ‘traffic decline balanced out by SNCF’s routes pickup’
In an interview with Railfreight.com, Alexandre Gallo, President and CEO of DB Cargo France and President of the Association Française du Rail (AFRA), comments on market trends and the outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond while responding to shippers’ current perception of the industry. How did rail freight markets play out in…
LTG Cargo and Skinest Baltija to start legal battle over cancelled contract
LTG Cargo and Skinest Baltija will head into a legal battle over the cancellation of a supply contract between the two parties. Earlier, LTG Cargo claimed that Skinest Baltija had breached the contract on various occasions. The company then added Skinest Baltija to a list of ‘unreliable suppliers’. Skinest Baltija disputes LTG Cargo’s claims and…
GB Railfreight extends contract with Network Rail
Engineering trains are a significant part of the rail freight sector. They support the entirety of the railway. In Britain, GB Railfreight (GBRf) one of the country’s largest rail freight operators, has extended its contract for those support services with Network Rail, the owner and infrastructure manager of the UK mainline railway network. Network Rail…
‘Moldova might separate IM and RU tasks by year’s end’
Ukraine and Moldova need to separate the roles of infrastructure manager (IM) and railway undertaking (RU) to be integrated into European railways. It seems that Moldova might achieve this by the end of 2024, as Harry Karandeinos from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) mentioned during the RailFreight Summit ‘24. Karandeinos, Principal Sustainable…
Russia and Iran finalising Rasht-Astara agreement
Russia and Iran are reportedly finalising an agreement for the Rasht-Astara railway. The line in northern Iran is a crucial missing piece for the western branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). According to the agreement, Russia will bear the brunt of the costs. A meeting between the Iranian ambassador in Russia and a…