News

The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been quite vocal about her position against Italy’s inclusion in the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019. The country’s Ministry of Transport Matteo Salvini, however, recently showed a possibly different attitude. Italy needs to make a decision before the end of 2023 and it is still unclear which way they will go.

The volume of cargo transported on the New Silk Road through Russia continues to decline. In April, 18,498 TEUs were registered on the rail link between Europe and China, which is almost 34 percent less compared to April last year. Although the effects of the war were noticeable as early as April 2022, 27,934 TEUs were still being transported on the Russian route. In March of this year, the volume amounted to 21,034 TEU.

The trade value in dollars between China and Russia has increased by 41.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Compared to April last year, export from China’s side have increased by 67.2 per cent, while imports have increased by 24.8 per cent.

The recent uptick in container spot rates is «transitory», according to maritime consultant Drewry, which remains «unconvinced freight rates have bottomed-out» and expects carrier losses.

Russian imports of Chinese cars have significantly increased in 2022. Despite rail still not being the favoured mode of transportation for this type of business, the current shortage of Ro-Ro ships could open up new opportunities for the industry.

METRANS has finalised the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Croatian railway company Adria Rail. Moreover, the German company is building two new terminals in southern Hungary, exploring more opportunities in fast-growing Southeastern Europe.

Despite the German transport minister Volker Wissing being a pro-road investments advocate for some months, the federal committee engaged with the ‘modernisation package for climate protection and planning acceleration’ decided to proceed with rail investments that could reach the amount of 45 billion euros until 2027. Additionally, it decided to double the prices of truck tolls by 2024 and use part of the generated revenues to fund rail projects.

Luxembourger intermodal company CFL secured 2,3 million euros from the European Commission (EC) to partly fund the upgrade of their Bettembourg-Dudelange terminal. The total cost of the project is 7,7 million euros.

The city of Shenyang, in northeastern China, has deployed its first freight train to Europe in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). The plan is to turn Shenyang into a new transhipment hub for RCEP countries using the rail to ship to Europe. The new initiative will also offer a link between the China-Laos railway and the China-Europe network.

Funding for the upgrade of the Malaszewicze rail border crossing between Belarus and Poland might come from the Polish government. «The Ministry of Infrastructure is working on a draft act providing Cargotor with financing for the modernization of Małaszewicze», a spokesperson from the company told RailFreight.com.

The German federal transport minister Volker Wissing sends mixed signals to the industry. On the one hand, he appears to have a new railway renovation concept that will be completed by 2030. On the other hand, the transport ministry shares forecasts showing that road traffic will increase substantially by 2051, indicating the need to invest more in road infrastructure. The transport sector, both freight and passenger, is confused and fears a further deterioration of the railways in the country.

Exports from the Chinese dry ports of Khorgos, on the China-Kazakhstan border, and Manzhouli, bordering Russia, will be stopped until 26 March. The suspension started on 11 March, with some exceptions made for specific trains and key material containers.

Kazakhstan Railways will construct a terminal in the Chinese city of Xi’an, the country’s most important hub on the New Silk Road. Xi’an agreed to provide 8 hectares of land plot for the construction of the terminal in the territory of the Xian Dry Port, at a meeting between the parties on 1 March.

The recent arrival of a China-Europe freight train, loaded with 102 containers from Europe, at a logistics park in Zengcheng district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, marked the two-way opening of trade in the eastern highway and rail intermodal hub of the city, according to local railway authorities.

The first international freight train left the city of Langfang, in northeast China, on 25 February and is heading towards Moscow. This new service is another example of how the flow of China-Europe trains this year is heavily skewed toward Russia.

The timber transport market in Russia faced its most challenging times in 2022, according to Vladimir Putin’s words. The Russian president decided to subsidise the industry with 500 million rubles (roughly 6,3 million euros) in 2023 and attempt to boost timber exports via rail and sea.

It has become an indisputable fact that the freight volume of railway operations between China and Europe has plummeted in 2022, but how steep was the decline? A look at the recent data of UTLC ERA, the main operator on the New Silk Road via Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia, gives a good impression.

China wants to remove restrictions on the rail transport of dangerous goods. It is a breakthrough for the European rail transport market.