After posting record-breaking figures in the first quarter of 2025, the Polish intermodal sector kept growing throughout the first half of the year. During the six months of this year, there was a 3.3% increase in terms of TEUs and a 1.8% increase in UTIs, according to the Polish Office of Transport (UTK).
For the lovers of numbers, over 1,36 million TEUs were loaded in H1 2025, compared to the 1,32 million during the first half of last year. In terms of UTIs, the score was 863,714 to 848,524. If the trends of the last couple of years are confirmed, the second half of 2025 should post even better figures.
Despite moving more units, intermodal trains in Poland got lighter and ran shorter distances during the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Total tonnes decreased by 2.3%, while the performance in tonnes/kilometre dropped by 3.4%, data from UTK showed.
Intermodal market share remains stable
When it comes to the intermodal share of the total rail freight sector, there was a slight improvement both in terms of weight and performances during the first half of 2025. By weight, the market share of intermodal grew from 12.41% in H1 2024 to 12,78% to H1 2025, constituting a new record after the 12,72% posted in Q1 this year.
Concerning the performance in tonnes/kilometres, the intermodal market share rose to 16,63%, compared to the 15,92% of the first six months of 2024. Just like for TEUs and UTIs, this number is expected to continue to grow in the second half of 2025.
More than half of the intermodal market in Poland in controlled by three companies. PCC Intermodal and PKP Cargo lead the way with roughly 20% each, followed and DB Cargo Polska with around 11-13%, depending on the metric used. The rest of the pie is distributed over 30 players, with Metrans, Eurasian Railway Carrier and Alza Cargo being the most notable names.