International rail

The European Union has approved its fourth package of measures to restructure the rail market and has adopted Shift2Rail...

In a sign of an improving economic environment and growing preference for rail to move goods between the U.S. and Mexico, U.S.-Mexico cross-border trade by rail, measured in value terms, hit an all-time high in September. It rose 16.4 percent year-over-year to $6.25 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Cross-border truck trade also climbed, rising 7.7 percent year-over-year to $27.2 billion, a record for the month.

As the frequency of Asia-Europe rail services increases costs will gradually fall, encouraging more shippers to turn to intermodal options to avoid the high cost of air freight and the slow steaming transit times available from lines, one leading logistics executive believes.

It sounds elementary: An exporter in an interior location needs empty containers.

Indian Railways, which implemented a 15.0 percent “busy season” surcharge on Oct. 1 on all bulk commodities, is again revising its freight tariff.

Freightliner has run its first service out of London Gateway to collect import containers destined for the Midlands in England.

Indian Railways has announced a 15 percent hike in its freight charges for all bulk commodities, effective Oct. 1, as part of a “busy season tariff adjustment.”

Although flooding in Colorado is winding down as heavy rains have begun subsiding, Mexico has declared a state of emergency after being battered by storms...

The privatization of PKP Cargo moved closer after the Polish state rail freight operator reached agreement with labor unions over its initial public offering.

The Port of Felixstowe has reached a milestone, handling its 70 millionth 20-foot-equivalent unit since container operations began at the England port in the mid-1960s.

Indian Railways reported revenue-earning freight traffic in July totaled 86.21 million metric tons, up 4.9 percent or 4.0 million metric tons from 82.21 million metric tons in the same month in 2012.

The first freight train from Zhengzhou, China, to Europe has arrived at the freight yard in Hamburg-Billwerder, Germany, carrying 51 containers.

DB Schenker will launch a new China-to-Germany intermodal pilot service on Aug. 14 in conjunction with partners in China, adding to the growing number of rail options available to shippers seeking faster delivery times to Europe from China than currently possible using slow-steaming ocean liner services.

The German government has signed a financial deal for the construction of a third rail line between Emmerich and Oberhausen in the nation’s North Rhine-Westphalia state.

Freightliner Group has named Russell Mears as chief executive, effective Sept. 30, 2013.

Etihad Rail has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dubai Industrial City for the development of a rail terminal within the United Arab Emirates city.

Konecranes has received an order for four rail-mounted gantry cranes from Australian rail freight operator Pacific National.

The chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway expects tougher safety regulations in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, and he told CBC/Radio-Canada the MMA is already planning to change its operations and policies.

Indian Railways reported revenue-earning freight traffic in June was 84.95 million metric tons, up 5.6 percent or 4.52 million metric tons compared with 80.43 million metric tons in the same month in the previous year.

Mumbai-based international freight forwarder and terminal operator J.M. Baxi Group has opened a new intermodal container terminal in Sonepat, near Delhi, to serve the growing trade to and from northern India.

Russian Railways and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation to modernize railways and related infrastructure in Russia.

Russian president Vladimir Putin unveiled plans to spend nearly $14 billion on three large rail and road projects to ease transport bottlenecks and stimulate a slowing economy.

Indian Railways carried 171.91 million metric tons of revenue-earning freight traffic in April and May, the first two months of fiscal year 2013 to 2014, increasing 4.6 percent or 7.53 million metric tons from...

Slow-steaming by shipping lines, the shift of production centers in China inland and the easing of customs barriers in Eastern Europe are rapidly opening up overland transport routes between Asia and Europe.

Freightliner, the United Kingdom’s second largest rail freight operator, today announced its acquisition of ERS Railways, the pan-European intermodal rail company, from ocean carrier Maersk Line.

Deutsche Bahn and Bombardier Transportation have signed a frame contract for the delivery of up to 450 electric locomotives by the year 2020.

Indian Railways reported its revenue from April 1 to May 31, 2013, was Rs. 22,439.30 crore (about US$3.9 billion), increasing 12.7 percent from $3.4 billion during the corresponding period last year.

AECOM Technology Corp. has won a $148 million, three-year contract to provide construction supervision and design review services for the portion of the Doha Expressway program in Qatar known as Group 7.

The China Railway Corp., a spinoff of China’s former Ministry of Railways, has launched a new express cargo service to allow it to better compete in the logistics market, Global Times reports.

John Spencer, chairman of KiwiRail, along with the KiwiRail’s board, have announced that they will not renew KiwiRail Chief Executive Jim Quinn’s five-year contract when it expires in February 2014.

The European Commission’s Transport Council has plans to introduce a single European authority for placing railway vehicles in the European Union market and reinforce the central role of the European Railway Agency.

A consortium of Japanese conglomerate Sojitz Corp. and domestic infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro has won a contract to develop the first phase of India’s long-planned rail freight corridor between Delhi and Mumbai.

Fesco’s first quarter profit dipped 3.8 percent from a year earlier as the Russian shipping, port, rail freight and logistics group sold almost half of its vessels.

ART Logistics has launched a multimodal freight service connecting Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand with Central Asia.

Russian rail freight operator Globaltrans denied reports it is negotiating a merger with domestic rival Nefte TransService.

Romania pulled the partial privatization of the state-owned rail company after potential investors, including a US short line operator, failed to pre-qualify for the bidding process.