Over the past couple of years, the narrative around European rail freight was one of stagnation. However, data from Eurostat is now showing that this is no longer the case: it is a full-on decline in basically every Member State and every performance indicator.
The datasets provided by Eurostat take into consideration tonnes, tonnes-kilometre and trains-kilometre, the three main units to measure the state of rail freight. Between 2022 and 2024, only Portugal, Sweden and Slovakia showed some growth, albeit very minor. This shows that the struggles of rail freight are affecting the whole of Europe.
A defeat on all fronts
In terms of total tonnes, none of the countries included in the dataset showed any growth. The most affected have been the Baltic states, mostly due to the severed ties with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago. Moreover, a general drop in weight transported by rail could also be explained by a shift in types of goods moved. For example, the transport of heavy coal is being reduced while intermodal transport, often lighter, is growing.
However, this explanation would not justify the same trends identified with the other performance indicators. In terms of tonnes-kilometre, only Slovakia and Portugal managed to have better figures in 2024 than in 2022. Slovakia went from 7,838 to 8,113 million tonnes-kilometre, while Portugal recorded an even smaller growth, from 2,190 to 2,214 million tonnes-kilometre. Regarding trains-kilometre, only Sweden advanced, but here as well it was marginal: from 37,177 to 37,218 thousand trains-kilometre.
Even in the countries where rail freight moves higher volumes, numbers have dropped. This is the case for Germany, Poland, France and Italy but also Switzerland and Austria, where the sector has historically been stronger. The current outlook is also reflected in the modal share of rail freight, which increased in only six European countries between 2005 and 2023.
Why is it happening?
The reasons behind the downfall of rail freight can be many. The fragmented outlook of the European Union, far from being a cohesive and cooperative environment, is surely one. Rail freight is mainly an international business, or at least it should be if international collaboration would be better coordinated by EU institutions. This brings us to a possible second cause: the absence of concrete policies to favour rail freight. From the Greening Freight Package to national initiatives, very few measures have been beneficial for the sector over the past few years.