News from the world rail freight market.
One of the Dragon-2 DC electric locomotives with last-mile engines Newag is supplying for Akiem was presented at the Trako International Railway Fair in Gdańsk on September 24. In November 2023, Akiem ordered 10 multi-system locomotives and 20 3 kV DC locos with last-mile engines.
A ceremony has launched work to expand facilities at the Soviet-built rail freight terminal at Towraghondi on Afghanistan’s side of the border with Turkmenistan. The project costing US$5m to US$7m is expected to be completed within one year.
As part of an ongoing major restructuring, PKP Cargo has announced plans for up to 500 redundancies. It has also sold 6 696 out of service wagons in six lots for a total of 123m zloty, with a further 1 105 to be sold in the coming months. It said the funds obtained will improve its liquidity and enable the implementation of further measures to improve its financial situation.
The US Railway Supply Institute has welcomed the introduction of bill S.2758, a companion bill to the House of Representatives’ Freight Rail Assets Investment to Launch Commercial Activity Revitalization (Freight RAILCAR) Act of 2025, saying the legislation would ‘encourage investment in the modernisation of the North American railcar fleet, improve sustainability, and support American manufacturing jobs’.
VTG has created Logistics and Production divisions alongside its core Leasing business, saying this will ensure clear responsibilities and enables the company to respond with agility to changing customer demands. Michael Eckelsberger is responsibile for the Leasing division, the largest business unit, with Dr Martin Neese as head of the Logistics division and Thomas Jäger leading the production division which will focus on ensuring the fleet remains ‘competitive and future ready’.
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has announced plans for a 1·1 km second railway line into the port of Penang to ease congestion and make operations more efficient. ‘The proposal is currently being drafted. Our priority is to implement the project as soon as possible’, he said.
Watco Logistics has acquired Colossal Transport Solutions, which provides rail, road, barge and ocean logistics services for over-dimensional and heavy cargo. ‘Colossal’s deep industry knowledge and reputation for handling multimodal complex, large-scale projects complements our ability to provide innovative, reliable, and flexible logistics services’, said Watco Logistics President Eric Wolfe.
On September 15 Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway operating contract holder Sogdiana Trans and local partner Khan Daqiq Trading Co opened an office in Kabul to support to Afghan entrepreneurs with logistics services. Sogdiana Trans said this marks an important step in the expansion of its activities and demonstrates its desire to develop new routes connecting Europe, the CIS, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
CN and CSX have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an intermodal service into Nashville, Tennessee, to provide an all-rail option for containers moving from Canada’s west coast gateways via Memphis. This will replace a current road leg to deliver faster, more reliable and more sustainable service.
KTZ Express and MSC organised what they say is the first containerised export shipment of wheat flour from Kazakhstan to the USA to promote Kazakh flour to the American market under the Eurasian Legacy brand. The route covered Kostanay, the port of Aktau, Poti, ports in Turkey and Spain and New York. Monthly shipments are planned.
Madeleine Paquin has been appointed to the CN board from October 29. She was President & CEO of terminal operator Logistec Corp from 1996 to 2024, and is currently a director of Air Canada.