Combined transport (CT) consignments in Europe recorded a 4.92% decrease in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to UIRR. Volumes have been dropping especially in Germany, where line closures continue to be a burden to rail freight.
“Intermodal freight trains were not granted adequate bypass opportunities around sections of lines that were fully closed for maintenance works in Germany and other European countries”, UIRR said. This quarterly year-on-year decline follows a +1.5% in consignments between 2024 and 2025.
However, the writings were on the wall. Despite overall positive numbers, the last quarters of 2025 were already slightly negative, with volumes slowly decreasing. Despite intermodal transport growing in some countries, such as Poland, the impact of the infrastructure works in Germany is too big to compensate.
‘Poorly organised works’
Berlin is one of the largest rail freight and combined transport players in Europe, but the plan to modernise its railway network in such a drastic manner is giving operators more than a headache. For example, there was a 20% decrease in the CT performance in Germany between 2024 and 2025. “The disappointing outcome is clearly attributable to the poorly organised restorative works on the railway infrastructure”, UIRR stressed in its annual report.