58,000 quiet freight wagons 
Deutsche Bahn plans to equip the entire freight wagon fleet on its German rail network with state-of-the-art composite brake blocks or "whisper brakes" by the end of 2020. The retrofitting programme should be completed by that date, and DB Cargo will then have up to... more
Russia: railfreight volumes decline
Russian Railways (RZD) shipped 99.4 million t of freight across its network in February 2020, a drop of 0.6% compared to the same period last year. Freight turnover in February 2020 decreased by 2.4% to 197.4 billion tkm and by 2.9% to 251.4 billion tkm when taking into account... more
The inland waterways behind the seaports 
Inland barges can look forward to strong stern winds. Given their environment-friendliness and their intermodal possibilities, they are the mode of choice for many a logistics player. An overview of current projects. more
VTG grows in Europe and Asia
VTG is expanding its footprint on two international fronts: The Germany-based private wagon rental company and provider of rail logistics services has founded its own branch in Japan and acquired a majority stake in Carbo Rail in Europe. By taking over the Slovak rail... more
New Central Asian corridor open for TIR
The Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI) corridor is now open for TIR transports, according to the international road union (IRU). The corridor offers the shortest possible route between Iran and Kyrgyzstan, with TIR saving up to five days on the usual transit time.... more
China – UK express train restarts next week
Davies Turner is back on track with an express railfreight service to and from China for containers. The fixed-day, weekly direct rail import service from China to the UK will re-commence from 13 March after the interruption caused of the coronavirus crisis and the Chinese New... more
Swiss train manufacturer soars to record high
Stadler Rail sold more trains in 2019 than ever before. Incoming orders for 2019 amount to CHF 5.1 billion and are over CHF 700 million higher than the previous year. Of this amount, more than CHF 833 million were attributable to the service and components reporting segment.... more
42 new trucks to serve car maker in UK
XPO Logistics has signed a long-term partnership agreement with Mercedes-Benz Parts Logistics to manage UK parts distribution through an integrated, digitally-managed transportation network. XPO will distribute automotive parts to Mercedes-Benz’s UK retail and commercial... more
CN: back on track after protesters stop blockades
Canadian National Railways (CN) has started calling back most of the temporarily laid off employees based in Eastern Canada after the lifting of significant illegal blockades on its network over the last days. Over 1,400 trains were delayed or cancelled because of the blockades,... more
Wilhelmshaven: better rail links by the end of 2022
A groundbreaking ceremony has now kicked off the second construction phase for the expansion of the rail track to Germany’s deep-water JadeWeserPort in Wilhemshaven. By the end of 2022, the Oldenburg–Wilhelmshaven section will be double-track and electrified all the way. ... more