Canada approves broad reforms to freight rail and air

Canada has approved broad air and freight reforms to specify passengers’ rights on planes, mandate the use of voice and video recorders in rail locomotives, and provide more choice for shippers with limited transport options. Reforms are intended to help ...Read More

Tags: Canada, freight, rail freight

Good future for rail freight

Recent rail freight figures show a positive future for rail freight for consumer goods and construction materials, which together now account for almost two-thirds of UK rail freight. The biggest issue facing rail freight is a shortage of infrastructure capacity. ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Rail Freight Service from Liverpool

The first rail freight service from the port of Liverpool made its inaugural journey on 8 May, officially launched by the mayor. The intention is to reduce road haulage miles locally. The mayor said; “Improving our connectivity, both logistically and ...Read More

Tags: containers, exports, freight, rail freight

Swiss rail freight slump

The freight sector of Swiss Railways, SBB Cargo suffered a massive loss of SFr 239m, after a small but encouraging profit of SFr 1m the previous year. This was due completely to the slump in the domestic sector. SBB Cargo ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Petition in Holland for rail freight policy action

A group of more than 50 rail freight stakeholders is presented a petition to the Dutch Parliament, asking for action to help stimulate rail cargo transport and put it on level footing with its German counterparts. The petition was organised ...Read More

Tags: freight, Netherlands, rail freight

Clear policy needed for rail freight

Philippa Edmunds, Freight on Rail manager, reflects on the DfT’s new rail freight strategy and what it means for the sector. The DfT rail freight strategy, published in September, is most welcome as it provides a clear vision for rail ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Scotland needs formal Strategic Rail Freight Network

The top priorities for a Strategic Rail Freight Network are easy to identify: the key Anglo-Scottish West Coast Main Line (in particular) and East Coast Main Line need the full capability and capacity to accommodate 775m-long intermodal trains carrying industry-standard ...Read More

Tags: rail freight

Scotland needs to update rail freight

But much more needs to be done to increase the amount of freight carried by rail.   The industry  should work in partnership with government and customers to deliver rail freight services in sectors such as aggregates, timber and movement ...Read More

Tags: rail freight

Logistics students against Northants rail freight terminal plan

A scheme which would sacrifice farmland for a major rail freight terminal has been questioned by students from the University of Northampton. The proposals, which are to be examined by the Planning Inspectorate, are for a rail depot the size ...Read More

Tags: freight, logistics, rail freight

Scotland government unveils new rail freight strategy

Scotland's Transport Minister Derek Mackay has launched the government's new rail freight strategy called 'Delivering the Goods.' The strategy aims to make the country's rail freight sector competitive and sustainable for meeting the demands of modern markets, as well as ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Australia to invest $15m to increase rail freight capacity

The Australian Government is extending five passing loops across Victoria and South Australia to facilitate the operation of 1,800m freight trains. The $15m loops extension project will be carried out at Mile End in South Australia, and Pyrenees, Murtoa, Pimpinio ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

French Railways testing 1000m freight trains

Fret SNCF, the freight transport arm of France’s national rail operator, is conducting a series of new trials with 1,000-metre freight trains. As continuation of last year’s Marathon long freight train project, Fret SNCF will run 12 trains between October ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Rail Freight Group urges ministers to back channel rail freight

The Rail Freight Group has welcomed the meeting between Theresa May and French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve to agree a deal on providing greater security measures to protect cross channel freight traffic. In a statement, the Group said this would ...Read More

Tags: freight

New Pipeline Infrastructure would help Freight Rail Backlog

Expanding America's pipeline infrastructure would relieve the nation's overburdened freight rail network and improve service for farmers across the country, according to a new study from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The booming energy business in the Upper Midwest increased ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight, USA

South Africa Shifts Freight From Road To Rail

In 2013, about 71 percent of the 734-million tons of freight in South Africa was moved by road, despite the fact that railways make up 80 percent of Africa’s infrastructure, according to a PWC report. Over the next four years, ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Where now for fight against St Albans rail freight scheme?

A High Court challenge to a government decision to grant planning permission for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) on the former Radlett Airfield in Park Street was unsuccessful. St Albans council has until mid April to decide whether to ...Read More

Tags: freight

Planning permission for Park Street rail freight terminal

St Albans MP Anne Main was told last week that the appeal by Helioslough to build a rail freight terminal on the Green Belt site of the former Radlett Airfield had been successful. Among the factors which have influenced the ...Read More

Tags: freight, rail freight

Rail Freight benefits economy

A report has recently been published in the UK, titled ‘Keeping the lights on and the traffic moving: The benefits of rail freight for the UK economy’ for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG)in the UK. The report points out that ...Read More

Tags: freight

Rail freight traffic in Slovenia increases 9% in 2013

SLOVENIAN Railways (SŽ) saw a strong recovery in freight traffic last year according to the company's annual figures, which show volumes increased by 9% to 17.6 million tonnes. Freight performance rose by 10% year-on-year to 3.89 billion net tonne-km as ...Read More

Tags: freight, Seafreight

Long freight trains test in France

The first 1·5 km long freight train was run between Sibelin yard near Lyon and Nîmes on January 18, marking the start of the demonstration phase of the Project Marathon research programme. Project Marathon was launched in April 2011 and ...Read More

Tags: freight, Seafreight

China Railway Corp freight rise expected

China Railway Corporation (CRC) is expected to raise freight rates early this year in order to relieve its massive debt burden and speed up market-oriented reform in the industry, in which it has the monopoly. Such a move may further ...Read More

Tags: China, freight, rail freight, Seafreight

Rail freight campaigners reason to hope

The people of St Albans have been given “a ray of hope” by the county council, which has delayed its decision on whether or not to sell the land at Radlett Airfield for a rail freight terminal. The developers, HelioSlough, ...Read More

HS2 will increase capacity for rail freight

At the Rail Freight Group Christmas lunch, Baroness Susan Kramer, minister of state for transport said that HS2 was “desperately needed to relieve congestion” and to ensure the continued growth and success of the freight sector. She said that rail ...Read More

Tags: rail freight

Rail Freight programme reaches midpoint

On December 4 a conference in Paris, France marked the mid-point of the EU-funded Sustrail research programme to ‘integrate vehicle and track innovations for a more sustainable freight railway’. Sustrail is an EU funded research programme which aims to make ...Read More

Tags: freight, Seafreight

Grangemouth freight terminal news

THE heart of Scotland’s rail freight industry lies in hub railheads along the Mossend-Coatbridge-Grangemouth axis. This is the north end of the West Coast Main Line  which is the busiest trunk route for freight in Britain., where millions of tonnes ...Read More

Tags: freight, Seafreight

Indian freight corridor contract bids

The dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India has allowed four companies to bid for electrical and signalling works on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. The 343km Bhaupur - Khurja section of the 1829km Freight Corridor (DFC) for cargo carried by ...Read More

Tags: freight, Seafreight

Possible Rail Freight routes to UK

Major multinational companies are planning new rail freight corridors, after the success of a regular service from Poland this autumn.  The companies have formed a co-operative to provide a platform for reducing CO2 emissions by transferring freight from road to ...Read More

New Rail Freight Line for Calais

An intersecting rail freight service from Calais to an existing rail motorway in Luxembourg is scheduled for early in 2015.  The current rail motorway runs from Luxembourg to Le Bolou near Perpignan at the foot of the Pyrenees. The French ...Read More

French Rail Freight Projects

The government of France has announced two projects to create rail freight 'motorways' where lorries will be transferred off the roads and on to dedicated trains.  One of these will operate between Lille in Northern France and Bayonne, near the ...Read More

Scotch Whisky Freight Experiment

An experiment has begun to ship Scotch whisky from Elgin in Speyside to Grangemouth Rail Freight Terminal. Currently, all bulk Scotch whisky freight is moved by road from Speyside to warehouses and bottling halls across central Scotland.  This experiment is ...Read More

30th Rail Freight Service for Felixstowe

A new daily service from Felixstowe to Doncaster has started to run from the country's largest container port.There are now 60 freight train movements each day handled by Felixstowe. The new service should take 1.75 million HGV miles each year ...Read More

Rail Freight in China

Volumes of container rail freight should rise in consequence of recent Government reform, increasing investment, and the launch of several international services. Under the reformed government institutions a network of intermodal rail hubs is being set up. Fewer containers are ...Read More

China Reforms Rail Freight

China has begun modernising its rail freight industry after seeking opinions from customers. The Beijing Railway Bureau Freight Center is offering new services, including a direct freight container train from Beijing to Chengdu in Southwest China. Reforms began on June ...Read More

New Rail Freight Terminal

The Port of Felixstowe has opened a new rail freight terminal, which will double capacity at the container port.  Felixstowe is the busiest container port in the UK, with over 40% of the country's containerised traffic. Around 33 shipping lines ...Read More

International Logistics Prize

An academic from a Gothenburg University has won an international logistics award worth 10 000 euros. His dissertation 'Urban freight transport sustainability. The interaction of urban freight and intermodal transport', discusses how rail freight and road freight can be integrated ...Read More

Rail Freight Developments In China

The Chinese Government is investing heavily in rail infrastructure to enable freight traffic from manufacturers in the interior to gain access to ports.  The development also offers the possibility of other shipping options; some Third Party Logistics Providers are considering ...Read More

Romania Rail Freight Privatisation

Romania's loss-making state owned rail freight operator, CFR Marfa, is to be privatised as a condition imposed by the IMF and the EU in return for an aid deal in 2011.  The starting price for the rail freight unit has ...Read More

New Rail Freight Stock for Gateway

72 intermodal wagons are to be modified to operate daily freight services from the new London Gateway port from late in 2013. Their deck height will be reduced to 1 metre, which will enable them to carry high-cube containers.

Rail Freight Shortens Transit times

The new express freight train from Chengdu in China to Lodz in Poland is more expensive than ocean freight but offers far shorter transit times than the 30 - 49 days by ship.  Rates are cheaper than air freight.  The ...Read More

New Rail Freight Terminal Felixstowe

A new rail freight terminal opening this summer in Felixstowe should enable the port to double its capacity. The port already has the busiest intermodal rail terminal in the UK, and is hoping that increasing its capacity will attract logistics ...Read More

French Rail Freight Appeal

The French rail operator SNCF is appealing against a fine levied on the rail freight division.  The company president says that the fine is unfair, because it refers to practices which date back to the opening up of the rail ...Read More

New Freight Interchange Approved

Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local government, has finally approved Planning Permission for the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange at Radlett.  The news has been welcomed by industry organisations, including the Freight Transport Association and the Rail ...Read More

Rail Freight Access charges

The Rail Freight group said it was disappointed at the conclusions of the Office of the Rail Regulator on track access charges.  These charges will apply to freight traffic in the next regulatory control period.  The RFG says that this ...Read More

Rail Freight supports EC liberalisation

The Rail Freight Group's chairman has written to the European Commissioners, requesting them to maintain their policy of liberalisation of the rail sector.  He argues that other member states, especially France and Germany, are fighting to maintain their monopolistic structures ...Read More

Possible freight merger

The railway freight companies of the Czech Republic and Slovakia may merge as both companies have financial problems.  The possibility of a merger has been discussed before, but both Prime Ministers admitted it on TV this week. Small rail freight ...Read More

Rail Freight Tunnel Security Charge

The Rail Freight Group in the UK is questioning why rail freight services will be charged an additional 750 Euros security surcharge in France.  Freight lorries, which so far have been the cause of all four fires in the Channel ...Read More

Norway Freight Hub threat

The business federation of Norway has criticised the government for failing to invest in the state railway's primary rail cargo hub in Alnabru, Oslo.  The business leaders say that facilities need to be up graded to include electronic freight handling ...Read More

More Rail freight with Italy

Rail freight services between the UK and Italy are used by a wide range of retailers, good producers and manufacturers; this has prompted the introduction of an additional weekly services between Hams Hall in the Midlands and Domodossola in Northern ...Read More

Rail Freight improvement in Sweden

Rail Freight to and from Gothenburg, Sweden, increased by 10%in quarter 3 in comparison with 2011.  Rail traffic to and from Gothenburg currently replaces around 700 freight truck movements per day. Around 26 rail shuttles offer daily departures; the latest ...Read More

Sweden Investment in Rail Freight

The Transport Ministry of Sweden is proposing an ambitious plan to modernise railway lines.  Two thirds of them withal be allocated as primary rail freight corridors serving ports and airports.  The investment of Skr 55 billion is the largest amount ...Read More

New Turkish rail freight service

A bi-weekly intermodal train service between Instanbul and Sopron in Hungary will carry up to 36 freight containers per journey. Transit time via Bulgaria and Serbia should be 5 - 6 days.

Indian Rail Freight suffers in blackout

The three-day long power blackout in India a couple of weeks ago caused major problems for the rail freight sector, but road freight and air freight were largely unaffected. With the threat of millions of stranded passengers, the authorities chose ...Read More

Broken Down Freight Train

A freight train broke down at the entrance to the Severn Tunnel on 5 August, blocking access and causing major delays in fright and passenger traffic. It was removed the following day, being taken away by the operating freight firm at ...Read More

Rail Freight Group welcomes investment

The Rail Freight Group welcomed the Government's pledge to make a major investment in rail development, saying that the package would support future growth and enable freight operators and customers to develop ever more efficient and innovative services. Other industry trade ...Read More

Rail Freight Agreement for Europe

The Rail Freight Group (RFG) has welcomed wholeheartedly the agreement w between the EU member states, the European Parliament and the Commission on the First Railway Package Recast. The organisation, which represents over one hundred member companies from the freight and ...Read More

Proposed New Rail Freight Charges

A new charging scheme for rail freight is due to be implemented in 2014, and the Office of Rail Regulation is proposing to extend a special freight levy to new classes of cargo. The freight specific charge, which is currently ...Read More

New Freight Terminals in Europe

Three new freight terminals will be developed in northern Italy,as part of Europe's plans to improve the rail infrastructure for cargo. The Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is due to open in 2017, will help to improve transit on the Rotterdam-Genoa ...Read More

Rail Freight Permission in Belgium

The freight subsidiary of Eurotunnel, Europorte, has been given permission to run on the Belgian rail network. The operator said that Belgium’s location “at the heart of the European crossroads”, presented a number of opportunities for Europorte, the third largest operator ...Read More

Rail Freight at Felixstowe

Earlier this week, the new North Rail project was officially launched at the port of Felixstowe. This will be the third rail terminal at the UK’s largest freight container port and the first able to handle 30-wagon freight trains, capable of ...Read More

Rail Freight Group approves HS2

The Rail Freight Group has welcomed the Government decision to progress development of a high speed rail line to the Midlands and North, saying that it would provide useful new capacity for freight and free up rail paths on the ...Read More

Pakistan Rail Freight on the move

Rail freight from Karachi ceased for six months due to a lack of locomotives starting last July.  Daily freight services will now recommence to clear a backlog of of coal, phosphate and railways material at the port. Container  freight services will ...Read More

Longer Freight Trains in France

in 2009 the French government announced plans to promote sustainable freight transport.  Contributing towards this goal are 'train motorways' which can take longer trains at higher speeds. This helps to achieve the goal of more freight miles for less carbon. ...Read More

New Rail Freight Terminal for Felixstowe

A new rail terminal at Felixstowe will be the first in the UK to be able to handle longer, 30-wagon freight trains which allow more containers to be moved on the same infrastructure, and provide greater carbon savings. Felixstowe is ...Read More

Rail Freight disruption in France

Next year France's railway network will be modernised at around 1000 locations, as part of a plan to renovate the whole rail structure by 2016. Most of the modernisation work will take place at night, so the impact on rail freight is ...Read More

Rail Freight Encouragement

Last week the Government issued Policy Guidance on Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges. This is part of the Logistics Growth Review.  The Government supports the transfer of freight from road to rail, where it is practical and economic to do so. The ...Read More

Rail Freight Hub for Spalding

Councillors in Spalding have welcomed enquiries from developers outside the region to turn the area into a rail freight hub. They view this as a way of securing existing jobs, and creating new ones, in an area which struggles with ...Read More

Rail Freight Dispute stalls

A dispute between major freight railroads in the USA and labour unions has been running for over a year; in a bid to avert strike action, the White House has appointed a presidential emergency board to try and resolve the ...Read More

Rail Freight Plans for Detroit

The rail freight route from Detroit to Chicago will begin improvements next year, after being granted $196.5 million from the US Federal Railroad Administration.  Construction should begin in spring next year on new track, fibre optic lines and train control ...Read More

Strike ballot for Intermodal Freight Operator

Today the strike ballot called by the RMT union at Freightliner closes. Managers at Southampton's main rail freight operator were  balloted for strike action, and action short of a strike, in a dispute over what the RMT calls 'fair' pay and ...Read More

Increased volume on freight only line

In the first half of 2011 almost 50% more trains than in 2010 ran on the freight only railway Betuwe Route, which connects the Port of Rotterdam with the European hinterland. The railway operator attributes the growth partly to a ...Read More

Industry Plan for Rail Freight

On 4 October the Rail Delivery Group published its plans to improve cost efficiency and increase the volume of freight carried by 30%. The scheme to improve UK rail efficienty by 2019 was warmly welcomed, by the Association of Train Operating ...Read More

New Rotterdam call for rail freight service

From September onwards,  the existing rail freight service between Rotterdam and Antwerp will also call at the Rail Service Center in Rotterdam. This creates direct access to the rail freight network in South and South-East Europe. This will help to ...Read More

Rail Freight Sale for Russia

There will be an open auction in Russia next month, to sell 75% of the freight subsidiary of Russian Railways.  There seem to be three main contenders to purchase the business, funds from which will help Russian Railways to finance ...Read More

Rail Freight Study for Rotterdam

The EU has agreed to co-finance a study to build a new railway yard on the outskirts of Rotterdam in Holland.  The study precedes the construction of the yard, which will give the port more capacity to handle rail freight. ...Read More

Freight and Logistics Opportunities in emerging economies

Emerging markets will become more and more important in the global economy, as countries like India and China report growth rates of around 10%, in sharp contrast to the developed Western economies.  The CEO of Agility Europe wrote in the ...Read More

Freight Director for Network Rail

Network Rail, the UK rail infrastructure operator, is appointing a Director of Freight to help develop the network to meet the projected increase in rail freight traffic. Responsible for developing the network for freight, he will work with Network Rail's ...Read More

Freight Saves Eurotunnel

A spectacular increase in freight traffic has helped Eurotunnel to get back in the black during the first half of 2011.  Truck shuttles increased by 21% over last year, and freight traffic rose by 21%. Many industrial customers have returned ...Read More

New Rail Freight Course

The first of a new series of courses designed by the Rail Freight Group and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport has just been completed.  The one day course is for freight buyers who view the rail sector as ...Read More