Link: European combined transport grew in 2024, driven by domestic operations | RailFreight.com

European combined transport grew in 2024, driven by domestic operations

A positive development in European combined transport, which has grown throughout 2024. The industry transported 5,19% more consignments and performance in tonne-kilometres surged by 8,41%.

The International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport (UIRR) points out that domestic traffic generated most of that growth: +10.6%. France and Poland were particularly successful cases. By contrast, cross-border traffic recorded only modest growth, at +2.74%. UIRR attributes the worse performance internationally mostly to infrastructure works in Germany, which caused “excessive train cancellations”.

“The bypass routes offered were typically very long, frequently inferior in their technical parameters and inadequate in their capacity”, UIRR explains. “Moreover, the infrastructure manager has not indemnified the operators for their extra costs of operations, which translated to 50% more traction hours and 50% more rolling stock for the same performance output as in previous years.” Consequently, both intermodal rail freight operators and transshipment terminals suffered financially.

Better times coming?

After a 10% decline between 2022 and 2023, the combined transport sector has recorded growing figures for three of the past five quarters. The past couple of years have been quite tough for the combined transport sector, especially due to the closures of the Gotthard and Frejus axes in August 2023. Now that that is past, more stable times could be on the horizon. Combined transport registered a 1,76% growth in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.