Business news from the world rail freight market.
Alstom’s Madhepura Electric Locomotive joint venture with Indian Railways has secured a €62m contract to maintain Prima T8 WAG-12B electric locomotives at IR’s Sabarmati locomotive depot. The contract running to February 2031 covers the 300 electric locomotives still to be delivered from the original 800 loco contract awarded to Alstom in 2015, following on from a similar agreement for the first 500 to be maintained at Saharanpur and Nagpur. Prompt Response Teams will be stationed at strategic locations equipped with specialist tools and critical spares to provide fast and efficient support. Alstom will also continue its extensive skill development programme, which has so far seen more than 22 000 IR staff trained.
Swedbank is providing LTG Cargo with a €109m loan to finance the purchase of 17 Stadler electric locomotives ordered at the end of 2024 and to be delivered in 2027 as part of the electrification of the Vilnius – Klaipėda route, which carries about half of all rail freight transported in Lithuania. ‘Electrification will strengthen the competitiveness of the Lithuanian transport sector, reduce energy and operating costs and create opportunities for more efficient freight and passenger transport’, said Ignas Mačeika, Head of Commercial Banking at Swedbank Lithuania.
FS Logistix company HSL Belgium has been awarded a contract to provide first and last mile rail services in zone 6A (Marshalldok) of the Antwerpen port area. This will be carried out with a new Vossloh Rolling Stock DE18 hybrid locomotive, which will replace older diesels. ‘We are continuing on our path of internationalisation to become the European market leader in integrated logistics’, said FS Logistix CEO Sabrina De Filippis on January 16.
In December Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport & Communications approved the use of €46·8m of European funding for the construction of a €56·5m intermodal terminal on the site of the former Istok marshalling yard in Ruse, near the location proposed for a third bridge across the Danube. ‘The city is strengthening its role as a key transport hub for northeast Bulgaria. Combined with the modernisation and capacity increase of the Ruse – Varna railway line, this will provide the most direct rail connection for freight flows from the east and the Black Sea region via the Danube to central and western Europe’, said Minister Grozdan Karadjov.
CargoBeamer has entered the Belgian intermodal market with the launch of a route between the Liège Logistics Intermodal Terminal and the DB Cargo Transa/FLS Terminal at Domodossola in Italy, with BLS Cargo as traction provider. There are three weekly round trips, which is to be increased to six weekly by Q2 2026 and extended further into northern Italy.
On December 11 the RAlpin joint venture of BLS, Hupac and SBB ran its final ‘Rolling Highway’ piggyback service carrying accompanied lorries through the Alps by rail between Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany and Novara near Milano in Italy. RAlpin said service was well utilised, but the large number of unplanned and short notice engineering disruptions on the rail network made it uneconomic to operate.
On December 22 DPB Rail Infra Service in Braunschweig took delivery of the second of two Stadler EuroDual locomotives it is leasing from European Loc Pool for use on engineering trains.
Glīd Technologies has developed Rāden, an unmanned autonomous electric road-rail vehicle that slides under a road trailer, lifts it and moves it seamlessly between road and rail in 90 sec. ‘Autonomous road-to-rail is the future of freight infrastructure and it is already underway’, said Founder & CEO Kevin Damoa. ‘First mile logistics can be autonomous working in harmony with human labour today, not five years from now.’
Siemens Mobility’s Vectron Dual Mode electro-diesel locomotives have received authorisation for cross-border operation between Germany and Austria. The first two locomotives with authorisation for both countries have been supplied to Austrian operator Stern & Hafferl Verkehr.
Automotive logistics specialist Hyundai Glovis Europe has begun using the first rake of its own wagons as part of a long-term strategy to shift transport volumes from road to rail. It said that by developing internal rail expertise and investing in its wagons, it aims to increase control over capacity, quality and costs. The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech, Hyundai Motor Co, Infront Consulting & Management, GATX Rail Europe, ČD Cargo, Adampol Slovakia, Hyundai Glovis Czech and Raillex.