In a bid to combat the crippling impact of skyrocketing track access charges, European rail operators are calling for urgent short-term support measures. The clarion call comes amidst a flurry of criticism following Germany’s recent hefty price hike program, among others. Apart from Germany, which will increase TACs by 16 per cent, Sweden and Portugal…
Category: Germany
Germany, Austria and Switzerland ask for EU-wide DAC commitment
The governments of Germany, Austria and Switzerland said that their efforts in the context of deploying Digital Automatic Coupling (DAC) “are necessary, but not sufficient”. They are asking for the creation of an EU-wide funding mechanism, financial commitment from all Member States and strong foundations from the sector. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are thus asking…
DB completes six-track-bundle upgrade in Basel
The line between Basel and Karlsruhe is one of the main bottlenecks for rail freight along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor. Now, some improvements are expected as the track expansion at the Basel-Weil am Rhein was commissioned by Deutsche Bahn (DB) on 29 April 2024. In total, a bundle of six new tracks was built parallel to…
HHLA acquires majority stakes at Roland Spedition to boost intermodal business
A new majority stake acquisition of Roland Spedition GmbH, a full-service rail and road transport operator, allows HHLA to boost hinterland links to and from Austria. The Hamburg-based company took over 51 per cent of the Austria-based intermodal service provider and now eyes optimising combined transport operations within its network. Shareholders and managing directors of…
Amazon grows intermodal transport by 50% in Europe, but struggles to commit
American e-commerce giant Amazon has increased its intermodal transport in Europe by 50 per cent, with a large role for rail. This growth percentage is based on data from 2023. Spanish publication El Mercantil writes that 25 per cent of all goods travel via intermodal transport from Amazon’s hub in Zaragoza. The company uses that…