Business news from the world rail freight market.
On January 21 DB Cargo Hungária completed a €1m expansion of the maintenance facilities at its Győr Terminal with the opening of a 121 m second track and a 1 000 m² modern maintenance area including a 25 m long pit.
On January 16 the US Surface Transportation Board announced a unanimous decision that the major merger application filed by Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern was incomplete because it did not contain certain information required by regulations. The board was thus legally required to reject the application, without prejudice to the applicants refiling a revised application. STB stressed that the decision was ‘based solely on the incompleteness of the December 19 application and should not be read as an indication of how the board might ultimately assess any future revised application’.
On January 20 Radim Ječný was appointed Chairman & CEO of Czech state freight operator ČD Cargo. He was previously director for intermodal container transport at the Czech branch of shipping and logistics company CMA CGM. He replaces Tomáš Tóth who stepped down for personal reasons on October 31.
Cambodia’s Royal Railway took delivery of three diesel locomotives from Malaysia on December 30. It said they will substantially boost its capacity to meet the growing demand for both passenger and freight transport and provide more efficient logistics services for businesses across the country.
According to Russian media reports, RZD is drawing up plans to sell a 49% stake in Federal Freight Co, the second-largest rail freight operator in the country after First Freight Co. The stake is estimated to be worth around 44bn roubles. The proposal is expected to be discussed by the RZD board in Q2 2026.
Rhenus Group has acquired its first rail-connected terminal in Kazakhstan, aiming to strengthen its position in inland logistics along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The QAZContargo Almaty site at Bayserke station offers container and block train facilities and bonded storage for import, export and transit freight between China, Europe and across Central Asia. It will be operated by Contargo Group.
As part of the Polish freight operator PKP Cargo’s restructuring plan, it has sold 100% of Małaszewicze transhipment facility operator Cargotor to infrastructure manager PKP PLK for 28·8m złoty.
Nordic Re-Finance has reached an agreement to acquire 15 Traxx AC2 electric locomotives from DB Cargo Scandinavia under a partial sale-and-leaseback arrangement for operation in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The Scandinavian freight locomotive lessor said this marks a ‘major milestone’ for its strategic expansion into Germany and establishes a new relationship with a leading European operator.
Aurizon is now hauling iron ore from Koolyanobbing to the port of Esperance in Western Australia for Yilgarn Iron under a 4·4 mtpa contract running to the end of December 2029. Aurizon previously operated trains on the route for Cliffs Asia Pacific Iron Ore and Mineral Resources, and is using existing rolling stock and infrastructure for the 160-wagon trains to provide ‘a low capital solution that reflects Aurizon’s operational strength and strategic capability’.
Josie Curtis has joined Patriot Rail as Vice-President of People Strategy. She previously held key human resources leadership roles at RJ Corman.
Croatian freight operator ENNA Transport has expanded its rail freight activities to Hungary, building on its operations in in Slovenia and Serbia. It wis to offer container services primarily on the Hungarian section of the Rijeka – Budapest corridor, with further regional expansion planned. ENNA will use Siemens Vectron and Alstom Traxx locomotives leased from Railpool, and its wagon fleet will be gradually expanded and modernised.