It won't take more than few minutes.
Respond to the survey
Just after she claimed victory in the national elections in Italy, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia and the future Italian Prime Minister, expressed her intentions of not renewing Italy’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to Meloni, priority should be given to the Global Gateway, the EU initiative to invest in infrastructure development all around the world between 2021 and 2027.
A new postal rail freight service has been launched on 16 September, bringing parcels from Xi’an, the capital of the Shaanxi province, to Malaszewice in Poland. The service is provided by Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation and is dedicated to the growing e-commerce business.
After two years of intensive lobbying for electric cars to be shipped by train in China, it is finally possible. From 17 September, finished vehicles could be transport to, from and through China by rail. Important side note: the legal notice only covers finished vehicles.
Rail freight companies operating on the New Silk Road are struggling to regain their customers’ trust during these uncertain times. The main issues that are worrying customers are cargo safety, the pandemic, and the lack of valid alternative routes.
The construction of the third track between Emmerich and Oberhausen will include an 80-week period of limited availability for cross-border train traffic. From the beginning of November 2024 to the end of May 2026, fewer trains are able to run across this Dutch-German border. In a total of 20 weeks, the section is entirely closed for rail freight.
Typhoon Hinnamor has forced the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Busan to close, further disrupting shipping schedules from Asia.
The capacity shortage that underpinned skyrocketing ocean freight rates for the past two years has ended and rates will continue to fall, according to Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen.
Water levels on the Rhine River are reaching a critically low point, and rail must come to the rescue. There are those who find this a great proposition. More volumes on the railways, says the optimist. But there are others who consider it to be an unrealistic idea, especially today. Rail has its own problems, the pessimist responds.
Looking ahead to what could be a critical period for the logistics industry in Europe the dark clouds gathering over Germany and the UK in terms of labour relations in key ports will add to the already challenging market conditions experienced over the last two years.
A train carrying 100 containers of goods ranging from hardware to daily necessities departed from Yiwu on Tuesday morning in the 1,000th China-Europe freight train trip from the east China city this year.
Belarusian Railways says it has developed a total of 40 new export routes to more than 20 countries, now that sanctions have cut off its traditional routes to the global market. The Transport and Communications Ministry of Belarus reported these figures, as quoted by the government-owned media site BelTA.
Hamburg and Bremerhaven ports still face chaos following continuous strikes and infrastructure issues, causing «disastrous consequences» to operators like METRANS. As if that was not enough, Adriatic ports also met immense traffic restrictions, which the Slovenian infrastructure manager fortunately lifted.
Two sides agree on promoting practical cooperation and coping with challenges
Since April 2022, 865 Russian freight cars have been seized by Finnish authorities. Over 82 million euro worth of assets were frozen to comply with EU sanctions on Russian coal after the start of the war in Ukraine.
«Russia will complete the reconstruction of 41 border ports by the end of 2024, including 22 ports in the Russian Far East, which is the largest port construction plan ever.» Russian Minister of Transport Vitaly Saveliev said. In addition, Aleksey Chekunkov, Minister of Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, stated last month that the Russian government is studying the possibility of opening more border crossings between Russia and China in the Far East. The news comes from the China-Russia Information Network.
Starting this week, Hupac’s intermodal service between Duisbrug in Germany and Gadki in Poland runs on a daily basis. The Swiss operator has increased roundtrips on this line from three to six. It was able to increase the frequency of this popular service «thanks to a synergistic cooperation with Duisport Agency Polska».
A temporary stop of transloading trains has been issued at the China-Kazakhstan border crossings of Alashankou and Khorgos. The suspension started on Saturday 2 July and will last at least until Saturday 9 July. There is an exception for freight trains on the route between China and Europe. The suspension was called off by China National Railway Group.
China-Europe rail freight growth slowed dramatically in the first half, but carriers blanking sailings could help boost volumes during the peak season.
