Combined transport in Europe fell by 1.35% during the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Demand is there, but “extensive infrastructure works coupled with low prioritisation of bypass capacities and traffic management” have caused a slight downfall, according to UIRR.
After a strong start to the year, the sector has now lost some steam, as UIRR’s head Ralf-Charley Schultze put it. Operators continue to struggle financially “due to the uncompensated efforts required to maintain the capacities and to keep the intermodal freight trains running”. Moreover, Europe has reassessed its policies on decarbonising transport, giving higher priority to military mobility in these uncertain times of geopolitical tensions.
The importance of the Greening Freight Package
There are some measures in the works that should boost combined transport, namely the Greening Freight Package and its components. For example, the Capacity Management Regulation “will be instrumental in delivering more and better-quality train paths, both during timetabling and when circumventing sections impacted by works”.
On the other hand, recent developments concerning the Combined Transport Directive have “surprised the Combined Transport Community”, as UIRR pointed out. The European Commission has in fact recently communicated its intention to withdraw the amendments to the Directive, something that everyone in the industry would prefer to avoid.