The European Parliament recently approved the revision of the TEN-T Regulation. The new document presents a few takeaways, but one of the biggest changes is a brighter spotlight on military mobility and security across the Old Continent. For example, additional railways and roads were included in the new TEN-T map “to enhance the synergies between civilian and military transport networks”. In addition, a new article (Article 48) was inserted in the TEN-T regulation specifically concerning military mobility. The article has two points. First, Member States can decide to disregard some of the st ..read more

Spain has allocated an additional 43,5 million euros for eco-incentive subsidies. With the subsidies, Spain intends to promote rail freight based on environmental and socioeconomic merit. The eco-incentive subsidies were introduced after a deal with the European Commission (EC) on the release of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Earlier, the EC wanted Madrid to implement new tolls for road haulage in 2024 in order to promote the use of railways. The toll implementation would be a precondition for unlocking billions in funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund (RFF). The ..read more

The railway between China and Laos has moved 8 million tonnes of goods since the start of operations on the route, according to Chinese data. The route, a joint project by the two countries, has been in operation since 2015 and is of vital importance for the Laotian economy. According to Agenzia Nova, the 8 million tonnes of transported goods primarily consist of fruits, grains, frozen seafood, electronic and mechanical components, as well as minerals and electric vehicles. For Laos, the route is of vital economic importance. It is the only landlocked country in South-East Asia, and approximat ..read more

PKP Cargo is planning to expand its operations into Ukraine as the company seeks to expand operations in more neighbouring countries. A move into Ukraine would take place after the construction of new infrastructure, according to PKP Cargo’s CEO Alan Beroud. PKP Cargo, a subsidiary of the state-owned Polish rail operator, plans to move into Ukraine. The company is waiting for new infrastructure in Ukraine to be built first, after which PKP Cargo will make its move. Currently, American companies are building transshipment terminals in Ukraine. Upon completion, PKP Cargo intends to apply for con ..read more

The deployment of electronic freight transport information (eFTI), is one of the pillars of the EU’s attempt to decarbonise the freight industry. The policy aims at digitalising freight transport documents, most of which are still currently circulating in a physical form. RailFreight.com had a chat with Eva Killar, Head of Mobility Development and Investments Department at the Estonian Ministry of Climate, and Heiti Mering, founder of the Estonian Digital Logistics Centre of Excellence, to discuss the eFTI programme and have a clearer understanding of it. The double interview will be published ..read more

Consistency in pursuing goals, political commitment and explicit financial guarantees. Those are the three pillars that will ensure rail investments take place in a targeted and efficient manner in pursuit of reaching climate and decarbonisation goals and making rail freight more competitive. According to ETF, CER, and UITP, it is high time the EU proved its commitment to supporting the sector. The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) are firmly convinced t ..read more

South Korean logistics company LX Pantos has opened a new rail terminal in Tata, Hungary. It will lease the terminal from Austrian Rail Cargo Group (RCG) for a duration of 10 years. LX Pantos seeks to dive into car battery logistics, for which there is growing demand in Hungary. The opening ceremony for the terminal took place on Sunday 21 April. LX Pantos received keys to the terminal from RCG representatives. The company will lease the terminal from RCG for ten years, and has the option to extend the lease for another decade. The terminal, located approximately 70 kilometres southwest of Bud ..read more

The next couple of years will be quite burdensome for the Italian rail freight industry as traffic along many lines will have to be interrupted for upgrade works. Just throuhgout 2024, 60 per cent of the Italian rail lines will be subject to partial or total closure, for a total of 4,100 days. Over 200 lines will be involved in such projects, with the number expected to grow to over 260 in 2025. If we would sum up the days during which all these lines will be completely closed throughout this year, the total is 2,900 days. When it comes to partial closures, meaning that at least one track of t ..read more

The Belarusian government has decided to raise rail freight fees by an average of eight per cent. The burden of such a raise will primarily fall on the shoulders of domestic companies and those transporting to and from other Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states. As per a decision of Belarus’ Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, rail freight fees in the country are now eight per cent higher on average. The Ministry says that the increase concerns “a change in tariffs for the transport of goods via rail.” The ministry mentions that the final cost of transportation depends on va ..read more

The European Parliament (EP) is voting today on the trialogue agreement on the revision of the TEN-T Regulation. Expectations are that the EP will approve the text. After that, the policy will be translated into the 24 EU official languages, published in the Official Journal of the European Union and come into force. The initial agreement on the TEN-T revision between the EP and the Council of the European Union was reached in December 2023. The main change proposed was the addition of the extended core and comprehensive networks to the already existing core network. In February 2024, the revi ..read more