UK to receive first co-co locomotives 
Stadler is introducing the Class 99 bi-mode co-co locomotive in UK: the Swiss rail car manufacturer has signed an agreement with leasing company Beacon Rail for the provision of 30 bi-mode locomotives to be operated by GB Railfreight. The Class 99 represents the next... more
LTG to test alternative route to Ukraine
The Lithuanian railfreight company LTG Cargo has launched a test run from Kaunas Intermodal Terminal (KIT) in Lithuania to Ukraine via Poland. This is the first time in LTG’s history that freight from Ukraine is to be transported by rail to Lithuania without going through... more
Shifting car transports to the railways
In partnership with Fret SNCF/Rail Logistics Europe, ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) despatched a test train for the first eco-friendly rail transport of new vehicles for Hödlmayr from Barcelona (Spain) to St. Valentin/Schwertberg in Upper Austria. A second test train is already... more
Food giant switches to renewable fuels
Nestlé’s products will now be delivered around UK and Ireland by trucks which emit up to 95% less carbon. This significant reduction in emissions comes after the company switched 75% of its own fleet of trucks from diesel to bio-LNG. Over the next two years, the remaining... more
More agricultural deliveries from Ukraine
From March to April 2022, the Austrian Rail Cargo Group (RCG) organised grain trains from Ukraine to Germany every second day, transporting a total of 60,000 t of grain during this period. Currently, RCG is running grain trains three times a week from Cierna (Slovakia) to Brake... more
European road freight in all-time high
The Upply Ti IRU European road freight rates index (Erfri) for Europe hit an all-time high in Q1/2022. The benchmark index rate stood at 110.9, which is 4.3 points over the previous quarter and 7.5 points over Q1/2021. The Q1/2022 Erfri is the seventh consecutive quarter of... more
Mining operation with battery-electric locomotives
Resources company BHP will purchase four battery-electric locomotives and conduct trials at its Western Australia iron ore rail network. The four locomotives are scheduled for delivery in late 2023. Two will be supplied by Progress Rail and two by Wabtec. BHP will test the... more
60% less CO2
HHLA subsidiary Metrans switched all rail transports to sustainably generated electricity last year. Although the volumes transported increased, maritime transports in the Metrans network between European ports and their hinterland generated around 60% less CO2 in 2021, the rail... more
Romania to resume old Soviet line to Ukraine
Romania has published a tender for the repair of the old Soviet wide gauge rail line between the Romanian Port of Galati and Giurgiulesti in Moldova for RON 1.289 million (EUR 260 million). The restored line will allow to transport grain and other goods from and to Ukraine... more
Cherbourg-Bayonne rail link to open mid-2024
Brittany Ferries has given the go-ahead to a new railfreight link in France between the port of Cherbourg in the north of the country and the European Freight Centre at Mouguerre, near the border to Spain. The line will be operated as a ‘rail motorway’. The launch of the new... more