{"id":513295,"date":"2026-08-19T20:27:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=73641"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:27:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:27:49","slug":"europes-rail-freight-problems-are-immediate-the-commissions-solutions-are-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=513295","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s rail freight problems are immediate, the Commission\u2019s solutions are not"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three months ago, Czech MEP Ond\u0159ej Krut\u00edlek asked the European Commission to explain why rail freight is struggling and what is being done to stop the bleeding. Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas finally responded with a half a page letter that still leaves a few unanswered questions, especially about immediate relief.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Tzitzikostas<\/a> first pointed out how the three segments of the rail freight sector (block trains, intermodal and single wagonload) are all underperforming for different reasons. The decline in block trains, which make up the vast majority of traffic, was attributed to \u201ceconomic change\u201d. Intermodal \u201cgrowing but not yet enough to compensate for block train losses\u201d and SWL is just less competitive than using trucks.<\/p>\n

DAC as only solution for SWL<\/h2>\n

The other two questions concerned the Commission\u2019s plan to increase the competitiveness of rail freight and to stabilise the ever-unprofitable SWL services. For the latter, Tzitzikostas only mentioned \u201cthe pilot deployment of Digital Automatic Coupling<\/a>\u201d (DAC). According to him, it \u201ccould\u201d increase the attractiveness of single wagonload by improving shunting operations.<\/p>\n

Whatever opinion one might have of DAC, the main point is that it will not be fully deployed until the early 2030s at least. The Commissioner identified \u201cstructural high costs, fragmentation, and empty runs\u201d as the main challenges faced by SWL. On the other hand, he did not address what is being done to make sure that SWL operators can survive until DAC is adopted.<\/p>\n