‘Dark clouds’ gather over German rail renovation plan

German rail freight association Die Güterbahnen sees ‘dark clouds’ in the rail renovation plan proposed by DB and the federal government. The association identifies a number of issues in the June 2022 plan that it expects to hinder rail traffic disproportionately. The renovation plan aims to renovate 40 rail corridors that total over 4,000 kilometres […]

DB carries out successful rehearsal for Frankfurt-Mannheim line closure

On 15 July 2024, a landmark infrastructure upgrade project will begin in Germany. The Frankfurt am Main-Mannheim line, one of the busiest routes in Germany and an integral part of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor, will enter a five-month upgrade phase. In preparation for the works, Deutsche Bahn implemented a route diversion rehearsal that was deemed successful, […]

EU may break up DB Cargo due to losses

The European Union may break up DB Cargo due to the rail operator’s large losses, which have reached nearly 500 million euros. Company sources reported to Reuters that the EU may consider the figures and subsequent government support to be distorting the market. The Deutsche Bahn subsidiary incurred losses that were twice as high as […]

Hupac’s 2023 performance indicates the struggles of European rail

Multiple challenges, some continuing from previous years and some appearing out of the blue, created a not-so-business-friendly environment for intermodal operator Hupac in 2023. The company saw its traffic and volumes declining across its whole network and has implemented strategic moves to tackle the harsh market conditions. In 2023, Hupac transported approximately 975,000 road consignments, […]

Recovery and stagnation: German rail survey reveals mixed results

The German rail sector fully recovered from the pandemic in 2022. According to an annual German market survey, German rail freight exceeded its pre-pandemic performance levels by 10 per cent. However, performance also stagnated in the second half of the year. According to an annual survey by the Bundesnetzagentur on the performance of the rail […]