The UK Government has launched the latest tranche of its seed funding initiative, the Freight Innovation Fund. The initiative could encourage rail freight innovation across all sectors. The seven million pound (8.2 million euros) cross-modal cash grant is intended to help drive towards a net-zero carbon economy. UK small businesses with ideas on cross-modal logistics…
Category: Rail freight
Not a word about rail freight in Dutch coalition agreement
It was a long and complex process, which many expected to fail at one point or another. After half a year, the Dutch coalition negotiations have ended with an agreement between four right-wing parties. The Dutch rail freight sector will likely look at the agreement with a sense of disappointment, because the agreement makes not…
Trilink: the radical West Coast Main Line upgrade explained
Network Rail, the British government’s infrastructure management agency, has given a briefing and update on the Trilink project. The immense upgrade is quietly underway on the northern half of the West Coast Main Line. The renewal project will see capacity benefits on the northern section of the line, which will be particularly challenged by the…
Latvia appoints special Rail Baltica secretary amid strategy change
In the midst of a troubled implementation of Rail Baltica in Latvia, the country is undergoing a strategy change. Latvia is centralising the project’s management under the transport ministry. Kristine Malnača, formerly employed at Rail Baltica, will be deputy state secretary for Rail Baltica affairs, starting in June. Malnača will be leading a Rail Baltica…
German TAC lawsuit follows political deal that shields local passenger rail
The German rail sector is heading into a pivotal lawsuit that could decide the future of the country’s track access charges (TAC) policy. Eleven rail companies are suing the Bundesnetzagentur following a planned 16,2 per cent TAC increase. According to them, a federal political deal to shield local passenger rail is hurting other sectors and…
Iran and India overcome key hurdle for Chabahar’s INSTC port operation
Iran and India have signed an agreement that will enable the purchase of cargo handling equipment for the port of Chabahar. The port, located in the south of Iran and a key node of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), is operated by India. The question of cargo handling equipment has stalled operations at the…
Freightliner strengthens electric locomotive roster
UK operator Freightliner, part of the American Genesee and Wyoming corporation, has made a pair of locomotive purchases. They come from rival DB Cargo UK, part of the German Deutsche Bahn operation. The two biggest rail freight operators in the UK have agreed a deal that sees a pair of ‘class 90’ electric locomotives transfer…
China to build four rolling stock production sites in Hungary
CCRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CCRC, signed agreements with Hungarian equity fund Acemil to build four facilities in the Magyar country. The facilities will focus on rail vehicles production and maintenance as well as professional training and research and development. This new initiative may be part of a larger…
Timber yard planed for Scottish Highlands
The multinational timber processing company West Fraser would like a rail freight terminal at its Highland mill. The company has begun the planning application process. If it is successful it would see raw timber trains arriving at a production plant near Inverness. Finished product trains would depart, potentially heading for customers all over Europe. They…
Kazakhstan to introduce AI and build 5 border hubs by 2030
Kazakhstan intends to expand its logistics infrastructure by five more transport hubs. The hubs are supposed to expand the capacity of the Eurasian transport network. The Central Asian country also plans to introduce AI into its rail operations and expand its railway infrastructure. At a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakh president Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev…